Spades or bananas

Bare wire is the choice within 2...3 hours of listening. After it covers with oxide film. How about to solder bare wires firmly to the binding posts? That will take care of such problem.:)
My choice is a gold-plated binding posts connected with gold-plated spades. Yes, it is more expancive than bare wire yet it's more convenient.
Any other combo (bannanas, spades covered with other metal than gold, bare wires, connection with different conductors) doesn't make any difference.

Re bare wires oxidizing and compromising the sound, I understand the theory, but it sure hasn't worked out in practice. I've used them this way for a year (at least) and for a while was periodically cleaning them with Kontak but couldn't detect the slightest difference.

I submitted a question directly to Ray Kimber at audioasylum with respect to bare wire (am using Kimber 8TC) and he clearly pointed out that once secured onto the binding post, the oxidization occurs but not at the point of contact. If it's ok with Ray Kimber, I figure it's ok with me and have been using bare wire connections at my speakers with very good results-a big improvement over the Deltron bananas (which are, granted, fairly cheap). I also switched at the amp end from bananas (Deltrons) to Kimber post master spades (a lot more expensive) with what I would feel to be worthwhile results. I just couldn't make the bare wire connection effectively at the amp (holes through binding posts too small), or I'd be bare wire all the way.

Funny, that nobody mentioned hardwiring the stuff. The old Quads for example, the predecessors to the 63, of HQD fame, had such horrible and flimsy posts,( as did the earlier 63s) that your best bet was to solder your speaker-cables (you had the choice of Fultons or later those marketed through Mark Levinson, the man, and made in Switzerland by the way, )right to the internal wiring, doing your best to keep clear of the transformer, which still held a hell of a wallop,if you forgot to shunt them to ground and did not wait long enough, after unplugging the speaker from the powerline. Just reminiscing...

I use silver spades and a Craftsman wrench to tighten the posts. Takes a kind touch on the wrench, but that extra 1/8 of a turn really helps with a "gas tight" bond on the connection. The downside is the spades really get mashed and are only good for a couple of tightening sessions.

For those who think the metal used in the connection doesn't make a difference -- I would argue!! But if you can't tell the difference, good for you!! One less thing to worry about (for you).

When I used Kimber 4 and 8TC and other raw wire, I never used spades due to the importance of the connection to the spade. I did use the "wrench" on the binding post. Again, you want a good gas tight bond on the connection surface area.

I would never buy spades or banannas for a cable that didn't come MFR terminated, otherwise I request silver connections.