I think there are a few reasons for it. Personally, I feel that the way Linn and Naim have marketed and promoted their products is borderline dishonest and certainly manipulative. I try to point this out to even up the playing field a bit. If people want to buy Naim, or any other brand, it's a free country and I don't care but I would at least like them to go in with their eyes open and understanding that there are cheaper alternatives.
Both Linn and Naim are targeting lifestyle buyers these days. Just like Rolex re-positioned itself in the marketplace using advertising and product placement, Linn and Naim want to be hi-end brands bought by the well heeled who value perceived quality and social status over actual performance. I care about the music and value so I don't respect that. I want people to have great sounding music and systems which are satisfying, not get suckered into a never ending cycle of dissatisfaction, frustration and expensive upgrading.
And you need to understand that the latter situation is exactly what Linn, Naim and their dealers want. They pretend otherwise but it's a lie. If you are genuinely satisfied with a product, you don't change it. Customer satisfaction is of no use to a Hi-Fi dealer.
Translation: You bought into a brand you didn't like the sound of and all this crap is you trying to cover up for the fact that you didn't trust your ears. You may claim to want people to have great sounding music system, but only if it matches your definition of what that is. Newsflash - people will trust their ears to tell them whether they are happy with a system or not before buying it, they're not muppets unlike....