I think it's a bit harsh to call people who believe in this product dumb, or unintelligent. We as humans might just be gullible to one thing or another, and audiophile mysticism is just one of the charming subjects.
But is there anybody baffled by the one thing I am? I've seen this countless times before but it's always the same, a product gets measured/tested more properly/debunked -> people who believe in it come and defense the validity of said product -> they never ever even expect a counterargument from the company of said product.
Just how and why does that happen? If this was other industries people would have FOUGHT for an explanation. If the local KFC one is eating received widespread rumors about how their chicken source is unhygienic and unsafe, or they are actually overusing MSG in their recipes, I'm 100% sure KFC as a brand will do something to control the damage and attempt to shut down the bad news in order to save their reputation, no matter if it's true or not.
This has rarely been the case for audio products.