From my own experience I think there are a few things to look at when choosing cables:
1) Don't put phantom power through TRS plugs. +48V will hit the ground when you plug in, and anything metal they touch.
2) I recommend against putting phantom power through TRS Jacks as well - it connects and disconnects in an odd order (tip to ring, then ring to ring and tip to tip) and turns on and off twice as you make the connection (and it is always stabilized by a good sized cap so you get big pops). Furthermore the other end of the cable become a hot connection (often TRS). Furthermore if you plug a TS connector in it you short the Phantom Power out to ground with various results none great.
3) Phantom power belongs on XLR only (or various multipin... DSUB25, etc) in my opinion.
4) When choosing cables there are several thing to consider depending upon how you are going to use it.
a) On stage cable, short runs you should be concerned about handling noise (how much noise bending the cablea), surface texture of cable, how easy it is to untangle (a combination of flexibility, diameter and surface), durability on longer runs capacitance between shield and conductor and between conductor and conductor. Shielding can matter.
b) Mobile cables stage and other for long runs. Same as above but tangling matters less Capacitance can matter more. Shielding can matter more.
c) Fixed cables - dont worry about flexibility surface texture tangling etc. Shielding matters.
That said:
There are 3 general types of shields:
- braided shields - Very high percentage of coverage, tend to be flexible and durable and bending the cable doesn't displace the shield, but they are harder to solder because unbraiding can be hard.
- wound spiral shield (called served shield) these can be a single layer or two counter-wound layers. Also can have low handling noise but shield can be displaced with use (bend it and there is a gap) and cheap served cable has low % coverage etc.
- foil shield - very high percentage coverage 100% but very fragile when bending and flexing, fixed installations only - generally a "drain" cable makes the shield electrically intact. Easy to strip and solder, easy to route (stays put, thin outside dimensions, stiff).
There are two general conductor arrangements for single cables - twisted pair and star-quad (aka quad wound). The quad arrangement is good for running cable across wall warts, SMPS PSU's and transformers (close proximity noise sources). This is because the arrangement makes sure that a nearby source is relatively evenly balanced between the two pairs of conductors (go to the mogami or canari site to see why , they explain it well).
The downside of quad cables it that the capacitance is higher between conductors and between conductor and shield. This capacitance in combination with the impedance of the overall connection is a high pass filter.... (so star quad cable makes are really really bad long guitar cable). Long runs can get you into trouble with line level cables too, and to a lesser extent with mic cables (problem is less significant at lower impedances).
So the "Dummies" version is like this:
For non fixed cables - If you are working in uncontrolled environments where you might drag it across noise sources... then use Quad cable for everything, except for long runs which should be twisted pair with a braided shield.
Add to that:
For mic cables to be used on stage, be really concerned with 1) handling noise, 2) flexibility, 3) surface texture (Canare makes REALLY smooth cable, beautiful stuff really) 4) tangling, and Durability (if you are Roger Daltry)
For line level cables running around stage 1) surface texture, tangling and durability. - handling noise not an issue, nor is flexibility really. I try not to use quad cable for this because the impedance is higher on those connections.
For fixed cables use foil shield cable, cheaper and easier to connect. Available in Quad if you want to run it near noise sources, but usually you are in control of the runs for fixed cables.
For any mic cable to be handled, use low handling noise cable (sometimes in flexible mounts it is nice to use very thin (like lavolier cable) low handling noise cables to connect to the mount especially if you expect there to be mic stand motion, I have little extension cables for that purpose).
Lastly
there is nothing worse than living with cables that you don't like the way they feel. I have some "live wire" brand mic cables that have a rough texture, tangle like crazy, get dirt on them, and feel bad, and can't be dragged out of a pile without sticking to everything. I usually try to cut them up and use them in the lab and for short patch cables etc.
Really nice cable is a pleasure to lay out and pick up (hint... on power line reels from Home Depot, the orange ones).
And last but not least... You will want to shoot yourself if you use a cable with handling noise on a nice mic in a recording and it moves and makes that creaking noise... ruins the whole thing. This is particularly easy to do on handheld mics and on condensers in flexible shock mounts in a situation where there is a lot of foot tapping or mic stand motion.
fullcompass.com has some good deals on canare cable, you can often get a deal (especially if you don't care about color).
canare and mogami make great cable, canare cable has a nicer surface.
And if it is not obvious XLR cables don't connect shield to the shell in the cable, just to pin 1.
Canare and Mogami have good spec's on their sites... once you know what (part number) you want EBAY can be a good place to find excess spools.
Belden also spec's cable completely and makes a high quality product but they make SO MANY TYPES that going through the spec's makes me want to shoot myself.
Don't know Gepco...
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