Is a "dry hit" actually dry?

So, I was experimenting with my e1 tonight and found something I found intriguing. For me, the e1 is plagued by what I would usually consider "dry hits"- harsh, scratchy, etc. I thought maybe it had to do with the seal around the cup or the fact that I found some sort of silicon plugging part of the gaps in the metal post below the wicks. I cleaned, dry burned, had nice red coils and to test my theory I took a hit while this thing was bone dry...not a drop of eliquid or even water. I expected harsh, burnt silicon flavor, but instead....nothing. Slightly warm air, but no real flavor or harsh was at all. Tried this with a Vivi; same thing. Completely dry with a red hot coil I get no harshness whatsoever. So, my question, in theory, unless this has been answered before and I haven't seen it, is if a completely dry coil and wick don't give the harsh, scratchy hits we typically describe as "dry" then what could it be that does suddenly cause this once we add juice to the mix?

 

I agree with that as a general statement, however I think the saturation of the wicks is only part of the problem. I've gotten burnt hits from wicks that were thoroughly wet when inspected. There is also a continuum ranging from slightly burnt flavor to harsh, painful hits. For me, the Phoenix bc produces a burnt flavor at higher voltages as opposed to the e1 which produces harsh, silicon tasting hits at higher voltages. The wicks in the e1 were clearly wet with juice. In my opinion this shows not only issues with the saturation of the wicks, but how well those wicks are delivering juice to the coil, if there are hot spots in the coil, etc