No matter what conductor material you choose, the surface of that base metal will eventually oxidize. In the case of Moray James Cables the base metal is copper and that would mean having to listen to copper oxide. Not a pleasant thought. So the question is then not whether or not you want to listen to an oxide but rather to what oxide you wish to listen to. If you cannot stop the formation of an oxide you can at least choose what oxide you will listen to.
There is in fact quite a difference in how different oxides sound. Many audiophiles have experienced the sound of silver plated copper where the plating process was not well controlled resulting in a hard, bright, brittle presentation. Many have blamed the silver plating to be the cause of this poor sound. The problem is in fact an oxide layer between the silver plate and the base copper, which was caused through poor process control. This is an area where Moray James Cables have taken a very unique stance. I have chosen to surface treaat my base copper with a layer of alloy which will produce an oxide which is of my own choice and which suits the tonal balance of both the base conductor material and that of the dielectric. Many purists will consider this a terrible thing to do. However the purist refuses to accept what is. Given the choice between copper oxide and the alloy oxide I use and will gladly take the alloy.