Not an excuse but Monster does overchare on everything. How else could they afford to pay $5 mil to nae a stadium in SF??? Or, send their top sales people on expense paid trips to Hawaii???
I have read that speaker wire (being copper) has the ability to tarnish quicker (which I have seen after moving, unhooking and then rehooking my speakers to my receiver). Does a faded or tarnished connection really alter the sound that much?
A faded wire may not alter but an oxidized one will increase hte contact resistance a bit and give a small power loss there. However, an annual cleaning will take care of any issues.
Most banana plugs I have seen are gold or at least gold plated which don't tarnish and should, theoretically, make a stronger connection. Is one brand of plug better than the other (i.e. Radio Shack versus Monster)? I am asking this after I just bought a 5 pack of monster banana plugs - I guess I am a sucker for those guys.
As long as the plug fits snug, it matters not but the price, unless, one is more interested in how well one plug looks compared to another plug.