Call me materialistic, but looks were a factor in choosing my headphones and amp setup. I could have been blissfully happy with just my k701s and ****ty FiiO amp, but I wanted something more prestigious. When I saw how badass the WA6 looked with the Sophia, I decided I wanted one, as expensive as it was for the utility I would likely get out of it. Worse still, I learned the better match for my cans was nearly double the price, and I still didn't mind, I just hunted for a good deal on Head-Fi until I found one (I paid about MSRP for mine but it came with about $800 of tubes and was mint.) I knew that like mech keyboards, amps hold their value really well, so if I was ever in a bind I could sell it, but I haven't wanted to yet, and there's always someone wondering what the hell it is.
As far as the comments about Head-Fi et. al., of course you should take everything at face value. I do go over there for reviews on audio gear, mostly cans, but I always sift through several opinions to get the best idea possible, all the while knowing that these guys are all biased because that's what they like. Considering that we all are biased into mech boards here, its pretty easy to relate with that. If I was to come in here preaching that membranes are just as easy to type fast on as mechanicals, and that everything we like here is a ridiculous waste of money and we're slaves to SP, CClack and EK etc, we'd all be in an uproar over it. In the end, we're a community of enthusiasts, and so are they.
That said, some caveats:
Use monoprice interconnect cables until you have the discretionary income to the point of where you want to be able to point out your pretentious cables that look awesomer. For actual headphone cables though, you can hear noticeable difference by upgrading the cable if it isn't matched to the cans. For example with the Sennheiser HD800, the gauge of the cable isn't thick enough to carry the proper current for the bass response, so upgrading from the stock cable helps significantly. This is something I noted universally so I can say that with confidence. I hope that makes sense.
Snake oil is everywhere, but it is much more common in audio gear because its so preferential. However there is a distinction to be made between that and the mass market products like beats, which many owners will say are awesome. That makes me die a little inside because having compared them to what I have, I know that what I hear is not snake oil, and their opinions are simply ignorant of the truth.
I think the best way to make subjective things like audio component reviews more objective is to count them. If a lot of people, whom, while biased, have very discriminating tastes, all like something, then there's a pretty good chance that you'll like it too.