Seriously though, I don't think trying to budget by price is the right way to go.
While cables matter, they are super subtle, sometimes bad, changes to a system. A higher price should not encourage you. Build your own if you want to start at the high end on a budget. Pure silver interconnects should be everyone's baseline, and you can get there in DIY land for a fraction of what you can in the commercial space.
https://www.partsconnexion.com/DHLABS-57225.html
If you start with those you are going to have a very very difficult time spending megabucks with commercial ICs.
While cables matter, they are super subtle, sometimes bad, changes to a system. A higher price should not encourage you. Build your own if you want to start at the high end on a budget. Pure silver interconnects should be everyone's baseline, and you can get there in DIY land for a fraction of what you can in the commercial space.
https://www.partsconnexion.com/DHLABS-57225.html
If you start with those you are going to have a very very difficult time spending megabucks with commercial ICs.