Physical explanation of amp's break in?

I believe in "break in."

But, I also believe there is an emotional component to audio.

Your sense of hearing can change based on your emotions.

When you are stressed, certain frequencies can become subdued
while others come to the fore -- not a good thing if one is listening
to music and trying to hear the full range.

After purchasing a component, we often go through an emotional period. If one has splurged a little bit, bought an expensive piece of equipment, and any piece can feel expensive as one upgrades,
one can have unrealistic expectations, feeling that the new piece should be perfect, should feed the dog, make coffee, and make you feel like the musicians are giving you deep tissue massages
on their breaks.

Instead, because one is nervous and certain frequencies are
jumping out while others are subdued, the system can be extremely dissapointing. After awhile, you get used to the fact
that you spent the money, that the piece is not going to be healing wounds or raising the dead, and you go through a period of
acceptance. That's when your stress goes away and -- voila --
your new equipement sounds a LOT better.

On the other hand, you may have read that a number of "audiophiles" have used this particular cable and it made cardboard boxes sound like Wilson Watt-Puppies! In this case,
peer pressure over-rules any other stress and -- damn if you don't
plug those cables in and -- wow -- you can hear EVERYTHING!
Not only can you tell what kind of underwear the singer is wearing,
but you can even discern the brand of detergent in which they were washed -- you are ONE OF THE GANG!

What happens if one buys these cables and fails the underwear
and detergent test? Well, that's because the cales need to..... "BREAK IN!"

I believe some stuff does sound better after a break in period, but
I also believe there is an emotional element to all of this as well
as Maslow's hierarchy of needs. The need to belong can be intense, buyer's remorse is very real, the feeling that you were
duped into buying epensive gear can grab you like a pitbull once
you bring it home and listen with your stress altered auditory nerves.

Once again, I believe there *is* such a thing as "break in." I believe I have heard amplifiers change over the first few weeks
and they also sound better if you leave them on, never turning them off. But, I also believe manufacturers have become hip to the fact that buyers are often stressed by a new purchase and that, not only does the component "break in" but the buyer's ears return to
normal after a period of acceptance. And, this is just another good
reason to tell buyers to give the unit 300 hours to "break in."

Bottom line:

If you buy a new amplifier, give it some time before drawing a conclusion as to its sound. If you hear
improvement, it may be because it "broke in," it might
be because your ears returned to normal after a period
of stress related to buying new equipment, it might be
some combination of both, or it may be that there really was no change at all -- you just imagined it, were
influenced by the power of suggestion, peer group
pressure, or by the need to feel you made a good purchase. On the other hand, if you hear no difference,
it may be because you have tin ears or it might be
that you are the type of individual who isn't swayed by
emotions, stress, peer group, or any other kind of pressure.

Have I left anybody out?