I used to "believe" that balanced cables were better because my electronics were balanced. Then a fellow Audiogoner suggested I try the single-ended output on my phono amp. It was clearly superior in my system. I contacted the manufacturer, and he said that he listens to his phono's RCA output and uses XLR everywhere else in his chain. In his phono amp, the single-ended circuit is simpler and sounds better. I still use 6M balanced cables from my pre to my mono blocks because of the long distance. I agree with those who suggest listening first (experimenting) to find the best results in one's own system.
