Bare naked or...?

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 ??

Sure MrT, take a look at Speltz.

The idea of bare wire ends on speaker cables has really captured my imagination. It makes a lot of sense to me. Now to find a low-cost way to experiment...