Different Types of Spade termination ie gold plated copper, or other metals combos

Though meaningful I wouldn’t so much focus on the plating on the spades as much as the overall sound of the cables.  I’d also wait until you get the new equipment and it’s broken in and then see what sound characteristics you’re looking for from cables at that point and go from there.  That’s what I’d do anyway.

Hello @soix, how do you do?
I have no reference to compare, this is my first tube system and my first experience with mid fi audiophile cables. but temporarily using thrifty Belden will do the job in the meantime. 

I may use the spades on the AQ Rocket a few months after I've brought my new system together, I'm on a budget.  If I was to listen with the cables I have, which are decades old west Penn 14 AWG straight bare wire, how would I know where my baseline really is, which way I want to go.
I am not going to be changing components  or interconnects often, if at all, the spades I buy will go to the AQ Rocket when I can. I'd appreciate if I could get some knowledge to help me choose wisely.  I feel like I should just upgrade to something better than I have to get familiar with the system before I buy the Rocket 44 or 88 and let my system burn in. The cables I'm using are a tad short anyway now, when the new system gets here they'll be very short.. I do appreciate your opinion now and I see the wisdom in what you say if I had more money I would experiment but I'd like to get there with some community knowledge and opinion.

I really want to know about the base metal underneath the gold or silver plating also what other platings are available, what differences? What possibilities besides copper core, and which brands use superior solid spades before plating?

I know it's a lot and it's detailed, but I am OCD with my guitar amplifiers too
My friends call me, Joe Tone or BicycleJoe.

Thanks a lot for your post.

I have been through a few cables and find that I consistently like ones that use OCC copper. I am currently using a mix of WireWorld and Acoustic Zen. 

Go with soft.  Copper and gold are among the best choices.  They are excellent conductors and soft enough to really let the terminals grip.

Rhodium on the other hand is a terrible conductor and far too hard to keep a strong grip.

IMHO, besides simply solid copper spades, the WBT spades with spring loaded ends are the best.

Good bananas are however acknowledged by all knowledgeable and refined audiophiles to be the universally superior terminal.  << tongue in cheeck>>

Copper spades, gold plated or not.  Or, just clean what you have and keep enjoying your system.

IACS is an acronym for International Annealed Copper Standard, which was established by the 1913 International Electrochemical Commission. (More Information on the IACS.) The conductivity of the annealed copper (5.8001 x 10⁷S/m) is defined to be 100% IACS at 20°C .

FWIW, Silver is about 105% IACS, so like 5% more conductive than copper.  Common coatings to reduce corrosion include gold (76% IACS) and rhodium (38% IACS). I doubt I could reliably hear the difference and use mostly pure copper and/or gold-plated copper.

Here is a possibly interesting thread.

What EriK said.