Jarring sound & clarity lost

[Gobes]

Folks, not sure what the issue is, but I hear a jarring noise around the drum beats and lost a lot of clarity.  Any thoughts about how I could resolve this issue would be much appreciated

[Paul Birkeland]

How old is your kit?  Is it both channels?

[Gobes]

It's about 3 weeks old.. Yes both channels.. it happens at the bass notes, very small volume increase in volume. 

[Paul Birkeland]

This could be something as simple as a cold solder joint that is a poor conductor.  Maybe you could make a recording of what you're hearing?

[Gobes]

Thank you Paul, I went through the entire amp again, there was q bit of a cold solder at the RCA input. I re soldered, I however still get a jarring sound not as bad as before but just a jarring sound that i would like to address.  The tubes are black? May be I replace them? If yes could you advise the tubes you would recommend and from where? Or could it be an issue with the transformers? Thank you and appreciate your help

[Paul Birkeland]

Thank you Paul, I went through the entire amp again, there was q bit of a cold solder at the RCA input. I re soldered, I however still get a jarring sound not as bad as before but just a jarring sound that i would like to address.

  Can you make a recording?  I can't really imagine what a jarring sound would sound like.

The tubes are black? May be I replace them?

Can you post a photo?  If you said your tubes were white, I would say to replace them.

Or could it be an issue with the transformers?

This is exceptionally unlikely. 

There's an enormous tendency for folks to blame tubes and transformers when their amp isn't working, but most frequently it's solder joints.

[Gobes]

Hi Paul, there are 2 dropbox links
1. T .wav file. The recording was from my cell phone from a SENNHEISER 6xx https://www.dropbox.com/s/nvl9qtm3pi6i21e/ampissue.wav?dl=0
2. The picture of the tubes. https://www.dropbox.com/s/vjdshoz3kf1217z/20210301_204041.jpg?dl=0
Thank you and appreciate your help

[Paul Birkeland]

I can hear you clipping the amp in the WAV file, what speakers are you using?  The tubes look fine in the second photo, though they don't look like they are pushed in all the way.  Your power transformer also appears to be missing.   Your plate chokes also aren't properly mounted. 

...so what does the inside look like?

[Gobes]

I was using SENNHEISER 6xx headphones. Do you not hear a cracking sound? I can push the tubes in for sure.

[Paul Birkeland]

I heard the amp clipping.

I see a lot of build errors without seeing inside the amp.

I'm not sure what more I can offer.

[Gobes]

Sure, I understand and respect that as that (as this is your expertise) I can send you the inside of the Amp. At the end of the day I am tyring to solve the issue and respect that you are trying to help me with it!

[Paul Birkeland]

It's also possible that you're overdriving the headphones.

[Doc B.]

It's difficult to judge from a recording because we can't hear how loud the headphones are playing, but to me the recording sounds like you are way overdriving your amp and your headphones as you turn the volume up. When you turn it back down in that recording it sounds just fine. Use caution, you can damage the HD6XX with the output swing from a SEX amp. They are only rated for a few tenths of a watt.

The plates of those tubes are indeed supposed to be black, if that is what you mean about the tube being black.

Aside from the fact that the power transformer has been improperly installed it's hard to know if there is anything wrong with the build since we can't see the underside assembly. I would suggest rechecking the voltages and noting if any are off at the same time that you take pics of the underside. If the amp is running not at the proper voltages there could be distortion that is not normal. But it sounds to me like it's probably fine and you have just cranked the volume up farther than the amp or headphones want to go.

[Gobes]

Thank you Doc and Paul. I appreciate your input. As mentioned before you guys are the experts and respect that. The reason I bring this issue up as just a week ago, the clarity was fantastic. Suddenly, something changed. I have taken some additional pictures.  As mentioned I love the amp, but it's just different from last week. May be something I might have missed. I have attached futher picks for your references. Thanks again and I respect your time in helping me solve this issue.

[Gobes]

More pics