Klipsch Promedia 5.1's - Amp repair

Hey everyone.

I just wanted to give another thumbs up for Ebay member stpeteshepherd ([email protected]) (His name is Henry Koch) for a legit Klipsch ProMedia Ultra 5.1 amp cooling upgrade. Here is a picture of the work he did for me:

kpm.jpg


He doesn’t slap on a fan on the most critical part of the amp and call it a day…he actually replaces like 20+ components (Mainly resistors using higher capacity and better cooling versions from the default ones)

He was extremely professional and even wrote me up a whole page letter on EXACTLY what he replaced and what my amps temperature readings were showing for each individual resistor. He actually tests the system and sees what needs to get fixed or replaced.

I paid like $96 for the “full cooling upgrade” (I’m sure his price fluctuates depending on demand) which some may find expensive but that also includes return shipping and the dozens of new components he puts in the amp. It’s worth it in my opinion since he says he spends about 3 hours in total on the upgrade. Plus you’re going to be spending a hell of a lot more than $96 trying to get a decent Klipsch ProMedia Ultra amp again (if you can even find one anymore) that won’t burn out in a year or two anyway if you can’t battle it’s fatal overheating flaw.

Unfortunately it took him about 3 weeks to complete everything which I guess I could say is the only negative thing. It was kind of too long for me since my new gaming computer was collecting dust while waiting for the work to get done. I honestly don’t blame him though since it seems like he’s just a 1 man army and he gets A LOT of business so he’s usually always slammed / backlogged (which he let me know ahead of time before I sent it to him so I already knew what to expect which was nice)

Anyway I would give him a go if you want to preserve the life of your Klipsh ProMeddia Ultra 5.1. He doesn’t even charge you payment until after the work is done.
 
Sounds great, after finishing this post I'm going to email Henry and ask him about repairing my Klipsch 5.1 Ultra amp since it has developed a very nasty hum in the past 2 months or so. I've been ignoring the problem or just using my headphones but I think its time to finally take some action on this. I'm glad to see so much positive feedback for Henry on the forums here, makes me feel very safe about mailing off core components of my precious speakers.
 
Just recieved an e-mail from Elliott on Saturday the 16th saying.
Hi, sorry I missed your previous e-mails, let me get back with you this Monday 18 when I'm at the shop and I could check the status of your amp and let you know what happened.
Regards,
Elliott
Then stubled on this on Klipsch's site,
He's had my amp since end of July. Sent it back once after 2 months worse than it was. I sent it back OCtober 5th with a promised 5 day turn around this time and he's yet to respond to any emails. So he has my money and my broken amp, and it's been over 4 months. Just a note for anyone else going through this, I just got off the phone with the Cedar Hill Police Department. It's ~$200 to file a civil suit so not really worth it, but you can send Elliot a letter via certified mail demanding that he return your functioning amplifier, or your broken amplifier and your money within 10 days. At the same time, send a copy of this letter, along with who you are, contact info, description of your issue, and a copy of the certified letter receipt that you sent to Elliot to the following address: Cedar Hill Police Department 285 Uptown Blvd. Cedar Hill TX, 75104 Wait 10 days. Then if you haven't received your repaired amp, or your broken amp and money back, contact the Cedar Hill Police Department at 972-291-5181. Essentially you have to send this final ultimatum demand letter and prove that you did. Once he doesn't comply, the local authorities will get involved. I'll be sending out my letters tomorrow.

Hope this helps anyone in need,if he dosen't get back to me in the next couple of days I think I'll be sending him and the Cedar Hill Police Department a Certified letter.

prkay, what ever happened with your amp and Elliot? Planning my next course of action...
 
Hey guys, just wanted to let everyone know im sending off my amp today to Henry for repair and amp cooling upgrade. I was always hesitant to send anything to Elliott after hearing the stories of him not replying after 6 months with your money and amp at his house. I have read good things on here about Henry, and he seems like a very nice guy and was very responsive with his replies.
He says the current turn around time is 1-2 weeks assuming both BASH boards arent defective. Im very happy there are still other people out there who remember how these speakers sounded and want to get them fixed, and that there is a forum to keep track of this. I will keep you guys updated on how things turn out here in the next few weeks.
Also for a description of my problem, i have the Promedia Ultra 5.1 and it literally worked one day and not the next. No humming, no noise, nothing is coming through the speakers.
 
