It's all just a matter of tweaking the software. A developer just confirmed that the original Sensation has better sound than the XE. HTC made the default sound profile on the XE worse so that the "Beats by Dr.Dre" profile sounds nicer.

https://twitter.com/#!/BumbleDroid/stat...076186472226816
"Is it just me or does the "normal" playback on the non Beats rom sound sound likes the "Beats" profile on the XE rom .... :"

https://twitter.com/#!/BumbleDroid/stat...076965903933440
"AND the normal profile on the XE rom sound like it had no treble ..."

https://twitter.com/#!/kmobs/status/114077571980869632
"HTC made the normal sound worse on the Sensation XE rom than the stock Sensation in order to make the Beats profile sound better. #beatssuck"

Mind you, bumbledroid and kmobs work on the CyanogenMod7 port to the Sensation. Pretty sure he knows what he's talking about.

Well, bumbledroid did mention that there was no difference in hardware other than the processor bump. So, it's not a defect issue, it's a matter of HTC making the device worse, then have a setting that made it better, slap a Dr Dre brand on it and call it an improvement.

It's like jacking up the price before a discount, then calling it a big sale.