Pragmatic is the term I would apply to myself. I use hearing to assess capability, and then learn what I need to know or understand to delve into the underlying behaviours. I was curious why amplifiers a couple of decades were all incapable of producing competent sound at elevated SPLs, irrespective of the butchness of their appearance - and over a period of time, through research, understood the design flaws they generally all have. It's almost impossible for a conventional amplifier to behave consistently, because the design weaknesses keep being ignored.
I'm certain that your personal system has absolutely none of the flaws I hear all the time - that I would be able to try any of my test CDs on your rig, at any sane volume, and it would perform perfectly ...