I am an owner of a cable company that has done much research into different platings of different audio connectors. We have evaluated copper, silver, gold, and rhodium. The subjective listening tests were conducted with multiple participants on multiple, yet distinct, systems costing $150k+ each. A double-blind methodology was used on cables identical except for the plating used. We used scorecards collected and discussed only after the experiment. Surprisingly, all of the participants' notes tracked the same between one another.
We all heard that, yes, there is a difference in the sonic presentation between the different platings. After a while, we were even able to blindly guess the plating used just by listening once we understood the differences.
BUT, was it a night and day difference? No, it was not. We found that the test cables all sounded basically the same with only subtle, sometimes very subtle, changes to the presentation. Our specific impressions of the distinct platings were very similar to the Furutech findings linked in a previous reply.
Please do not confuse the conductivity of a particular material with musicality. Measurements are all well and good and do lead to better engineered products. However, we all listen with our ears and not with an oscilloscope plugged straight into our brain, so our ears should always be the final judge in ANY audio product.
Happy listening!
