What exactly is critical listening? Who does it?

It's just OCD man, pure and simple. Enjoy what you like and forget the rest. 

I've noticed that critical reviewers listen for the clang of the symbols as in 23 seconds into Mahler's 3rd symphony.

https://youtu.be/Xplx64LVENg?si=7DrIFtoJx5tV9E-P&t=23

Why are so many caught up in this insecure narrative that if you critically listen to music your not enjoying it. Do these people "critically" hear themselves lmao. Ok to demonstrate the ironic doofury it takes of such claims, the following must be true of these music purists. They still own a black and white TV, because obviously you wouldn't want to let an awesome modern picture distract you from enjoying your movie, or wait, they still use a flip phone because I mean who wants to hear the person on the other line with all the noise canceling technology to take away from the conversation 🤣, or how about those photos that captures an entire landscape as if you were a professional photographer, I mean how distracting from the enjoyment of experiencing a blurry photo. Why people bother to make this an issue reminds me of a bunch of grandma's in a knitting convention complaining about kids these days. Seriously everyone accepts and oodles over technology in every other field but someone made half the people so insecure about the word audiophile and what that must say about them, almost as if they are afraid it would be followed by "hipster". Anyways hope this helps put things in perspective for the self inflicted victim crowd. 

@bolong ...*G* Probably one of the ’enhancements’ one can apply that costs the least but shifts the ’eq’ within one’s head without redlining a credit card, tensing up over the potential damage of a shipped used component, or the cost of the ’X v Y’ of a new to you device....
I can admit to not having the budget to amuse self with esoterica; my ears absolutely require the aids I insert into my canals every AM...
If I’ve spent the equivalent of a Mac anything into that pursuit, it’s down to having my daily routines achieve some sort of bliss over hearing the bird song of that finch trying his best to find a mate. I missed that way too long over just having to fill the gaps of what was missed listening to a LP or a streamcast....

"Heaven is in your mind."  If if only on a conceptual level, since an afterlife seems like a wish while whistling when walking pass the graveyards.
Does your $100K setup sound better than my $2K pile of various ’n sundry?
Oh, perhaps.  Since it’s unlikely neither of us will have to enjoy/tolerate each others’ collection, it hardly matters in the long run.
Run what you’ve brung, and enjoy....or not.

I’ve better things to do than lose sleep over it....

...but my best to y'all, anyway...J