@jw944ts - At this point in time the best material for speaker cable connectors is Silver Plated pure copper.
Furez makes some very nice Silver plated copper spades and KLE Innovations make great Silver plated pure copper banana plugs
Why Silver plated?
- they do not OXIDIZE like pure copper does
- But Silver does tarnish, however, the tarnish is extremely thin and can easily be remedied by simply reseating the connector
- silver is a better conductor than copper, so silver plating a connector improves its conductivity
- the expense of silver makes solid silver connectors less affordable
- I have had silver plated connectors on my cables for several years and there is very little sign of tarnish
There is a growing demand for UP-OCC copper in cables so the connectors are sure to follow. UP-OCC copper improves on the conductivity of Pure Copper.
You could look into replacing the Binding Posts on the amp and speakers with Silver plated copper, but be sure they are Silver plated copper, brcause there are some silver plated brass parts out there.
The different materials of the cable connector and binding post can make a noticeable difference, but it would only be noticed in the extremely fine micro details.
I have not bothered replacing my binding posts - it’s too much trouble finding posts that fit nicely. And it could impact resale value.
I have not noticed any issues using the gold plated Binding posts with silver plated Conectors
Hope that helps - Steve