I've compared the audio between 1.6 and 1.7, and I'm not sure there's any difference. Sometimes I hear a slight difference (but I think it's more of a hunch), and sometimes I don't hear it at all. However, I haven't touched the game's audio at all, so it seems strange to me that anything has changed. The only thing that has changed is that the game now runs on .NET Framework 8.0 instead of 6.0. It's possible that something has changed there, but, as I said, I'm not entirely sure.
Mmm; I have tried after a fresh reboot of the PC to assert it again, and quite surprisingly the "clanking sounds" isn’t there anymore! So it wasn't your game it seems, but something else! (tried multiple times, rebooting the game, before posting even... ) My Bad! Glad all is good now! ʕ≧ᴥ≦ʔ
By the way, do you plan on updating "Random Lady-pac" with the same great options any days? (holding my breath is only good for snorkeling! ʕ◉ᴥ◉ʔ haha)