The "most foolish" loudspeaker tweak/upgrade ... is

Douglas,naturally we expect the best in wiring in great speakers.
Would you not expect the ultimate in wiring in a $225,000 speaker?

testpilot it's my understanding wire shouldn't be heard...

You know what he means...

ptss, if I were spending that kind of money on speakers I would be the one making the decision which wire was used internally, not the manufacturer. If the company didn't agree, I would move on. There are far too many fantastic speakers to let a manufacturer's restrictions stop the show. 

For someone with the means to do as they wished and with some understanding of how to assess cables it would make sense to conduct comparisons of the Von Schweikert proffered cable to determine whether it was as wonderful as advertised. For a cool quarter million dollar project I would expect the manufacturer to accommodate my desire to have a rigged crossover allowing swapping the cables for a listening session. I would bring three appropriate sets of cables and conduct my own session of music. 


The much vaunted Von Schweikert wiring might win, but perhaps not. I have Verastarr cabling (reviewed) inside the Vapor Audio Joule White 3 (reviewed), a custom build and it sounds mighty fine. So, that might be a pretty good option. Ones that might be interesting to try would be Purist Audio Design or Silent Source (reviewed). 

What experience do you have with aftermarket cables and what wire would you put into a $225K speaker? 

I personally don't see what all the hubbub is about paying more for better internal wiring. It's been offered for a long time by various makers and though they are in the minority, it's nothing new to decry.

If I had the disposable income necessary for a major speaker purchase, I'd naturally inquire about it even if the maker didn't publicly offer it. He would surely know about it having tried various wires as he tuned his speaker. It's a given.

All the best,
Nonoise

Sometimes the objection is simply a philosophical or moral one based on the idea that sound or a product has an absolute monetary value beyond which money is wasted or improperly spent. I have held such a viewpoint at times regarding certain products, and I'm sure many of the good people here also have this perspective. I believe that much of the disdain toward cables lies in this sort of thinking and not just ignorance from lack of experience. 

I hasten to add that I do not see myself ever spending near 1/4 mil on  a speaker, and unless I was enabled to give in charitable donations for both evangelistic and humanitarian purposes an amount representing multiples that value annually, or in the course of a lifetime no less ten times that amount - assuming persistence of the net worth - I would consider such an expenditure  selfish. 

It is impossible to know precisely the motivation of the OP, whether simply suspecting the value of the upgrade, or belittling the activity of improving internal wiring, when it is not disclosed. I have very strong feelings about cars; I will not spend what I consider aninordinate sum on a vehicle - I drive a Toyota Camry LE, a far cry in terms of performance from what I spend on audio gear. I would consider for my situation expenditures of tens of thousands more to be extravagant and unwarranted. Yet, there are people who see the extra features of a fine luxury auto to be nearly indispensable. One reason I eschew them is because I have almost no commute, so much less time is spent in the car. 

My point is that calling upgrades "foolish" in a post is provocative, which it seems was the point of the post, to stir things up. But, if there is to be any benefit in discussion we might expect some perspective on the post from ptss.