And the money spent has really no sane connection with reality.
I don’t disagree with you on that. Cost doesn’t necessarily correlate with performance. You don’t need to spend $20,000 on a power cable. I think that’s where the industry gets a bad name, especially when the manufacturer doesn’t provide any technical specs but just says “trust us.” I think it’s more so about gauge, geometry and material which can cost a few bucks. If you go try to make an RCA interconnect with high quality connectors, silver wire, good shielding, etc you may end up with a bill for $200. In that case I have no issues with a cable company charging $250-$300 for that cable if the material, labor and markup are justifiable.