How much does volume matter when breaking in amps and cables?

Isn’t it pretty to think so? Look, even IF one manufacturer comes to the show with a completely broken-in component, a speaker or amp or whatever, which they actually don’t because they want to show their latest model, and one that’s not all banged up, they cannot necessarily control who else they exhibit with, you know, the guy who provides cables, the guy who brings the Turntable, the guy who brings the CD player, power cord, etc. They aren’t that coordinated, trust me. The best laid plans of mice and men oft go awry. 🐀

True. What you are hearing is not break in. Maybe tweaking as the show goes on, crowds, changing speaker positioning, your ears adjusting to the environment etc. 

Only if you say so. 😛

Geoffkait you should not treat aberyclark with such distain for telling you the truth. Your ears are indeed having trouble adjusting to the environment.

Try this. Wear earplugs for about 3-4 hours straight. Pull the plugs out and listen to your system. With your ears halfway rested, your system waill sound much different than you are use to. Same if you wore no earlugs cutting the grass for two hours. Chances are, one is attending an audio show out of town. Maybe travel was noisy, airplane cabin pressure or city altitude. Hotels are generally busy and noisy. Most likely one’s ears have to adjust for something different.