Hoo boy- you're going to have some fun with this one, then. You've let the is-wire-audible genie out of the bottle again...
Short answer on that part from me: IMNSHO, no. Good cable is good cable, "super cable" is pure hype. Your buddy probably got robbed blind. Do a quick search on the phrase "Monster Cable" on this site, and you'll find all manner of opinions on this topic.
On balanced/unbalanced interconnect: balanced is always preferable, even in line-level situations. The hot setup is to lay in a roll of good shielded pair cable, a boatload of connectors, and make your own interconnect. You can save enough money in this manner to make it an overall savings. If your gear offers balanced interconnect, IMHO you should always make the effort to take advantage of it.
Connector style? 1/4" TRS and phantom power don't mix. TRS plug/jack pairs short tip and ring to sleeve as they are connected and disconnected. XLRs do not exhibit that antisocial behavior. They also have the advantage of connecting ground first, and the signal pair only after ground is contacted as the connection is made, and breaking ground last as the connection is broken: which is general good form. For mic connections in the presence of phantom power, XLRs are the only appropriate connectors.
For line-level (with no phantom power present), it's pretty much a wash. If the equipment has both XLR and TRS jacks for a balanced interconnect, I typically use the XLRs: I believe them to be marginally more reliable. The best-quality line-level patchbays use longframe TRS jacks, and are stone reliable. The little plastic shortframe TRS jacks used on a lot of gear may be significantly less so, *especially* if they see a lot of plug/unplug cycles. Thus my minimal bias towards XLRs when possible. And they latch in place.
And, come to think of it, they're usually easier to solder, and I'm basically lazy... (;-)