cables 101? The brands and differant sounds?

There are some general observations. Transparent and MIT tend to roll-off the highs due to the networks, but have very strong bass unless you go for the reference versions, which are quite good in most respects. Goertz laminated ribbons, Nordost Valhalla, Empirical Clarity7 and Analysis-plus all have very low-inductance so dynamics, imaging and high-frequencies will be good.

With other cables such as Cardas, Tara Labs, Kimber, Straightwire, Monster and Audioquest, you really need to try them with your system.

Dunlavy is an interesting story. 10 years ago, I believe that he was a believer in cables and this is obvious from his patent which you can read on the PTO.gov website. However, in the last three years he has been espousing that more expensive cable designs, including his own are just attempts at optimizing some parameters that are not really important and improving durability and aesthetics. He would not admit that cables make a significant difference. Seems hyppocritical. IME, he is just getting old and probably losing some of his hearing.

In any case, Dunlavy is certainly not the only engineer that uses measurements and analysis to design his cables. In fact, I would describe his cables as rather rudimentary designs at best. In my early days as a cable designer, I read and agreed with many of the assertions in his patent. It's a shame that he now says that there was nothing there. In any case, if you want to see some analysis and measurements on cables made by an engineer, see the following website:
http://www.empiricalaudio.com

Not everything on the website is validated and therefore is still theory, but the theories make sense to me based on the measurements and analysis. In the absense of conclusive measurements and listening tests, the theories will have to do.

Sean - Dunlavy's patent describes an 18-twisted-pair cable I believe. The inner 7 pairs are cabled or twisted and then the next layer of pairs is twisted around the first group in the opposite direction. This way the fields from pair to pair interact less. Then the pairs are terminated with the first wire from each pair being grouped and the second from each pair being grouped. He talks about using stranded wire, but I am a strong believer in solid-core wire. And of course, Teflon is the best insulator, next to air.