$10k Speaker Cables??????????????

You could look at 10k cables as all being relative.
I use $1200 cables on 4k speakers so roughly 30% of the cost of the speakers.
If you step that up it would only equate to a set of 34k speakers approx.
Now granted that is a little out of the average audiophile pocket but to some it is a price they would pay for their speakers so why not 10k for their cables?
It is then up to their ears if it was worth it or not.

I love to spend at least 10k for a great cable.

I seem to remember a set of used speakers for sale here at Audiogon for ~$450,000. I also seem to remember that each speaker had its own built in amplifier. That means you do not need amps/monoblocks or high dollar speaker cables, which really makes them a bargain.

I assume it also means that those of us who have $50k speakers with $10k cables just have no idea what really good equipment sounds like.

Of course the usual response seems to be "Well, I heard a million dollar system at a show and it didn’t sound any better than my $xxxxx.xx system." ;-)

OP asks "when will the madness end." It will end when everyone is as smart, savvy and knowledgeable as most of the "naysayers" on this forum. It will end when audiophiles "get" that when they spend exorbitant amounts on audio accessories, they are primarily concerned, not with the quality of their music, but with what their equipment says about them... to other naive beholders.

E.g.: no one buys a Rolex because it tells time better...because it doesn’t.

The answer: cryogenically treated 🐈💩.