Randy-11, I think that the courses required would be commensurate with the opinion that is given.
If one says that a certain speaker sounds thick, then that is an opinion that only requires two ears.
If one says that a speaker sounds thick because the box is made of solid maple with dovetail joints, I would expect that person to have a background in material science or experience in speaker design and the measurement techniques applied to loudspeakers and be able to look at aberrations in the measured impedance curve of the speaker indicating box resonances and perhaps measuring the vibrational characteristic of the box as well. Otherwise the conclusion is not only idle speculation. It is idly speculating on the hard work - often the life work - of the designer.
Likewise if you think a cartridge sounds bright, I’m down with that opinion. If you ascribe that brightness to the ruby cantilever in the cartridge you should be able to back that up. Perhaps every cartridge that you have heard with a ruby cantilever sounds bright. That still might not mean that it is, in fact, the ruby cantilever that causes the speaker to be bright. If you make that assertion you should have some technical understanding of the dynamics of cantilever design.
What I'm saying is, if you ascribe something to a specific technology, or refer to something as a "breakthrough" it would help to have a grasp of that technology from a technical standpoint. Otherwise it is simply parroting the manufacturer's claims.
But this stuff is thrown around all of the time. As an example, I don’t have much experience with digital hardware, having only had ten, or so, pieces in my own system. Hence you won’t find me commenting on digital hardware, except perhaps to say that I enjoy my Rega Planet. I am, frankly, unqualified, having neither the depth of experience to make recommendations on specific models, nor the technical wherewithal to be able to engage in technical discussions of digital hardware. I don’t think that stops many here.
Kind of like your post in this thread:
https://forum.audiogon.com/discussions/amp-upgrade-advice/post?postid=1489435#1489435