HP will launch a range of premium laptops, headphones and software that will come under the Beats By Dr. Dre brand umbrella. They are expected to go to market in the US this autumn.

Consumers had previously accepted a degree of deterioration in sound quality in exchange for the speed, portability and convenience that digital brings to music.

However, with mass broadband uptake, larger files can now be moved around online with relative ease and, as a result, consumers are ...