People claim snake oil for everything, everything sounds the same, you can't possibly hear difference in anything, to the point where people get harrased for even giving subjective opinions about what they thought of a device/cable/high res album.
The Snake oil/ABX/Everything sounds the same crowd has gotten way out of hand.
That's because in audio, more than any other field I can think of that doesn't involve claims of the supernatural, abounds in snake oil. And your Rolex analogy isn't entirely apt. The better question would be, do people on Roelx forums claim that attaching magic stones to them will increase accuracy? The answer, obviously, is no. But such claims have been made, and continue to be made, with regard to audio.
And something else you said gives me pause: Yes, people do try to squeeze the last bit of performance out of their systems. But that makes many of them vulnerable to snake oil claims. I am sure I am not alone on this forum in having the experience of falling for this nonsense when we first got into this hobby. Indeed, manufacturers of snake oil rely on the credulity and insecurity of audio purchasers, and exploit it to market overpriced, worthless junk. I spent a lot of money before being cured. And I could afford it at the time. I have seen people who couldn't go close to broke. So I say anyone who debunks such claims deserves a medal or two.
As for the tone on this forum, yeah, it can get snarky. I am certainly guilty of that myself, and I'm a repeat offender. A solution, of course, is to ignore and skip over any posts I put up. I won't know, and won't care. But I take your point. And I would note that on every audio forum I've ever visited, you will find this. Nature of the internet.