# ASUS Xonar_Xense: RMA Issues



## Fire488 (Jan 8, 2013)

ASUS Xonar_Xense: RMA Issues
This is the product that i purchased back in Jan of 2011: http://www.newegg.co....82E16829132018

I am trying very hard not to make this a rant and hope that it does not generate trolling. That is not my intent here. I am a very loyal ASUS customer and own more of their products than I have toes and fingers. For the most part their products have been good and RMA not much of an issue. Until now that it.

This headset and sound-card combo rendered the best sound that i have ever heard on a PC.
I absolutely loved it. Well here is what happened recently. The mic stopped working at the end of November 2012 and I called ASUS and had it RMA'd. The RMA was set up on Dec 12th and the headset was shipped on that same day. It was received according to my delivery confirmation receipt on Dec 13th 2012. I waited for a reply and the ASUS RMA staus check on the web site said "awaiting customers product". (And still does btw)

It was now Jan 2nd , 2013 and still not hearing a thing from ASUS about my headset i decided to call and check the status by phone. An RMA ASUS technician confirmed that the product was received by ASUS on Dec 13th, 2012 and has no idea what is going on since there are no notes on it. He then told me to give him some time to sort this out. 

I waited until today, Jan 8th, 2013 and called again since i received absolutely no correspondence once again. After being on hold for 15 minutes a technician finally came on and i gave him all the info. He came back and told me that an email was generated to my on Jan 4th stating that the headset was out of warranty (I knew that) and that it was also no longer available. That I did NOT know and was shocked. This setup is only 2 years old! I paid almost $300 for it. 
I never did receive that email on the 4th either. 

The headset from Sennheiser was customized to work with the Xonar_Xense sound card. It also has the larger input/output jacks on the sound card and headset. It seems there is no other headset that will work and the card is now useless. 
If this setup cost me $50 dollars i would not be as upset, but for $300 I am very upset and disappointed in ASUS. This product should have lasted more that 2 years for that money.

I will no longer purchase anything with the ASUS logo on it.

Note- Please don't troll this post. this could happen to anyone and companies should know how we feel. I know the product is 2 years old, but considering the price there should have been replacement headsets available to purchase. An expensive product like this being obsolete in 2 years is just unconscionable to me.I don't have $300 dollars to just throw away...
__________________


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## Norton (Jan 8, 2013)

Your NewEgg link isn't working right but I found the card/combo here:

ASUS XONAR_XENSE 7.1 Channels 24-bit 192KHz PCI Ex...

It lists a 3 yr warranty for it. Was this a US purchase? I'm a bit surprised that they accepted an RMA and then told you it was out of warranty when they received it


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## Jetster (Jan 8, 2013)

I feel your pain. I had a Toshiba LCD tv that was 21 months old and quit. It only had a one year warranty. Toshiba would not even respond to my e mails. I paid $700 for it. I did notice that ASUS changed there laptop warranty two one year and not two. I tried a couple of things to fix it (replaced the inverter) but no joy. Sold it for $50


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## KingPing (Jan 8, 2013)

This is the sound card right: http://www.guru3d.com/articles_pages/asus_xonar_xense_7_1_soundcard_review,1.html

The jacks on that card are standard ones, any headset will work. Besides the headset that comes bundled is not on par with the sound card sound quality, it's good but nothing to write home about.


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## Fire488 (Jan 8, 2013)

Norton said:


> Your NewEgg link isn't working right but I found the card/combo here:
> 
> ASUS XONAR_XENSE 7.1 Channels 24-bit 192KHz PCI Ex...
> 
> It lists a 3 yr warranty for it. Was this a US purchase? I'm a bit surprised that they accepted an RMA and then told you it was out of warranty when they received it



I sent it back to ASUS for RMA. They claimed it has a one year warranty. Where did you see three years if you don't mind? 

Thanks for responding.


