XLR's are superior is a number of ways. First, they are locking, so they won't pull loose. Second, they have male and female, so you can't accidently plug them in backwards. Third, they use a two signal system comprising an uninverted and an inverted signal plus a third wire ground, which carries no signal current. This "balanced" or "differential" signalling system allows the receiving component to have better noise rejection than with Single-Ended (SE) signalling. This is possible because the receiving component subtracts the + and - signals to get the signal that is used in the component. If there is any noise that is common to both + and -, this will be eliminated by the subtraction process. This is referred to as "common-mode" noise, which can include 60 Hz hum, Schott noise, RFI etc...
The thing that you need to be aware of is that all designers do not have good designs for Balanced inputs and outputs. To determine which of SE and Balanced sounds better, you need to listen to both on a given component and choose the one that sounds best.
The thing that you need to be aware of is that all designers do not have good designs for Balanced inputs and outputs. To determine which of SE and Balanced sounds better, you need to listen to both on a given component and choose the one that sounds best.