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

In which case Doug has it right. The reader inferred something from Doug’s post. (I doubt Doug implied he had nothing more to offer than the average hobbyist, so the reader must have inferred that.  Or so Doug implies, anyway). 
You are implying Doug doesn’t know the difference between infer and imply. Doug can infer from your post that he does, and you don’t. 

I missed the post about the stinky cables. I cant imagine having to go through something so terrible. Did you experience any long term psychological problems?

Thank you Douglas, very daring of you to publish that here. I like people who are willing to expose themselves to ridicule. My experience agrees with you whole heartedly however, there is one problem. An anecdote does not a study make. This is an opinion piece. I believe your opinion is correct but that is only my opinion. The "numbers" are not large enough to be able to draw a conclusion with certainty. It is a start for those with influence to come forward with these opinions. The manufacturers are loath to do it out of fear they might scare away market share. They tend to support the mythology.

There are people who sincerely believe they hear improvements in sound quality coming from various tweaks and break-in. They deserve a solid explanation for this result but, when you try to explain the plasticity of human hearing and audio interpretation you lose them or I lose them. I am not the best at explaining these things. Perhaps you could do an article entitled "You Only Think You Are Hearing What You Hear."  

An interesting read, Doug. I don’t doubt your observations but with a sample set of 1 (or 2 counting the 2010 "burn in" article) question the validity of your conclusion(s) as general truth applicable to all systems/listeners. I do admire your courage though!

Note - My (now somewhat redundant) comment made before reading mijostyn’s response. Pretty much in agreement with him...and in particular the closing, "You Only Think You Are Hearing What You Hear." Absolutely! Ultimately, what else matters?