There is much enthusiasm over this topic and I find interesting the apparent need to pick "sides" and for one side to be right and the other wrong. My beliefs are based on my system and experience, and I don't want to prescribe what works for others. I do believe that with "luxury" items, such as boats, exotic or classic cars, swimming pools, high end homes, etc. the higher the price range, the more money there is to be made and the higher the mark-up on stuff.
Perhaps manufacturers of high-end/expensive products need a higher mark-up per item because they don't have the "mass market" buying their goods in large volumes. They also have a reputation for luxury, quality and exclusiveness to uphold since it is part of the overall marketing strategy and what makes those products desirable...not everyone can own it. We have all heard about products that "didn't make it" because they were underpriced for the targeted market. There are examples of high prices with any luxury item so if someone who can afford it, wants to spend boat-loads of money on cables, for whatever reason, I would rather hear about how those cables improved their system than to read a bunch of arguing about the percent markup and whether it was stupid or smart to purchase the cables in the first place.
Another observation, it would be nice for people posting in a thread like this to take the time to post a virtual system, so readers can understand the context of their opinions relative to the gear they listen to.