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## Fire488 (Jan 8, 2013)

Jetster said:


> I feel your pain. I had a Toshiba LCD tv that was 21 months old and quit. It only had a one year warranty. Toshiba would not even respond to my e mails. I paid $700 for it. I did notice that ASUS changed there laptop warranty two one year and not two. I tried a couple of things to fix it (replaced the inverter) but no joy. Sold it for $50



That sucks man. crazy stuff.


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## Fire488 (Jan 8, 2013)

KingPing said:


> This is the sound card right: http://www.guru3d.com/articles_pages/asus_xonar_xense_7_1_soundcard_review,1.html
> 
> The jacks on that card are standard ones, any headset will work. Besides the headset that comes bundled is not on par with the sound card sound quality, it's good but nothing to write home about.



The jacks on the sound card are 1/4 inch and not the standard 3.5 mm. The sound card is configured to work with a modified version of the Sennheiser PC350's. Also, it is by far the best sounding combo I have ever heard and I have tried most believe me. I think most would greatly disagree with your last statement buddy.


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## Norton (Jan 8, 2013)

Fire488 said:


> I sent it back to ASUS for RMA. They claimed it has a one year warranty. Where did you see three years if you don't mind?
> 
> Thanks for responding.



The details tab on that NewEgg link I included in my post states 3yrs parts/3 yrs labor (doesn't separate out the headphones with a different warranty, if it is different, in the NewEgg listing)

**EDIT- Crutchfield lists a 2 yr warranty on the PC-350 headset (which are a variant of yours if I'm reading this correctly):

http://www.crutchfield.com/p_143PC350/Sennheiser-PC-350.html?tp=59076

So even with this they should have had at least a 2 yr warranty...


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## Fire488 (Jan 8, 2013)

Norton said:


> The details tab on that NewEgg link I included in my post states 3yrs parts/3 yrs labor (doesn't separate out the headphones with a different warranty, if it is different, in the NewEgg listing)



Looking now thanks.


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## KingPing (Jan 9, 2013)

Fire488 said:


> The jacks on the sound card are 1/4 inch and not the standard 3.5 mm. The sound card is configured to work with a modified version of the Sennheiser PC350's. Also, it is by far the best sounding combo I have ever heard and I have tried most believe me. I think most would greatly disagree with your last statement buddy.




Both 1/4 (6.3mm) and 3.5mm  are standard audio jacks, if your headset comes with a 3.5mm connector, you just need a 3.5mm to 6.3mm adaptor, almost all high end headphones comes with one. And according to the ASUS site the sound card comes with one. http://www.asus.com/Multimedia/Audio_Cards/Xonar_Xense/#specifications


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## twicksisted (Jan 9, 2013)

I dont understand... 

You purchased it in January 2011 and setup an RMA request on Dec 12th. (11 months)
The Standard warranty should be 12 months and if it breaks before that time and you get an RMA within the 12 months then they should cover it.

EDIT: Diddnt see that it was bought in 2011... Doh


Anyways the setup isnt useless... the input/outputs on that soundcard are 1/4 jacks and you can get convertors to step down the size of the headphone jacks to smaller if need be. There are also a lot of soundcards that will work with that size jack (look at maudio cards for example)


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## Bo$$ (Jan 9, 2013)

ouch, these situations are terrible. Generally they are excellent when it comes to these things. Have you tried return to retailer?


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## Fire488 (Jan 9, 2013)

I have received a PM from an ASUS rep that will look into it for me. 
It does say on Newegg on the product specs that it is covered for 3 years too;
Look here: ASUS XONAR_XENSE 7.1 Channels 24-bit 192KHz PCI Ex...


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## AsRock (Jan 9, 2013)

If you know for sure the fault is with the headphones i would not be surprised if it was just a simple broken wire.


Although from whats been posted it sounds like you been miss informed about the warranty and that it should be possible for a RMA.  I would give newegg a nudge too just to see if they step up and best way i found to do that is though their chat which can be saved for your convenience.


