Are audiophiles still out of their minds?

DNM Reson ICs still my personal favorites. Minimalist design sounds great and can only cost so much. As long as lack of shielding is not an issue for any particular case.

Pangea AC14 power cords for source devices are built like a tank and do quite well for the price.

Still not feeling it for anything more than a basic good quality digital cable of suitable length like one might get from Amazon Basics for $10 or so.

I find I  can also live with most any decent quality speaker wire once all the rest is good.  Not that they all sound the same by any means, I just prefer to tweak elsewhere when needed.

In general I agree start with good stuff that works well together and tweaks naturally assume a lesser role.

Business models of companies selling products with appeal to only a small market of the wealthiest individuals (there will always be some) have to charge more and make a larger profit per unit. Its basic math, pretty irrefutable.

But there still has to be a value proposition. Bling factor is usually a big part of it. Performance need not necessarily be that much greater than most things, if at all. Its all in the perception of value. Sticking that wire in a really nice case built to withstand a nuclear blast helps. Unfortunately the wires won’t be in the case when the bomb goes off. :^)

Also its been pretty well established I think that bling factor of audio gear does not work on "hot chicks" nearly as well as cars, jewelry, you know things that they actually care about.   So choose your bling wisely.