I sent my amp to Henry and he received it on Sept 30, and on Oct 10 he sent me a very detailed email about exactly what work he did. Total cost of the repair was $108 for me, which seems to vary depending on exactly which components he replaced. I just sent my payment and I have the tracking info for the return package which I should have next week. I'll update here once I get it and hook everything back up.

All throughout the process Henry was very helpful, quickly answering any questions/concerns I had. It was a nice comfort that he didn't ask for payment until the repair was completed.
 
Got my amp in today and after hooking everything up they work perfectly! These things are definitely going to get a good workout this weekend. Its been quite some time since I've had working speakers, and even longer since they have not had an annoying hum, but I think they sound better than ever. Hopefully with the higher quality components and the cooling fan installed, they will last a decade or longer from this point.
 
Just wanted to post my first follow up. My amp was shipped out exactly one week ago, Tuesday October 18th and was recieved by Henry on October 20th. I just recieved a followup email from him early this morning Tuesday October 25th, stating the work he had done in a very detailed manor, and the cost which is $106. I will be sending him the money today so he can ship it out and will do one more after i recieve it and test the system. So far Henry has been absolutely amazing with everything involved in this process.
 
Can you please post either contact info for Hanry or how to get ahold of him so others like me can get my speakers repaired
 
Great thread :)

I currently have a set of 5.1 Ultras which work great with no problems. I've had them for about 4 years now, it was easier for me to buy this new set off ebay (with local pickup) than haul my original set of Promedia 5.1s across the country after I moved.

I have long been aware of the heat issue for these speakers and usually run them at lower volumes (but also because I don't really need to go much louder than I do). Typically I set the volume to 35 (out of 80) and usually to 45 when watching a movie because for some reason 5.1 sound in movies seems quieter than it does in games, etc.

Anyway, given that my 5.1 ultras are working fine now, is there any benefit to sending in my amp to someone like Henry? I'm thinking if I can get it "refreshed" with new components and also install upgraded cooling, that it would ensure I don't run into future heat problems. Or is there not really going to be a difference? Part of me wants to upgrade the cooling now, while there are still people around who do it, so I can count on many more years of reliable use, but part of me says "if it ain't broke don't fix it"

Re: the cooling fan that gets installed, is it audible at all? Doesn't it interfere with airflow patterns inside the sub which would make it sound worse? Seems kind of strange to put a fan inside a subwoofer, but at the same time it is probably the most effective upgrade you can do for the amp cooling.
 
Great thread :)

I currently have a set of 5.1 Ultras which work great with no problems. I've had them for about 4 years now, it was easier for me to buy this new set off ebay (with local pickup) than haul my original set of Promedia 5.1s across the country after I moved.

I have long been aware of the heat issue for these speakers and usually run them at lower volumes (but also because I don't really need to go much louder than I do). Typically I set the volume to 35 (out of 80) and usually to 45 when watching a movie because for some reason 5.1 sound in movies seems quieter than it does in games, etc.

Anyway, given that my 5.1 ultras are working fine now, is there any benefit to sending in my amp to someone like Henry? I'm thinking if I can get it "refreshed" with new components and also install upgraded cooling, that it would ensure I don't run into future heat problems. Or is there not really going to be a difference? Part of me wants to upgrade the cooling now, while there are still people around who do it, so I can count on many more years of reliable use, but part of me says "if it ain't broke don't fix it"

Re: the cooling fan that gets installed, is it audible at all? Doesn't it interfere with airflow patterns inside the sub which would make it sound worse? Seems kind of strange to put a fan inside a subwoofer, but at the same time it is probably the most effective upgrade you can do for the amp cooling.

I did the same thing with mine even though it was working. He does the same thing - replace components that are likely to fail or look like they're about to fail. He also reduced the price since he didn't have to fix anything that was broken. A+ guy to deal with. The fan is very low rpm, you can't hear it.
 
Can you please post either contact info for Hanry or how to get ahold of him so others like me can get my speakers repaired

Just take a couple minutes and read if you want them fixed that bad. I had to read through pages and pages to find the contact for henry but its on here, and sadly only about 6 posts up from mine at the very front of that persons post. Either way im done ranting, his email is [email protected] and his name is Henry Koch.
 