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## Fire488 (Jan 9, 2013)

AsRock said:


> If you know for sure the fault is with the headphones i would not be surprised if it was just a simple broken wire.
> 
> 
> Although from whats been posted it sounds like you been miss informed about the warranty and that it should be possible for a RMA.  I would give newegg a nudge too just to see if they step up and best way i found to do that is though their chat which can be saved for your convenience.



I will reach out for Newegg and see what they can do as well. Thanks.


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## Fire488 (Jan 11, 2013)

Yesterday I called Newegg since I have not received a reply from ASUS's Scott Billings. Newegg checked out my product and said that according to their information the Xonar_Xense should be covered for 3 years. They will get back to me either today or tomorrow. 
This morning I received a call back from ASUS and it was Robbie. He told me that the product was out of warranty and that I was misinformed by Newegg and that there is nothing that ASUS could do and that the headsets that were modified by Sennheiser for ASUS are no longer available anywhere. They are a modified version of the Sennheiser PC350's. I am extremely upset about this and hope to hear something positive from Newegg on it. 
I called Sennheiser and asked if a standard PC350 headset would suffice with adapters to connect to the card and they said that stock PC350's use different spec's out equipment. Basically they are not as good as what I had. I'm glad I got that confirmed at least.
I have my Sennheisers back now from ASUS and I may try to see if i can locate the problem myself after i hear from Newegg. 

You know what makes me so angry about this? This set up cost near $300 and to not have replacement parts after 2 years is completely unacceptable. I purchased almost $9,000.00 worth of PC equipment from Newegg in the last 5 years and much of that is parts from ASUS. I told the rep that and he could care less. Sad.


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## FreedomEclipse (Jan 11, 2013)

Fire488 said:


> I purchased almost $9,000.00 worth of PC equipment from Newegg in the last 5 years and much of that is parts from ASUS. I told the rep that and he could care less. Sad.



Welcome to reality. While they may call you a valued customer, behind closed doors they could really care less and will continue to laugh their way to the bank while they leave you in the shit. your error is spending almost $9,000.00 on Asus gear.

though to be fair, their support department used to be a lot better then this but over the years its just gone way downhill.


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## Bo$$ (Jan 11, 2013)

FreedomEclipse said:


> Welcome to reality. While they may call you a valued customer, behind closed doors they could really care less and will continue to laugh their way to the bank while they leave you in the shit. your error is spending almost $9,000.00 on Asus gear.
> 
> though to be fair, their support department used to be a lot better then this but over the years its just gone way downhill.



Uk consumer rights ftw


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## FreedomEclipse (Jan 11, 2013)

Bo$$ said:


> Uk consumer rights ftw



Yeah - tell that to fire488 who either lives in Canada or the U.S.


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## Bo$$ (Jan 11, 2013)

FreedomEclipse said:


> Yeah - tell that to fire488 who either lives in Canada or the U.S.



they have it really bad there. i feel sorry for them, but then again we pay more for our stuff as a result.


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## Fire488 (Jan 11, 2013)

FreedomEclipse said:


> Welcome to reality. While they may call you a valued customer, behind closed doors they could really care less and will continue to laugh their way to the bank while they leave you in the shit. your error is spending almost $9,000.00 on Asus gear.
> 
> though to be fair, their support department used to be a lot better then this but over the years its just gone way downhill.



Yeah I'm not naive, but I guess I was hoping for loyalty.


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## Fire488 (Jan 11, 2013)

FreedomEclipse said:


> Yeah - tell that to fire488 who either lives in Canada or the U.S.



I live in the US.


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## Fire488 (Jan 11, 2013)

Bo$$ said:


> they have it really bad there. i feel sorry for them, but then again we pay more for our stuff as a result.



