A lot of the "high end" stuff has no bells OR whistles- they look at anything more than input jacks, a source switch and a level control as 'extravagant and if it's not stupidly expensive, it's crap. Whether it sound better is up for debate. At one point, there was a comment that the perfect amplifier was "a straight wire, with gain".
Any attitude that comes with a piece of equipment, whether for its design, brand, model or price, is the problem of the owner. People who sell snootiness annoy me and IMO, they're liars & frauds. I know some and try to avoid them.