Jack wrote:
Most folks don't have memory lapses that prohibit them from remembering how a component sounded a few weeks back.
This is an interesting topic that deserves some serious attention, and I hope I can effectively present my thoughts here without sounding argumentitive.
I really wonder how anyone can make a definitive comparison between Sound A and Sound B several weeks after initially hearing Sound A. After all, the changes that occur during break-in happen incrementally, and the listener experiences them in small increments over extended periods of time that would, it seems to me, make the perception of these changes nearly impossible. I certainly don't have any scientific evidence to support either side of the debate, but I suppose I side with those who attribute some of the perceived changes to a listener's acclimation to the sound of gear over time in addition to actual measurable changes in the electronics. Then again, many folks claim to hear a point during the process that is essentially an "Ah-Ha!" moment at which a clear change becomes apparent.
Like most things in life, there is most certainly a murky point in the mist where both sides meet, but can seldom, if ever, be identified.