The interesting thing, and the reason why I feel quarreling about speaker break-in is unnecessary (do not confuse "quarreling with "discussing"), is that, whether it is the speaker's sound that changes, or our perception of the speaker's sound that changes, we are ALL going to run our speakers for xx number of hours, and this phenomenon, whatever it is, is going to occur, with the result being, basically, the same, regardless.
One thing I would think that both sides of the discussion could agree on, is that no final assessment of a speaker's quality should be made without spending a reasonable amount of time listening to them. Like you, Sean, I can't make an educated assessment of a speaker based on a 20 or 30 minute listening session in a store. For that reason, I really appreciate the internet direct option of listening under controlled conditions, in MY room, with MY equipment, for up to 30 days. Doing so, substantially reduces the possibility of being influenced by factors over which I have no control, such as my own biases and anxieties, or a salesperson telling me what I'm hearing, etc.