Just take a couple minutes and read if you want them fixed that bad. I had to read through pages and pages to find the contact for henry but its on here, and sadly only about 6 posts up from mine at the very front of that persons post. Either way im done ranting, his email is [email protected] and his name is Henry Koch.

Thank you for the info!
 
I did the same thing with mine even though it was working. He does the same thing - replace components that are likely to fail or look like they're about to fail. He also reduced the price since he didn't have to fix anything that was broken. A+ guy to deal with. The fan is very low rpm, you can't hear it.

Yeah in his report on my repair he said he fixed my primary problem, which was a nasty hum. He then replaced several components which are failure prone and lastly one or two other things that were showing their age. I also asked for the cooling kit (he nicely ties it into the power supply for the amp so it turns on/off with the speakers) and makes no noise.

I also for the most part listen to my speakers at a lower volume but recently I have been playing them a bit louder and thus probably sped up my amp's demise. It might be a good idea to get it worked on if you want to keep them for a while, I have no plans to replace these speakers anytime soon.
 
Well i received my amp back yesterday, hooked everything up and everything worked great. I sent my amp out and received it back working in 1 week and 2 days. I highly advise anyone wanting pro media repair to talk to Henry. He is a very nice and a very legit guy. He lets you know every step of the way whats going on. Extremely fast turnaround in my case, fairly priced for the work he does and i believe he has a passion for doing it. 11 out of 10 for Henry, thank you sir for what you have done from a proud, and now working again, pro media ultra owner.
 
OK - Mine just died for a second time (last time was about 6 years ago.) It['s the whistle/hiss/pops-crackle sounds coming thru. It works in headphone mode (bypassing the amp.)

I called Klipsch and they suggested I call Sybesma's Electronics. So, I called them and they said it would be $150 to fix my amp, not including any shipping. If they can't fix it for some reason, they keep a deposit of $55 for a bench fee.

fter reading this thread I see that it's more or less in line with what people are paying with Henry or whoever, but I don't want to do that again...

I'd like to fix the amp myself, if possible, being pretty handy with a soldering iron.

Has the problem part been identified? Can we just pick it up from an electronics shop?

I'll admit I haven't read the ENTIRE thread, but I plan to...

Edit: After read this thread, I believe the repair is beyond me. Now looking at getting an amp for $100 or less that will drive all of these speakers.
 
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Well I have the hissing sound and have had it for about a year. I tolerated it for about 2 months and then put them in the closet. I couple months ago I looked on here and played with the amp and couldn't find any issues. If the amp is on and playing music and no SATS are even attached I can hear "music" coming from around the BASH board on at least the board that the BASH are soldered to. What are the first couple steps I can take?

Thanks!!
 
So I'm thinking about buying a used ultra set that "works" and getting it modded by Henry -- do you guys who have advise for/against this idea?
 
So I'm thinking about buying a used ultra set that "works" and getting it modded by Henry -- do you guys who have advise for/against this idea?

I bought mine used and they were good for about a year before they failed with the "hiss"

I would go for it.
 
Just curious what volume level(s) you guys run your speakers at typically? Is there a clear association between running at higher volumes and greater failures?

Since I have the DD5.1 decoder preamp, I usually set my speakers to a particular volume, usually a little louder than I need, and then use the remote control on the preamp to attenuate the input down to the appropriate level, because the control box is not near where I sit and it's convenient to have remote control of the volume. Usually I will have my volume set at 35 or 40, sometimes going to 45. A few times I have been up to 50, maybe 55 but not that often. Mainly for special movie nights or something. On the preamp I usually run between 0 and -5dB attenuation. Sometimes I end up going lower like -10 but if I do that usually I will just lower the speaker volume by 5 and then decrease the attenuation.

I also leave all the balance controls at zero except the sub which I dial down to "-3" as I feel the bass is a little overwhelming if left at the default setting. My sub is located near an outside wall, so in the winter I think it gets a little extra cooling as well since the area near the outside wall is always a little colder than the rest of my apt. :) But it's more because it's the best spot for my sub not because I specifically put it there for the cooling.
 
Well this is my first post and a unhappy one at that.

