What audio aspect are you knowledgeable in?

i have been messing with hifi since my late teen’s in college in rhode island, with a part time job at tech hifi to make pocket money and play with cool stuff -- been a music lover, heard many a live performance, professional and amateur (freshman roomie was a music major, saxophonist), supported jazz organizations formally and informally during my working life, in various capacities

i always try to make note when at very good venues for live performances, make mental notes of what that sounds like... tonal balance, how sound expands with loudness and how it quiets, is there imaging? is there a sound stage?, how does it decay at trailing end of notes?,what does an unamplified singer sound like? what do sss’s and tttt’s sound like? what does the leading edge of a soprano sax note sound like, what do grand pianos on stage sound like, what does a grand piano in a small jazz room sound like, how does an acoustic bass note engage the room, hit your chest ... how is it different when the music is mic’d and amplified?

then when messing with gear, i try to get recreate those sonic remembrances... rule out gear just gets it wrong

Jack of all trades. Master of none.

untangling multiple runs of speaker wire

I am an equal opportunity music and gear lover. Personally, I do think that I have a critical ear and have been to enough live unamplifed shows and audio gatherings to have had the pleasure to hear the very best and worst that this hobby has to offer. I know intimately what my system can do and I am able to make comparisons with other gear that I have listened to, just to hear and guage where the given systems are better, worse, different etc. There are just too many quality components available that none of us have the possibility or resources to try them all, but we can try to listen to as many as we can. Even live music sounds different from evening to evening.  So many variables. Enjoy the process 🎶

I stick with stuff I've heard and what I've learned from trial and error over the years. I have no special expertise just personal experience.