Amp Internal Wire

What came first. Amp manufacturers using expensive wire in their amps or too many audiophiles thinking they were the next Einstein? That should answer your question.

MIL16878 is PTFE coated. You can buy 16878 inexpensively. I have used it before because I needed the voltage rating for a given total diameter. It was not very expensive. Silver plating would add cost, but is overkill compared to tinned.

Standard irradiated PVC wire that is not exposed to the sun or very high temperature is going to last 50+ years. Using a heat gun that goes up to 300+ Celsius is not very representative of normal operation. For tube amps, sure, why not, if you are worried about wire routing and heat. It is < $1.00/foot even in a 100 foot spool/18 awg. Not going to break the bank on a DIY.

If you can't tell me the Q and self resonance of those fancy foil inductors then you are buying them for looks.  Educate me on why a foil inductor is better.  There was no need to illustrate my point, but thank you for doing it. There are a lot of things that matter in audio. There are a lot of things that do not. Audiophiles for some reason are far more obsessed with the things that do not matter than the things that do.

God, grant me the expertise to recognize the variables that are not sensitive, the acumen to change the ones that are, and the knowledge to know the difference.

Like I said, @holmz , all  yours. Crazy posts draw out crazy people.

@rickysnit Bryston was one of the few amp vendors also to state that aftermarket power cords are a total waste or money, so take that what you will. That does not impact their business model at all.

Rhetorical question but why would one install a high end exhaust system in their vintage car to gain a few horse power and enjoy the job, knowing that Ford or Toyota wouldn’t install that level of exhaust quality out of the factory - engineers know there is better, but there is a business decision.

Except they would and do depending on the vehicle. A high performance exhaust system made in high volume is but a small price adder and if it is increasing performance then it should be increasing MPG, highly saleable today. However that performance comes with trade-offs. The exhaust gives higher RPM horsepower, but usually gives up some low RPM torque. It likely results in a more peaky HP curve hurting how the car feels, while obviously being louder, and in real world driving, does not improve the MPG.

There are probably better analogies even for electronics where you could ask yourself why they don't use silver wire. I will leave those up to you.

and when we might compare this to pieces of copper Appliance Wire (AWM) used in the stock amp, not too far off from Home Depot material, I would bet fairly heavily Mundorf will be a change for the better.

What do you think the PCB traces that carry the majority of the signal are made of? What is the dielectric of the PCB?  I would take that bet without hesitation. HD used to sell something equivalent to AWM1015. Maybe they still do.