HELP: EMC 1 output - balanced vs. rca

I recently purchased an emc 1 mk 2. I have heard many people say that the balanced output is far superior to the unbalanced. What no one has said is whether or not this is due to the balanced signal, or simply the output on the cd player itself. Here's my problem - my preamp only has rca inputs. So if I output from the cd player in balanced, using a balanced cable, but then convert (by reterminating) to rca at the other end for the preamp, I know that I will lose the balanced signal, but does that mean I will lose the superior balanced output from the emc 1?