Your theory relies on nearly 100% of consumers having a priori knowledge about the quality of the product, sufficient to decide if they want to purchase it or not without having actually tried it yet.
Also, if your theory was true, then why does any product anywhere have a less than near-perfect satisfaction rating? If consumers can have magical knowledge about AirPods, why can't they have the same knowledge about all the other products they purchase?
And finally, the sound quality isn't bad. It's better than earbuds. If you're comparing it to a high-end pair of headphones, sure, it's not going to be as good, but if you're comparing it to products in the same category as AirPods then it holds up pretty well.