Um, just wondering, got speaker cable for my system tonight. There was a brand that claimed that their wire was better than others becuase it was "100% oxygen free." I understand that oxides don't conduct quite as well, but the way they were saying makes me confused. I went with the cheaper wire, but I'd like to know how that claim makes sense.

You did the right thing. Just keep the cable as short as possible and be certain it is plugged in and connected very well and firmly. The thicker the cable the better up to a point.Solid cable is better than wound, remember that.;)

It's HiFi snobbery. Check out how much you can spend on cable, ridiculous amounts of money, on oxygen free, with gold plated terminals, yadda yadda, but can HiFi buffs actually tell the difference? Well, not many, as it happens. They buy it to make themselves feel better about their systems, and therefore, enjoy the experience more. It's self hypnosis.

A friend of mine, who is a sound engineer, tested various types of cable for his HiFi in his workshop, for frequency attenuation, noise, etc. He found that heavy gauge copper wire (solid) for UK 30Amp electric cooker circuits, was as good as fairly expensive cable. So he used that. Looked crap though!