US$100,000 is an arbitrary, and, therefore, kind of stupid threshold. I am far from the cable "denier." I think cables are fixed parametric equalizers (credit to Phil Ressler) and they make our systems sound different. But I choose to spend relatively little money on cables.
The Gryphon Pendragons six years ago cost US$160,000. That is almost as much as my beloved Bellini cost in 2001. Yet, for me, it is the best loudspeaker in the world that I have heard. And in today's terms $160,000 barely gets you a Wilson Audio Alexx V. This may sound ridiculous to you, and I totally respect you if it does, but I actually think the Pendragons were a relatively decent value.
And there's no "status" in Pendragons, because almost nobody even knows what the hell they are, and nobody knew what they were when I auditioned them. And nobody knew what they were when I ordered them. They are very far from a status symbol, very far from a Veblen good, such as a well-known Ferrari.
I found very little of value or substance in Steven Stone's article. Mostly I found capricious envy.