Think my Asus U7 is dead

MrMD · 9 Dec 2015 at 19:40

Sooo before going out today i shutdown my rig for the first time in about a month,came home fired it up,monitors were blank,checked the the mobo debug LED had a 9C code.Was a bit puzzled,hit reset machine booted into windows.

Sound was not working,googled the error code,its a USB initialization issue.

Shutdown> powered back on,with some trial and error the issue is deffo the U7,when plugged into any port the machine will not boot,pull out the cable and the machine instantly goes into windows.

When in windows no matter what port i plug the card into (Usb 2.0,3.0 dedicated USB dac port) it wont output sound and windows doesnt notice it.The blue leds showing on the unit itself just constantly flicker,so its safe to assume its dead.

Its only 13 months old,but i have no idea about the warranty on it.I can not find any info regarding it on asus page,or any retailers that sell it :confused:

Will asus replace it? Im using my on-board sound atm and its horrible :mad:

Marsman · 9 Dec 2015 at 20:14

Surely got to be borked by the sound of it. Not sure what duration the warranty is, but many Asus products carry a three year warranty. A quick glance on their site seems to suggest three years for their audio products as well. First port of call is with the place you bought it from.

MrMD · 9 Dec 2015 at 20:29

After digging through their webiste i found the warranty info for the echelon edition,dont seem to have the regular U7 listed on their site at all for some reason,it does seem to be 3 years 'in most territory's'

Got it from the rainforest,they have no info what so ever about warranty in the product page i can see,i would assume it would be a max of 1Year through the retailer tho for something like this,i bought it a little over 13 months ago too.Looks like im stuck with asus rma then

Marsman · 9 Dec 2015 at 22:53

Yeah, you'll have to go to Asus directly, if they do offer a three year warranty on the U7 in the UK, as the jungle site is only obligated to provide a one year warranty.

Register the U7, if you haven't already. There might be a system similar to HDD/SSD where the serial number will tell you how long the warranty period is.

MrMD · 9 Dec 2015 at 23:25

Yea i have signed up to the Asus website and and sent an RMA ticket.

I fear i am unlikely to get a replacement before the new year tho,so i think im gonna have grab something else in the meantime. Maybe a SB Z or even a cheap STX.

My onboard is pretty crappy compared to the U7,plus i get some emi issues aswell :/

MrMD · 18 Dec 2015 at 19:13

Bit of an update

Asus finnally replied to me after 3 working days.They are saying the i should claim warranty via the retailer i purchased it from rather than them.

Rain forests terms for manufacturer warranty seem a bit confusing on their site,i have mailed them about, 2 days later still waiting for a reply.I got a feeling this will be a long term process

Marsman · 18 Dec 2015 at 19:45

I had a feeling that this might turn out to be the case, sadly; manufacturer saying you should go to the retailer. I guess the UK is not one of the territories that offer this 3 year warranty on audio products they speak of.

MrMD · 18 Dec 2015 at 19:57

Marsman said:
I had a feeling that this might turn out to be the case, sadly; manufacturer saying you should go to the retailer. I guess the UK is not one of the territories that offer this 3 year warranty on audio products they speak of.

I think its more to do with asus's method of dealing with rmas.I have read many a tale of people had asus gpus/mobos which died randomly being told to RMA their HW through the retailer they purchased it from and that applied through the entire duration of the warrenty(Usually 3 years).

This is why i avoid asus unless i have no other viable option,their warrenty/support is a long drawn out process.

I imagine this is what will happen for my U7

I send it to amazon>they send it to a 'certified repairer'>it goes back to amazon still broken>it goes back to asus>its declared dead>asus dispatch replacement>i get my refurb/replacement

During all this about a month passes lol

....as i type i have an email from amazon,lets see what they have said

TBC lol

MrMD · 18 Dec 2015 at 20:09

Ok great news!

Rainforest got back to me,they are just sending me a new unit free of charge due on sunday.Just got send back my duff one within the next 30 days

Pretty suprised tbh

Rroff · 18 Dec 2015 at 22:07

Unlike Asus they are usually fairly quick at handling stuff like that - if you are at the mercy of Asus you could be easily waiting a month :S

Marsman · 18 Dec 2015 at 22:15

That is good news.

MrMD · 21 Dec 2015 at 18:49

Got my replacement,newer revision aswell with support for Sonic Studio pro(this was only available with the echelon edition before hand).However im having to set my windows/application volume sliders at far higher levels than before to get the same volume output.Did they change the amps in these?

MrMD · 22 Sep 2016 at 19:04

Gah my replacement U7 has gone and died on me

Can some1 recommend some good DAC options to pair with some 598's. Budget anywhere between £40-£120

Done with Asus jank :/

rids57 · 22 Sep 2016 at 19:42

FiiO E10K (£60)
SMSL SD-793 II (£40 but optical input only)
SMSL M3 (£54)
SMSL M6 (£120)

PapaLazaru · 22 Sep 2016 at 20:49

Arcam rPAC.

rids57 · 22 Sep 2016 at 21:30

Where can you buy Arcam rPacs from? They always used to be available from RS but they don't seem to be on their website anymore.

PapaLazaru · 22 Sep 2016 at 21:35

rids57 said:
Where can you buy Arcam rPacs from? They always used to be available from RS but they don't seem to be on their website anymore.

Big river has one in stock at a shade over £110.

Marsman · 22 Sep 2016 at 22:45

MrMD said:
Gah my replacement U7 has gone and died on me

Can some1 recommend some good DAC options to pair with some 598's. Budget anywhere between £40-£120

Done with Asus jank :/

Blimey, that didn't last long.

Good options above.

MrMD · 23 Sep 2016 at 17:20

rids57 said:
FiiO E10K (£60)
SMSL SD-793 II (£40 but optical input only)
SMSL M3 (£54)
SMSL M6 (£120)

PapaLazaru said:
Arcam rPAC.

Out of these choices what main differences? Is there going to be an discernible signature to sound between them?

PapaLazaru · 23 Sep 2016 at 19:53

MrMD said:
Out of these choices what main differences? Is there going to be an discernible signature to sound between them?

Probably not a great deal in it to be honest but you generally get what you pay for. Bear in mind that Arcam are a British company so any issues will get resolved far easier. I used to have one and whilst I 'upgraded' to something better, I did get to listen to it the other day round my friends house who I sold it to and it is a very simplistic but great sounding bit of kit. The amp is decent to drive most headphones and it has RCA outputs on the rear so you can use the DAC with a separate amp or powered speakers.

Just seen it for £100 delivered as well.