Why Single-Ended?

dbphd: "The manual for the Ayre phono stage (I use a JC 3) includes diagrams that seem to suggest converting an RCA plug from a turntable to a balanced input, but I may be misreading that."

Ayre products are zero-feedback, fully-balanced designs.

Ayre provides only XLR connection for the phono input on my phono-stage equipped K-1xe and recommends using balanced-configured cables terminated with XLR connectors into the phono stage, thus they provide a diagram on their website to show how to construct a balanced-configuration XLR-terminated phono cable (pin 2 hot), "This is the preferred solution and offers the highest level of sound quality."

The manual shows the option of using RCA to XLR adapters if the user is determined to use a RCA cable: "...this converts the balanced input into an unbalanced input and causes a slight loss of sound quality."

The stand-alone P-5xe phono stage allows for XLR and RCA connection, but Ayre still recommends the using the balanced XLR inputs and outputs for "the highest level of sound quality."

Dave

a very tired topic which has been debated ad nauseam. Ralph always beats the balanced drum as that is what he sells. Others beat the SE drum because that is what they sell, Look through the old posts and find as many of these just like this one as you want.

BTW despite what Ralph contends phono cartridges are NOT balanced as there is no ground, no ground  pin connection, only 2 lines out. 

All sound sources are single ended, compressions and refractions.

When you get to the speaker they are all single ended, they move in and out, no balance. 

There are  also a lot of misconception about balanced and differential, two related but different things.

Ayre is misleading you with "zero feedback." It is no global feedback, but all solid state designs must provide some local feedback or they will be unstable.

Bottom line, I've heard many, many, many systems and the best to me have always been highly efficient speakers driven by a minimum number of SE stages. From DAC output to speaker I have 2 tubes both SE  because I only need a few watts of power .... bliss....  It is indisputable that SE tubes operated properly are the lowest distortion (most linear) stages 

If you choose equipment based on topology versus how it sounds you will lose. It is the sound, not the implementation.

Hey Ralph, I've been gone for a few years, interesting to see the same things debated over and over and over

https://forum.audiogon.com/discussions/balanced-is-inherently-flawed

here's a post I started 12 years ago on the same topic. I admit I did it just to start a debate, but shows how this has been ongoing since the beginning of audio and will never be resolved

Herman,
Admittedly there is redundancy of topics on audio forums and we all know the drill.
Tubes vs solid state.
Digital vs analog sources. 
Passive vs active 
High efficiency speakers vs lower efficiency speakers. 
On and on it goes. 
Yet sometimes meaningful debate and perspective can still arise from seemingly tired topics.   This is an example of such an occasion. 
Herman welcome back to audiogon 😊. 
Charles 

Thanks Charles,

One final point. I don't mean to disparage Ralph or anyone else for promoting what he sells, well, other than the crackpot selling magic pebbles, flowers,  and clocks. Ralph's points have  basis in fact and I have no doubt he truly believes in what he promotes. But back to the bottom line... in a home environment I've never heard better than SE low powered tube amplification into highly efficient speakers.

YMMV