Test leads, unlike speaker wires in consumer setups, are often plugged in and unplugged. Gold plating will wear much faster than standard nickel plating, especially cheap gold plating. Careful with soldering stranded wire, the solder will wick into the wire, making the end stiff. Wires that flex often tend to break at the transition from flexible to stiff wire, which is why wires are usually crimped in high-reliability/high-vibration environments. These plugs don't appear to provide any strain relief either.