Umm... for a coax cable, such as the ones mentioned in this thread, the braided shield is also the - return path. So you need to connect center conductor>pin, shield>ring. If the shield is unconnected anywhere, you'll get no signal.
Mic cable has two (or four in the case of starquad cable like
Canare L-4E series) jacketed conductors inside a braided shield. These make nice unbalanced, analog RCA cables by connecting one conductor>pin and the other one>ring. The shield also connects to ring, either at one or both ends. The lifting one end ("single ended") idea endorsed by many audiophiles is that you can decide where any noise that the shield is picking up is directed. Usually ppl direct it the same direction as the signal, i.e. between preamp and MT for instance, the shield is connected only at the MT end. Some pro audio folks eschew this idea, and say that lifting one end of a shield is not better, but just a sometimes solution for ground loops. In a portable, non-mains connected setup, I don't think there's much argument for lifting either end. If it's left unconnected at both ends, it won't really shield anything.
Rane is a great reference for analog hookup.
The physics for a binary stream such as SPDIF is totally different. Shielding is not the same issue. The thing I've gleaned as important for a SPDIF cable is its impedance. Somewhere in the ancient origins of the now ubiquitous RCA type connector scheme is a spec that the signal should see an impedance of 75 ohms along its path through the connectors and cables. It turns out this isn't that important for audio, so most of your RCA type cables and connectors are not very close to 75 ohm. But it is more important for the MHz frequencies of video and digital. So, for a SPDIF cable, this is what I'd look for. Any pro-grade video cable should work for SPDIF. Canare coax terminated with Canare connectors will give you the true 75 ohm goods.
Which, again, is one point I'm cheezed w/ MAudio about the MT - I have Canare tooling, cabling and connectors, and they won't fit
If you want to go truly nuts about this, check out
the Cable Asylum.
Peace,
Sanaka