I have an Envy Laptop with Beats audio and, at my work a touchsmart pc with Beats audio. Is it "audiophile" quality? I don't think so. It's pretty good, about the best laptop audio I've ever had - and I've had a lot of laptops. At my office I put the headphone out jack of the touchsmart all in one into a Lisa Portable amp and listen with various headphones. It's a pretty nice setup and when I need to hear something through speakers, the PC speakers do the job. I've got a setup at home on my desktop where I run the audio out through an EMU 0404 usb and then into either a Little Dot amp, or an amp preamp combo into PSB L-1 speakers. Is the home setup better than what comes out of the Beats Audio. Yes, hands down. However, for stuff that comes built in, the Beats is decent. I work with a lot of PCs and various equipment so wires on my desk can be overwhelming. Wherever I can simplify at the office is good. I guess I think the Beats is an improvement and more than just empty marketing hype. It's not mindblowing or awesome are fantastic, but better than standard pc audio.