I think one of the problems is, is that there are a number of chalatons in high end audio (as with any business), so those outside of high end will tend to focus on those, and paint the entire industry with the same broad brush.
I post regularly on the talkclassical.com music forums, and there is also a "protector of the audio uneducated" over there. He works at a recording studio in LA. He constantly claims, that $5000.00 is the most anyone ever has to spend on speakers, and that anything above that is a waste of money. He also claims, that room treatment will always make up for inadequacies in speakers. He's argued that a mediocre speaker will always sound better in a correctly treated room, than a very high end speaker in a normal living space. And that $5000.00 worth of multi channel speakers will always sound better than substantially more money invested in 2 channel.
Among his other claims are: all CD players/transports are comparable, a consumer level multi channel AV receiver will sound as good as any high end amp, there is no reason for any resolution above 44.1/16 bit.
What is his name; he sounds like a solid down-to-earth type of guy.