Bare naked or...?

Silver and copper are very different. Silver oxide is conductive while copper oxide is not. That is part of the reason some people really tout silver. Even when silver oxidizes the oxidation transmits the signal very well. Copper oxidation does not transmit the signal there-by harming the signal. Cotton tubing is used on silver wire due to these characteristics. No one I know of would ever do this with copper wire.

If you want to use bare ends on copper wire that is fine. I simply use some de-oxit and then pro gold every couple of months to keep the ends clean.

Termination is no guarentee of less oxidation. Unless the wire was sealed off from oxygen when terminated it is oxidizing. If you have a cable that is a few years old with spades or bananas that are attached with set screws and you remove them, there is probably going to be some oxidation on the wire.

Understand. So has anybody heard of silver terminations? So far I don't think I ever seen any silver plug ever.
By what you say (and I appreciate your effort) terminations are usually in copper so them too are very prone to oxidation.
What if some terminations were dipped in silver by a jewellery?
Could that help?

Almost all copper terminations are coated with another metal that doesn't oxidate ie gold etc. There are silver spades out there, WBT comes to mind. You can see them at www.ramelectronics.net or of course www.wbtusa.com WBT also makes silver crimp sleeves that could be crimped onto bare copper wire to seal them in. You would still need a little solder on the end for an air tight seal. I would be interested in trying this myself.

That's exellent, thanks. Got a look at the website and they have got great products...

i believe litz wire is coated. does this mean it won't oxidize for a very long period of time.

alnog the same line, is it possible to coat copper wire with some kind of lacquer which will prevent oxidation but enable the wire(s) to pass a signal ??