Straight out of the box doesn't work.

I may be mistaken, but I believe the red indicator light on the front panel on the right side means the amp is operating in ultra linear. That is the normal default when powering on the amp. Try switching the amp to triode and see what happens. I expect the right red l may go out and a green light appears on the left? That’s how my Dialogue Premium operates, lights are just in a different location on mine

...I could be diplomatic, reading this....

Oh, WTH...

"Can you say 'SS'?"  Nice try....*L* ;)

(It's OK....I understand 'tube addiction'...)

a lot has been said already that needed to be said to the op

i would just add/reiterate the following points:

- the pl amps are extremely heavy and the weight (like many powerful tube amps) is very asymmetrically distributed... so its likely the amp in box (which sounds like you bought new) was dropped on its side a few times and hammered a good bit in transit

- pl amps ship with all the tubes in place... it is their packaging design... ok but hardly ideal... new pl amps have very tight tube sockets... the tubes may have been knocked askew but they should not ’wobble’ once reseated vertically - the fact the tubes were askew tells me the trip was a very rough one

- the front panel red light is ok... it denotes ultralinear operation, not a malfunction

- op did you try to fire the amp up, once tubes were properly re-seated in their positions... did it not play music? you didn’t say... anyhow, you are getting a new one, hope that one survives the journey and it will be different when you open that box

audio research is very high quality stuff... primaluna is very good, excellent value, but you cannot compare a mazda to a mercedes - the quality is just at another level - they are both built by talented makers to particular price points but one is just much higher than the other

you will hear the ref75 against the evo 400... you can tell us what you think... if the rest of your system is good, the answer will be fairly obvious (especially with the stock pl tubes in place)

good luck

As far as it being nostalgic re: hi-fi equipment not working out of the box, it’s bad nostalgia if it’s preowned gear, and it’s inexcusable if it’s new and doesn’t work. Never had new tube or solid state gear not work out of the box in 54 yrs. 

Try the Audio Mirror mono blocks. You have Vlad’s DAC. They might surprise you!