Beats Audio Channel Volume Imbalance

I have a new dv7-7300 Quad laptop, with Beats Audio (6.10.6425) and Windows 8 where the right channel is louder than the left.

In the Beats Audio Control panel, I can't find an option to adjust the channel balance.

There is an HP Support faq for Desktop PCs, Beats Audio Console (Windows 8), that shows a Setup Tab in the Listening Experience section where balance adjustments can be made. Unfortunately, I can't find  a similar option in the Beats Audio Control panel on my laptop.

When I go into the Windows Sound Control Panel applet to adjust the balance, it turns out there is no channel separation. The test sound comes out of both sides regardless of the channel being tested. This is not so obvious when listening through the laptop speakers, but is very obvious when listening through headphones.

I suppose this is due to the Beats Audio signal processing that is going on, but it seems odd nonetheless, and I'd have more confidence if the balance volume wasn't off in the first place and if there was a way to adjust it within the Beats Audio Control Panel.

When I contacted HP Customer Support, I was told to use Windows Recovery to reinstall Windows, which I dubiously and fruitlessly did. The response after that was that I should send the laptop in for warranty repair.

To try and figure out what was going on, I uninstalled Beats Audio and installed the generic Windows driver. After doing this, the channel separation was there. The left test signal comes out only on the left side and the right test signal comes out only on the right side. However, it didn't clear up the channel imbalance as the right channel is still louder than the left.

So, a few questions come to mind.

Where is the balance adjustment in Beats Audio?

Why is there no channel separation in the test sounds under Beats Audio?

Should I send in the laptop for Warranty Repair as Customer Support said, or just live with it and use the Windows Sound Control Panel applet to adjust the imbalance?

Lastly, should I take this as an omen and return the laptop before the 21 day window expires?