Do gold plated plugs actually provide better connectivity if the receptacle on the other end is nickel plated brass? I looked at my receivers and only one of them actually has gold plated terminals. You're normally going to find nickel plated connectors on low and mid range receivers and speakers.
I own Onkyo, HK and Sherwood Newcastle receivers. only the Newcastle has gold plated jacks and terminals.
Found this on wikepedia a while back.
It should be noted, though, that gold plated connectors only give better performance when both plug and socket are gold plated. Gold and Nickel are galvanically very different metals, and although inserting a gold plated plug into a nickel plated socket may make a small difference at first, any atmospheric moisture that is present near the connector will cause an electrolytic reaction between the dissimilar metals. This will result in the nickel plated connector corroding much more rapidly than it would if both connectors were nickel plated. For good long term connection quality it is always better to use matching connector materials.