For Your Edification and Enjoyment re "Burn In", etc.

This comment. "I should not have gone back to your original article. Really a Peachtree component," and the repeated appeal to analog, confirms what I suspected initially.

I am finished with this discussion.

Just as I thought. Remember that I am presenting my points as opinions and possibilities not as scientific facts established through some sort of methodology. I never placed myself in a position of authority just as an experienced listener with valid opinions. BTW I have a friend with this Peachtree component as well as the D-5 (I think) speakers, I got them for his college-bound son.

Doug - (or anyone) would you do an experiment?  
Run “burned in” cable to one speaker, and a brand new version of the exact same cable to the other.  Invert the phase of one channel. 
Play a track in mono. In theory, shouldn’t there be silence?

if there isn’t silence, an explanation could be that the sounds from each speaker are different and therefore don’t cancel, therefore the cable differences are real. 
But, there are other explanations to discount. Maybe the reflection in the room are not perfectly symmetrical. So we can discount that by putting new cables to both speakers (or similarly burned in ones). Play mono out of phase again, and do we get silence now?

If we do get silence, then there is evidence that the lack of silence before was due to differences in the cables. 
If we don’t get silence, then we know any differences actually due to cables will need to be unpicked from differences due to the room. 
The noise in the room in the two scenarios can be measured (and listened to) and compared. We will then get an estimate of the relative effect of room reflection asymmetry as compared to cable asymmetry. 
Thoughts?  Mine are that in any home listening environment, the room reflection effect (and tiny variations in speaker build, etc) will completely dwarf any differences arising from cable burn in.   It would be nice to know though. 
First issue - am I right about inverting one channel of a mono sound resulting in noise cancellation?

bluemoodriver, while not an authority, I do not believe the presumption that flooding a room with two channels with opposing polarity will result in cancellation. Audiophiles have many times mistakenly played speakers that have one channel out of phase, and the result is not cancellation. I do not see how switching to mono will cause the sound to disappear, cancelling as with matter/antimatter. 

Perhaps my understanding is not nuanced, but I suspect this test will not do what is suggested. Those more knowledgeable than me may disagree and instruct.  

bobinwi,

You can call it science or psychoacoustics the truth is that there is very little in terms of scientific proof to support either side. The problems with blind tests are well known as are the manufacturers that make wild claims. Listen, decide for yourself and dont listen to any of the "experts". All of the inclinations conscience or not are just as present among the experts as they are among the hobbyist. But once you voice your opinion as an expert it is doubly difficult to go back and admit you were wrong.