Actually, I have it pretty good and have much to be thankful for. If you were being sarcastic I'm sorry. LOL


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## FreedomEclipse (Jan 12, 2013)

Fire488 said:


> Yeah I'm not naive, but I guess I was hoping for loyalty.



Good customer service/support is not be confused with 'loyalty'. 

loyalty is for the consumer who swears by or endorses a brand/manufacturer or product while they get nothing in return for banging the drum and promoting the parties that are involved,

Its pretty fucked up how Asus just fobbed you off. despite Newegg saying there was a 3 year warranty.

and whats even more funny is that even on Asus's website it claims the Xense comes with 3 year warranty



> ASUS audio device will carry 3 year limited warranty in most territories. ASUS product warranty is based on the serial number printed. Certain countries will offer extended warranty coverage.



Keyword being *'MOST'* territories.

You should call into their call center or email them and pretend to be a new customer who is interested in buying a Xense and doesnt already own one. Query them about their product specs first - configurations etc etc then turn the conversation around to warranties and find out which territories apply. Because Im 99.9% sure that it should apply in the U.S as there is such a large consumer base.

once you get confirmation. contact the rep who was dealing with your support claim and quote what the other rep said and also whats shown on their website.

If this rep still refuses to co-operate then you have a court case on your hands if you so wish it.

Asus will settle out of court as it would take them too much time and money to train up someone to fight the case.


Dont let them fuck you about and stonewall you,


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## Fire488 (Jan 12, 2013)

FreedomEclipse said:


> Good customer service/support is not be confused with 'loyalty'.
> 
> loyalty is for the consumer who swears by or endorses a brand/manufacturer or product while they get nothing in return for banging the drum and promoting the parties that are involved,
> 
> ...



I know the difference , but I guess I am just disappointed in them. 

I will NOT let up on this as I have plenty of time. This is wrong and needs to be addressed. ASUS is wrong and if i let it go it ruins it for all of us. I won't let you (or myself) down!


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## Bo$$ (Jan 12, 2013)

Fire488 said:


> I know the difference , but I guess I am just disappointed in them.
> 
> I will NOT let up on this as I have plenty of time. This is wrong and needs to be addressed. ASUS is wrong and if i let it go it ruins it for all of us. I won't let you (or myself) down!



Personally it would say to me that newegg made an error with the warranty info. I do think it is poor of both companies to have acted the way they have. You also got to understand they don't sell super huge quantities of $300 sound card combos, so it isn't that suprising they dont have stock, but still to claim out of warranty is poor


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## AsRock (Jan 12, 2013)

Fire488 said:


> I know the difference , but I guess I am just disappointed in them.
> 
> I will NOT let up on this as I have plenty of time. This is wrong and needs to be addressed. ASUS is wrong and if i let it go it ruins it for all of us. I won't let you (or myself) down!



Well i hope some one stands up and owns up to their error..  Maybe i missed it did newegg get back to you ?..

Although not many people but there on BBB for the same things
http://www.bbb.org/greater-san-fran...-international-in-fremont-ca-16870/complaints


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## Fire488 (Jan 12, 2013)

Bo$$ said:


> Personally it would say to me that newegg made an error with the warranty info. I do think it is poor of both companies to have acted the way they have. You also got to understand they don't sell super huge quantities of $300 sound card combos, so it isn't that suprising they dont have stock, but still to claim out of warranty is poor



Newegg as well as ASUS says that the product is covered for 3 years. Newegg has been awesome and helpful through this. As for ASUS, they have been arrogant and uncaring about their customer and a good customer at that. ASUS is hoping that i will go away, but they are very wrong. I can be relentless in the name of what is right.


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## Fire488 (Jan 12, 2013)

AsRock said:


> Well i hope some one stands up and owns up to their error..  Maybe i missed it did newegg get back to you ?..
> 
> Although not many people but there on BBB for the same things
> http://www.bbb.org/greater-san-fran...-international-in-fremont-ca-16870/complaints



Newegg did get back to me and they are very concerned about this issue. Newegg also claims that the 3 year warranty is not a mistake and that ASUS is wrong. I'll keep you posted.


