Unplated copper spades/banana

On the conductivity scale, copper and gold are very similar and you won't hear an actual difference with the only useful testing (blind) but bare copper will tarnish and need to be cleaned periodically. 

Copper needs to be cleaned every 6 months or tarnishes  that’s why they are gold or rhodium plated 

I use COPPER spades and use DeoxIt (2 formulas are available, one for copper, and one for gold) and Stabilant 22 clean/condition them  once or twice each year. 

No big deal... 

On the positive side, taking the time to clean the connections gets me back 'into the details' of my system.  I use this time to check my TT parameters, outlet connections, speaker placement, etc.  

I once owned a set of inexpensive, platted speaker cables and learned a lesson -  avoid plating where reasonable to do so.

I use Viborg copper spades and I can hear absolutely no differences from the previous connectors.  None.  Zero.  But, I do like their look.

As I read all these posts, I can't help but wonder what the systems of the people posting are like.  If your system cost less than $10k, I'd be surprised if it would reveal differences in plating type or plated versus unplated.

I also wonder about the listening skills of those posting.  Do they have have a playlist of "system test" tracks that collectively reveal the major aspects of sound quality?  Do they have a disciplined approach to listening?

I'd like to hear from someone with a $250k+ system who is a highly skilled listener.