Im the latest victim of elliot-tronics. Six weeks ago I sent him my Amp to be repaired. Told me that there would be a 21 day turn around. 21 days came and went. My emails were ignored. I opened a claim with PayPal. He answered then. He stated that if I didnt close the case with PayPal he would refund and keep the amp. He did just that. If he had been smart and interested in his business, he would have made things right by repairing the amp and sending it back.

I found this forum looking to find info about this creep. I wish I found it earlier. I would still have my amp.

Well that my loss with elliot-tronics. So now I need another amp to replace the one elliot-tronics stole from me. Wonder if Henry has one already modded for sale?
 
This Elliot guy must be some kind of asshole. I sent my amp to him earlier this year, I had lost the front channel sound. The 21 day turn around was a joke and I also had to contact Paypal to get him to respond to any emails. Lucky for me I did get my amp back and he did repair the sound on front left and right speakers, but the center channel does not work. I contacted him about it and he said it worked when he tested it and I never heard from him again.I think he should be tarred and feathered and sent back to Mexico on a rail.
 
Just curious what volume level(s) you guys run your speakers at typically? Is there a clear association between running at higher volumes and greater failures?

I usually have mine dialed to somewhere between 30-45 for listening to music and 50-55 for movies. That being said, just before my speakers developed a nasty hum I had just moved out of an apartment complex and into a house I'm renting with two other roommates and didn't feel the need to hold back for fear of annoying the neighbors. I frequently dialed the volume and sub levels much higher than I had in the previous few years (50-60 and +5-10 on the sub) so that might have brought on my problems, or it could have just been coincidence.
 
Well this is my first post and a unhappy one at that.

Im the latest victim of elliot-tronics. Six weeks ago I sent him my Amp to be repaired. Told me that there would be a 21 day turn around. 21 days came and went. My emails were ignored. I opened a claim with PayPal. He answered then. He stated that if I didnt close the case with PayPal he would refund and keep the amp. He did just that. If he had been smart and interested in his business, he would have made things right by repairing the amp and sending it back.

I found this forum looking to find info about this creep. I wish I found it earlier. I would still have my amp.

Well that my loss with elliot-tronics. So now I need another amp to replace the one elliot-tronics stole from me. Wonder if Henry has one already modded for sale?

Add me to the list of people Elliot has scammed. He's had my amp since August, and won't respond to my multiple emails and phone calls. I will be opening a case with PayPal today, in hopes it causes him to respond to me. At this point I want my amp and money back, and not to have to deal with this clown anymore.
 
I should be getting my Ultra set on Monday and have sourced a DD-5.1 module sans remote, have already ordered the fan upgrade kit from eBay through stpeteshepherd (Henry). Thankfully I am confident in my soldering skills and would rather not go through some of the stress some of you guys have expressed with Elliot. I plan to add the cooling fan and also upgrade the common failure components that Henry recommends. Henry's been quick to ship and respond to e-mails so far, hoping I will end up with a reliable set!
 
An update to my situation:

Yesterday I called and left Elliot a voice mail demanding my amp and money back, or I would get the authorities involved. I also sent the same message via email. Lo and behold, Elliot responded back to me saying my amp was fixed, and he would be shipping it back to me today, and also providing the tracking number. I'm cautiously optimistic that I will get my amp back soon. I'll update when there's something to report.
 
Well the dd-5.1 pre-amp/processor is not going to work for me, the sub only works beyond 120hz so it basically never plays. The fact that I don't have a remote doesn't help either!

Picking up a new cheapass soundcard (Xonar DG).
 
This is why I just threw my Klipsch Promedia 4.1s away when they hit the bucket and refused to buy anything from Klipsch ever again.

Trying to spend the time to repair it or send it to someone to get repaired is too much of a hassle.

People are not good and generally everyone is willing to fuck you or give you shitty customer service. Customer Service anymore just doesn't exist.
 
Well the dd-5.1 pre-amp/processor is not going to work for me, the sub only works beyond 120hz so it basically never plays. The fact that I don't have a remote doesn't help either!

Picking up a new cheapass soundcard (Xonar DG).

What color(s) are the 6 LEDs on the front of your DD5.1? If it's green then you won't hear much (any) bass. You want all 6 to be red (although if you're running DD5.1 info through it, I found that in order to actually receive the LFE channel, 3 of the 6 need to be green (front L, R, and SW) otherwise you don't actually get the LFE data. Either my unit is faulty like that or it's a bug in the design, as the manual states nothing about that. It took me a long time to figure that out, but now everything sounds great.

