My guess is, right at this moment, there is a group of people, mostly young people, who are just getting into the hobby. They have to base their purchase decision on something, anything, and since 1) they have no clue what sounds good or not so good (remember, they are just getting started with the hobby), and 2) visiting a local dealer is so 20th century, even where they still exist, they turn to the internet. And in the absence of actual listening, and most importantly, lack of good vs. bad sound perception / experience, they turn to…. you guessed it: numbers. Stuff you can read and see (I.e graphs) in the internet. They are just being rational, nothing to blame them for. That’s where Amir M. comes in play, along with his militia disciples. It helps that what he preaches is cheap, typically China cheap. Everyone wants to save a dime here and there, yours truly included. I am not blaming anyone for trying to save money.
Thus popularity of ASR, and even other (caricature of) sites like Gene’s site. Amir M., like it or not, is winning this “war”. A very sound and effective marketing strategy for the cheap China toys he peddles. It is most definitely working.