Lost failed to live up to his name and is totally correct. In many cases RCA wires will sound better that balanced because in designs that are not really balanced, there is just an op-amp at the output of the component generating the balanced output. Thus you are just adding more circuitry to the signal path if that is the case. However a component like those in the Pass X series that has been designed as a balanced component can make much better use of the balanced signal.
