Source for high-quality 3.5 mm stereo phono jack (PC mount)

I've been searching for this for about three years now, talking to distributors, looking through catalogs and web sites, and looking at equipment. Like you, I'd be willing to pay a substantial price for it. AFAICT, there are none. That is, there are no 3.5mm jacks that are anywhere close in quality to what you can easily get in a 1/4" jack.

For instance, neither Switchcraft, Neutrik, nor Rean make a 3.5mm stereo jack. (Switchcraft claims to, but based on the technical drawings and samples I've received it looks like they actually buy bottom-of-the-line Taiwanese product and reship it; don't bother.) Schurter, of all people, make a 3.5mm jack that looks like the Rean stuff; but it is not dimensionally compatible with a 3.5mm stereo plug, it's for some different sort of plug that I've never encountered.

If you must use 3.5mm, then your best bet is probably something like the Kobiconn fully-enclosed jacks with threaded bushing, as exemplified by Mouser part # 161-3500. Of all the jacks I've tried, these seem to have the best construction, best manufacturing consistency, and the most solid contacts. Interestingly, it seems like the manufacturer name changes every time a new catalog comes out, but the construction style, technical drawings, etc. remain exactly the same - at Mouser, even the part number remains the same.

By the way, if you possibly can, use something with a threaded bushing. I can't tell you how much gear I've fixed that was mechanically secured only by the solder joints, meaning that after a couple of years of plugs being pushed in and pulled out, the solder joint cracks and the equipment becomes intermittent. It is very important to mechanically secure the jack in a way that does not transfer stress to the electrical connections.

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Amen! And that goes for power supply connectors too.