Bhagwan, you are very knowledgeable and experienced in this field, so I present to you only a layman's opinion. In my opinion, the D&Ds are most certainly not being lazy, but perhaps not innovative for lack of a better word?
Take the art world for example. A niche world where the price of entry is often high - high enough that it is unaffordable for a normal salaried person (aka middle class). Actually, scratch that since it is no longer true due to the dramatic increase in wages. Art is now affordable to many, but the many will still not buy it because of mentality reasons, but in some cases, because of lack of access and awareness.
This aspect is being completely missed by the hifi world. In fact, you can call it a missed opportunity. To continue with the analogy, there are no equivalents of art exhibitions, no avenues where ill informed enthusiasts can really experience good sound that literally opens their mind and their ears, or can learn and unlearn more about the field. The few demo opportunities that one has in a typicaly hifi shop hardly scratches the surface, and even then many times one has to navigate other issues such as needing to take prior appointments, lack of time and patience on the dealer's side, snob factor depending on how humble one's budget is, etc.
Perhaps, you are right. Normal people are full of ego and pre-conceived notions too, and don't want to learn. I don't pretend to know the answer. But if Jehangir art gallery and many others can host art exhibitions routinely, with free walk-ins, why can't the audio world do similar activities? After all, most audio equipment actually costs far more than average paintings (not by the big names though).
For the record, by dealers, I mean all commercial parties involved that make a profit from this. And that includes manufacturers or distributors or dealers.