I heard rumors that the Logitech Harmony remote works with the DD5.1, with downloadable files from their website. I actually found somewhere what universal remote "codes" the remote used once, I think it was like NEC device #285, subdevice 8 or something like that. Basically if you can find a remote that covers that device ID, you can use it with the DD5.1. (edit: yeah you can look up devices on the logitech website, and indeed the promedia DD5.1 is listed there, so that's an option re: remotes)

Otherwise yeah, the remote is pretty key to the operation of the DD5.1, since there is only a single power button on the unit itself. Word to the wise for anyone buying a DD5.1- it's nearly worthless unless it comes with a remote. Don't be suckered in by ebay scammers who never disclose all the details on their faulty junk! In fact if he did not disclose this to you I'd argue that you should give him a neg. feedback and try to get your money back.

Ruahrc
 
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This is why I just threw my Klipsch Promedia 4.1s away when they hit the bucket and refused to buy anything from Klipsch ever again.

Trying to spend the time to repair it or send it to someone to get repaired is too much of a hassle.

People are not good and generally everyone is willing to fuck you or give you shitty customer service. Customer Service anymore just doesn't exist.

I have to disagree. Henry Koch as mentioned many times earlier in this thread was more than courteous in his repair efforts of my Klipsch 5.1 Ultra amp. After only one simply reply via email I was confident enough to ship off my amp for repair and in less than two weeks times I was returned with a working beter-than-new system which should prove to last longer than the original system, and at a very reasonable price.

I would rather assume the best in people and be disappointed occasionally rather than assume the worst in people and be proven wrong frequently. Perhaps the military has skewed my view of people's personalities...
 
Henry Koch is the best. I got mine back from him yesterday, and everything is great. I apparently had a problem that he's never seen before, and yet he did an excellent job. I loved his attention to detail. I sent my amp to him all wrapped in bubble wrap, but when he sent it back to me, he had added extra packing. When I examined it, he had a piece of cardboard on top of the fan, and on one side, it said "remove", and on the other, "discard." Furthermore, he gave me a complete rundown of what he replaced and why he replaced it. It took just shy of a month round trip (apparently a bunch of people all decided to send theirs in at the same time mine made it to him), but it was worth it. I was a little on the high end of the price quote, but I'd do it again (and again, my problem was a little stranger, and he had to replace some other components). I'm now pounding out great bass! :)
 
Another update to my saga with Elliot:

2 weeks after Elliot said he'd send back my fixed amp and provide me a tracking number, I still had nothing. I then sent him another email in which I told him to "quit playing games and deliver what he had promised". I also said that I have kept a copy and record of every communication I had with him, that I didn't think it would be hard to prove fraud and that I had no problem contacting the police department in Cedar Hill. I gave him a week to ship back my fixed amp, or I would call the police.

That day I received a Fedex tracking email. Yesterday I received my amp. It was packed in what I had shipped it in, and looked good. To my surprise it worked great. No problems whatsoever. The hum that was once there is gone. It's obvious Elliot worked on my amp, and apparently did a good job. But, after this experience, I'll make sure to keep Henry's contact info handy.
 
Just got mine back from Henry. He replaced a bunch of components (Sent it in due to them developing a loud buzzing noise on all channels) and installed a fan. Finally I can enjoy Battlefield 3 the right way!
 
Another update to my saga with Elliot:

2 weeks after Elliot said he'd send back my fixed amp and provide me a tracking number, I still had nothing. I then sent him another email in which I told him to "quit playing games and deliver what he had promised". I also said that I have kept a copy and record of every communication I had with him, that I didn't think it would be hard to prove fraud and that I had no problem contacting the police department in Cedar Hill. I gave him a week to ship back my fixed amp, or I would call the police.

That day I received a Fedex tracking email. Yesterday I received my amp. It was packed in what I had shipped it in, and looked good. To my surprise it worked great. No problems whatsoever. The hum that was once there is gone. It's obvious Elliot worked on my amp, and apparently did a good job. But, after this experience, I'll make sure to keep Henry's contact info handy.

That's the problem. Elliott used to be a decent guy who had fixed a lot of amps. But sometime around early 2010, he turned into a scammer. Just more proof that someone is only as good as their last sale, and you never know just how creepy the people you talk to are, behind that computer.

