Quote Originally Posted by GMichael
I think a large part of it is that wire is such a passive component. If you take a look at a set of speakers from say Legacy, you can see that you are getting a lot. The price may still seem high, but at least you are getting lots of drivers and very nice wood work. It may be a little harder for some of us to see a $10k set of bookshelf speakers and think they are worth it though. That takes first hand listening time.
But wire? It just lays there. All it does in conduct electrons to and fro. It's not that hard. There are no moving components like a speaker (or a watch, or car...).

Can $35k speaker wire be worth it? Maybe. But it's a little like saying that I have a $500 toothpick. Why the heck would something so simple cost so much? A $5k watch? Not for me. (I don't even have the cheapo watches) But with all those moving parts and fancy gizmos? Well...???
Problem with the argument of how simple its function is, is that the last thread I saw that complained about overpriced HiFi was about the Musical Fidelity Titan; a $30K Power Amp... And people were complaining just as much about the price of the amp in that thread, as persons in this thread are about cables...

The issue is people have little regard for HiFi in general... But other bling bling in the form of expensive cars, jewelry (including "precision timepieces"), clothes and houses are considered to be worth it somehow....