Is there any reason players prefer silver-plated keys, other than looking pretty? Are they worth the extra 400 dollars?

I think they look good but they don't do anything. Some players say that it changes the tone of the clarinet but that's really subjective. I say it's just aesthetics.

On the other hand, the type of plating changes how the keys wear. Most nickel wears faster I think and gold wears even slower. Don't quote me on that.

All clarinets come with plated keys these days either silver or nickel. You might have to pay $400 to have the plating renewed though.

I agree about silver - it looks better & feels more comfortable being less slippy.

The difference in weight of the plating is insignificant in the overall weight of a clarinet; measurable only in micro-grams if not pico-g. Indeed you would not even notice the weight difference if the keys were unplated.

Even if you were to test a number of new clarinets of the same make & model you would find there are differences in sound between them all due to unmeasurable manufacturing tolerances. If the clarinets are not the same type there will be even more of a difference.

Nickel keys are fine, silver will look better longer. To me is it worth the money. NO. I would play nickel plated keys since the fingers slip across them faster. Use a good rubbing cloth to keep them from turning black too fast. I would spend the extra 400 bucks getting a better mouthpiece and ligature.

Some people suffer from an allergy to nickel -- I have a silver plated clarinet because of this -- (The only reason I can think of)