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## Fire488 (Jan 12, 2013)

I am going to add another complaint to the BBB and see what happens. I have all the facts, including recorded phone calls with the permission of the ASUS tech.


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## FreedomEclipse (Jan 12, 2013)

well... Let the mudslinging begin. Its all about the 'he said' 'she said'...


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## crazyeyesreaper (Jan 12, 2013)

just another example of terrible ASUS support lol, waiting on RMA number 3 of my Direct Cu II 7970 TOP lulz ill probably never get a properly functioning GPU back. each RMA has resulted in a "repaired product" in worse shape then what i sent out lol.


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## kiddagoat (Jan 12, 2013)

I would see if you can get the headset back from ASUS.  I am an owner of the Xense set that you have and when I had issue with my cans cutting out I called Sennheiser instead of ASUS.  Sennheiser will send  you back another PC-350 but it will have the 3.5mm jacks and not the 1/4" ones.  

Sennheiser is wonderful to work with.  The main reason I bought the bundle when I did.


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## Norton (Jan 12, 2013)

FYI- after a little searching I found this contact @ ASUS that may help. His name has popped up on several forums:

Scott Billings
Asus Customer Loyalty
Email: cl-scott@asus.com

Not sure if anyone here has any experience dealing with him on resolving an ASUS hardware issues....


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## Fire488 (Jan 13, 2013)

Norton said:


> FYI- after a little searching I found this contact @ ASUS that may help. His name has popped up on several forums:
> 
> Scott Billings
> Asus Customer Loyalty
> ...



That is the contact that wrote to me on another board. I did PM him and he will get back to me on Monday. (I hope)


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## johnspack (Jan 13, 2013)

I think it probably depends on the price of the product too.  If my $220 senn 330s crapped out,  I probably should just throw them away.  If I had 360s or better,  I could see getting help.  I'm in Canada,  so it's an ever bigger pain in the butt for returns.  Only US company that gave no hassle at all about that was Corsair.  It pays to buy expensive.....


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## OneMoar (Jan 13, 2013)

the HD350's are nothing special at all id go so far as to call them overpriced (certainly not 300 dollors priced )
you have plenty of far better options in the sub 150 dollar market
http://www.amazon.com/dp/B004ZG9TMA/?tag=tec06d-20

http://www.amazon.com/dp/B000CMS0XU/?tag=tec06d-20
everybody raves about senheiser but generally there overpriced 
and if you are on a tight budget you absolutely can not go wrong with these
http://www.amazon.com/dp/B0013P3ZOE/?tag=tec06d-20 don't let the price fool you these little jewls have quiet the following on headfi
I am not a fan of 'headsets' its far to easy to build/adapt a microphone to turn a pair of 'headphones' into a 'headset'


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## Jhelms (Jan 13, 2013)

More than likely a broken cable. As others have stated - standard jacks / easy to buy adapters. Find someone on head-fi that will repair them for you. Ok headphones, nothing special or awesome at all. Had owned HD380's and pxc350's (just sold the 350's) in that style. Would not be hard to mate up other headphones to that card or have sennheiser repair them.

Sucks that they failed, sorry to hear it. The lower end senns are in fact generally overpriced I can agree with that. Once you break into... their better cans, then I am pretty pleased with their prices. 650's are one of my favs and generally listen to the most.

Some cheap with velour pads. Bottom end may be light but will be super comphy for extended gaming. 
http://www.ebay.com/itm/Sennheiser-...5?pt=US_Computer_Headsets&hash=item4ac02d04cd

Adapters 1/8 to 1/4 adapters can be found anyplace.. even radioshack, frys, ebay... dirt cheap.
http://www.ebay.com/itm/Free-shippi...ablet_eReader_Accessories&hash=item2c672fae82


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## Fire488 (Jan 14, 2013)

OneMoar said:


> the HD350's are nothing special at all id go so far as to call them overpriced (certainly not 300 dollors priced )
> you have plenty of far better options in the sub 150 dollar market
> http://www.amazon.com/dp/B004ZG9TMA/?tag=tec06d-20
> 
> ...