He took his time to repair mine, but I was one of the lucky ones; I think, wow, I don't even remember anymore...if it was early 2009 or 2010--must have been 2010, but I think he sent me my amp back in under two months. Took a bunch of emails and calls, though, and he sure had a lot of strange excuses. But he did send it back, and it worked fine, so I had recommended him as "slow but reliable."

Then only a few months after he asked me to spread the word about his work, so he could get more business, I started seeing the complaints. But he still seemed to send most of the amps back until the end of 2010...

It's really sad and detestful when people could be an asset to the community and then try to destroy it instead. If Elliott the "Adult" couldn't handle the workload, he should have done what Homie did back at motherboardrepair.com years ago, stopped taking new orders, fixed all the amps on the to do list, and then called it quits. NOTHING wrong with that. But the fact that someone gets a fast reply, who needs their amp fixed, and then nothing, makes me want to shoot the guy in the middle of the heart, with a fragmentation bullet...
 
Just wanted to chime in here....

I have my old 5.1 amp sitting here. It was in the middle of being repaired years ago, using what was lying around, so it has heatsinks everywhere. The BASH module area (with the large coils) received new FETs, and the power supply received a couple resistors (not the best solder job at all).

Long story short, it's been sitting for years, and I ended up using the sub cabinet/speakers for a different project, leaving the amp sitting in my closet. I don't need/want it anymore, and the likelihood of me getting to it within the next year or two is slim to none (I have many other projects ahead of it, from cars to building a bass amp). I just want to get rid of it, and instead of stripping for parts (I have more than enough already), or tossing it, I'd rather let it go for cheap ($25 + shipping). I know this isn't specifically a for-sale thread, but I thought I'd mention it.

It still needs to be repaired; specifically the sub was working very briefly, and then would quit. Satellites work beautifully, and sounded much better after the new FETs were put in (all uprated chips). It is a bit rough looking since it has a rough-cut heatsink on the back (1/2 of a Mackie power amp heatsink), as well as a Socket A heatsink on the Bash section, and a Slot1 heatsink on the PSU. All the heatsinks made a difference in temps, and didn't seem to mess with the sub (the 10 minutes I had it working). I believe the main issue lies in the power supply output, for anyone who repairs these.

Send me a PM if you wish, and I can take pictures of and send them. Oh, and the control pod (1st revision) would be included for another $10. Nothing is wrong with it. It's just time to clean out the closet, and get a little extra cash for bills.
 
I have to disagree. Henry Koch as mentioned many times earlier in this thread was more than courteous in his repair efforts of my Klipsch 5.1 Ultra amp. After only one simply reply via email I was confident enough to ship off my amp for repair and in less than two weeks times I was returned with a working beter-than-new system which should prove to last longer than the original system, and at a very reasonable price.

I would rather assume the best in people and be disappointed occasionally rather than assume the worst in people and be proven wrong frequently. Perhaps the military has skewed my view of people's personalities...

Its not like you have to assume anything. Just go off of others bad experiences. The problem with people in this thread is they are holding onto something that generally shouldn't exist.

The promedia line has been faulty for how long? At least with the Xbox Microsoft took steps to improve it and hopefully Klipsch has as well. I as a consumer don't appreciate getting fucked out of money and knowing that their are other speaker choices out there I don't care how good the Promedias are if they break. So I understand if someone who had an Xbox break on them feels the same way.

If you figure how much of the time you spent shipping it to someone that could be a scammer than you are better off cutting your losses and spending your repair money into a separate system.

And this is coming from someone who thinks it is stupid to have a separate system in the first place. But I would take the inconvenience of a receiver with speakers than a shitty company like Kplisch selling shit computer speakers.
 
Ill be uploading some photos of my klipsch speaker set up which is slightly broken.
If any of you guys could point me in the right direction for repair that would be awesome.
Something DIY would be better.
 
so is there anyone else that can repair Klipsch problems? My promedia v400 sub isn't powering on. I was originally gonna send it to the same guy but from what I see, I shouldn't.
 
so is there anyone else that can repair Klipsch problems? My promedia v400 sub isn't powering on. I was originally gonna send it to the same guy but from what I see, I shouldn't.

um in the thread there is someone by the name of henry koch
 
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