Cable Length Optimization...Speaker vs Interconnect, etc.

I would try to go with longer interconnects, especially balanced, rather than longer speaker cables.
Since your amp only accepts RCA, then a Jensen converter would be a wise purchase. Go balanced for the long run, then convert to RCA near the amp.
Bob

Always love the "separates on a limited budget".  Anyway, surprise, no one needs XLR for length. That stuff is made for professional use where the runs are tens of meters, not ten feet. Another one audiophiles completely misunderstand. So save yourself some money. (And if you really want to save money: integrated amp.) 

That's all. No one even thinking of running 20 ft of wire gonna listen to me anyway. But at least maybe someone will get that XLR is a total waste and misapplication of money and technology. 

Bob..Thanks.

MC...I have to assume you are single and don't have the same constraints I do. Last IA became a brick, resident financial advisor set the budget...and paying attorneys fees to get a new advisor would put me into the 14 dollar Walmart checkout line BT speaker.

Limited budget? Balanced cable to a single end input is the biggest waste of $$ I can think of.
Don't worry about MC. He can't run balanced so you shouldn't either. The fact is that unless both ends are completely differental it is a total waste of funds.

Thanks Fuzztone. I agree with futility if all you do is basically use an XLR cable to carry a single, unbalanced signal by shorting pins (basically). I believe the Jensen, for example), retains the benefits of a balanced signal path, essentially, up to the transformer, so the unbalanced segment of the path is very short.

Am I incorrect in that? And are the benefits of reducing the unbalanced signal path length worth it over these distances, particularly when it means adding 2 connections and electrical devices? 

And while MC can be entertaining, is certainly more knowledgeable than me, I suspect (like many, including myself), cables aren't the only unbalanced items in his listening room.

But I think that what I am hearing leads me to believe that a longer, decent quality unbalanced cable will likely suffice...particularly in a physical environment that has tremendous complexity with little room (tolerance) for significant corrective treatments. And it is certainly not too costly to try both unbalanced solutions to evaluate.

Paul