Straight XLR vs XLR to RCA adapter

I am looking for advice. Does using a RCA to XLR defeat the purpose?
My cables are RCA GA-0 and I am happy with them. But I want to try my XLR connection. I realy do not want to spend the money if possible on another pair of cables, but if I do it, it I want to do it right. Please help.

Thanks In advance.