You should really flip this on it's head: Why aren't niche companies like NAD/Rotel/Parasound/Lexicon/ etc bringing out high quality value priced gear?
You only have reason of being out of the loop for a while. 10 minutes of easy searching at:
Hometheatershack.com
AVSForum.com
HTGuide.com
or any of the other numerous sites would answer your question for you.
I didn't know Axiom/Emotiva/HSU/SVS/Acsend/Aperion/ et al where 'underdog' status companies
There is a lot of material here prior to the AH store. Again there is a search function at the top of the site. Have you been off of the internet as long as you have been out of the recent (5 years or so) audio market?
I don't think that is why there is a huge ground swell of good will towards these companies at all the major audio enthusiasts sites.
BTW, I don't own any Emotiva (Just Parasound and Adcom that I purchased used). But the one XPA-3 that I a/b'd against some NAD and my now ancient Crown amp left no doubts that they make a solid product.