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
