Here we go again...
We have had numerous customers switch from cheap and ineffective intakes to the Vararam with great results. I even have a customer that is on his way here right now to replace his K&N with a Vararam. A couple weeks ago, he told me almost the same thing you just posted. Him and his neighbor both have almost identical trucks, and both had the K&N. They would always run side by side when they went out to play. The neighbor switched his K&N out for Vararam, and now beats him every time. That is why he is now on his way as I type this to come pick up his Vararam...He's tired of getting beat.
Did you not see the Dyno we did a month ago where the Vararam made 16 rear wheel hp over the Legmaker intake? The LMI kit is actually better than the Spectre kit because of the material used, yet Vararam was still a solid 16hp higher. I don't know how many track and dyno sheets people have to post before it starts getting through that it is not just hype and there is plenty of documented results to back up the claims.
If you have first hand results showing that a cheap Spectre kit will perform as well as a kit that actually forces air into the motor, then please post them up. Otherwise, comments like yours are simply "heresay" as you said.