Silver plated copper

Good afternoon, I queried Nordost as to their derision to use silver plated conductors. Here is their response. 

We use silver plated copper on all of our conductors. The reason main reason is copper is a porous material and if you look at it under a magnifying glass you will see pits in the surface. Coating it with silver fills in all the pits and provides a surface better suited for signal transmission.

In our opinion you want the signal to travel as fast as possible to avoid changes. Especially in Norse level products where mono-filament technology is employed you have created the ability for the signal to travel faster because the dielectric is suspended off the conductor. Now in addition you have a better surface for the signal to flow as well.

So what about tinned copper?

Silver will oxidize just as copper will, but silver will not corrode like copper.

What is the difference between oxidizing and corroding?

https://www.quora.com/What-is-the-difference-between-oxidation-and-corrosion
They are the same thing.As far as tinned copper , also soldered connection vs crimped,and using yet a different metal for connectors, it  affects the  signal minutely and measurably.But is it audible?I know that I don't care for silver plated copper wire in my system but I honestly don't know if it was the wire itself,the connectors,the dielectric,all in combination.

I have built many cables which have employed copper, solid silver and silver plated copper.

For my ears...

• Stranded Copper was the least dynamic of the three
  
• Solid Silver provided the best  dynamic performance and provided more details than the plain copper
  
• Stranded Silver plated copper seemed to be as good as the solid silver but also provided a fuller/warmer, more complete sound.
  

All wires were 24 guage with teflon insulation and cryo treated

I did also try Tinned copper cryo treated  (NOT Duelund wire) as the neutral for speaker cables and compared to similar gauge Silver plated and copper wire it sounded less dynamic and detailed.

It's very much a personal preference when it comes to building cables, so I would recommend trying some different wires to see which materials suits you ears best

Regards - Steve