Not to sure what the HD 350's are...I have the PC 350's that were modified by Sennheiser for ASUS. I have some very high end headphones that I use for music (like the ones you listed). They are NOT for gaming since they only produce stereo separation and do not do surround very well. The Sennheiser PC350's, with the help of the sound card and software, do produce separation and surround very, very well. Their sound quality in all areas of reproduction is headphone quality or better. They are headphones with a built in mic. 
I just feel that since it says on Newegg and ASUS's site that I am covered for 3 years that I should be covered.


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## Fire488 (Jan 14, 2013)

Garage1217 said:


> More than likely a broken cable. As others have stated - standard jacks / easy to buy adapters. Find someone on head-fi that will repair them for you. Ok headphones, nothing special or awesome at all. Had owned HD380's and pxc350's (just sold the 350's) in that style. Would not be hard to mate up other headphones to that card or have sennheiser repair them.
> 
> Sucks that they failed, sorry to hear it. The lower end senns are in fact generally overpriced I can agree with that. Once you break into... their better cans, then I am pretty pleased with their prices. 650's are one of my favs and generally listen to the most.
> 
> ...



I feel that it is in the inline mute switch and volume controller. I inspected the wire and it seems fine. 
I have not asked Sennheiser for an estimate yet. 
I have no problem spending the money on good cans either, but keep in mind I use these for gaming and regular headphones do not cut it. 
For gaming you cannot do better than the PC 350's for gaming. The modified version that i have is even better. I just want them repaired or replaced. 

I'm stuck with my son's XBox headset the Turtle Beach Earforce X11's and they absolutely suck in my opinion.


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## OneMoar (Jan 14, 2013)

Fire488 said:


> Not to sure what the HD 350's are...I have the PC 350's that were modified by Sennheiser for ASUS. I have some very high end headphones that I use for music (like the ones you listed). They are NOT for gaming since they only produce stereo separation and do not do surround very well. The Sennheiser PC350's, with the help of the sound card and software, do produce separation and surround very, very well. Their sound quality in all areas of reproduction is headphone quality or better. They are headphones with a built in mic.
> I just feel that since it says on Newegg and ASUS's site that I am covered for 3 years that I should be covered.



ASUS's RMA dept sucks its quiet-possible that they simply don't make that model or can't get one 
and protip surround over headphones is a cheap mixer trick its nothing special its nothing impressive and I would't use it if it was the last way to get audio into my ears on earth :shadedshu
and the only differnce between the Xense and the pc350 is they adjusted the gain level in the audio drivers meaning ANY pc350 is gonna sound exactly the same 
the PC350 isn't even good tho if you think its the best gaming headset you have ever heard ... then you need to seriously need to check out some higher end stuff
but if you insist here 
http://www.head-fi.org/t/406187/modding-the-sennheiser-pc350-headset


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## kiddagoat (Jan 17, 2013)

I love how this is a thread about RMA issues with ASUS and somehow has turned into a discussion about the headset, how's it alright/crap/bad/whatever, and no insight in the past 4 posts excluding my own about getting the OP some resolution.    

If you aren't helping the solution, you are part of the problem.

To the OP:  I just recently sent my Xense headset to Sennheiser and they are covering it under their warranty.  I would just get the set back from ASUS.  I wouldn't even mess with them.

Having to deal with ASUS on a daily basis for their laptops gives me all the insight I need into their customer service/support.  It is none existent.  They are really slow and lazy to reply to anything.  I have had numerous times where they take over a month to give part information.  RMA service takes 2-4 weeks.   Highly inefficient and just ridiculous.


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