First Foray into XLR

sisyphus, your background makes your lack of knowledge as to why one would use XLR over rca in a typical < 3m audio system (where all components in the signal path are tre balance/differentially balanced even more disturbing

almarg

maybe I have bat ears, but I can hear the difference in the same Eichmann XLR cable: 0.5m v 1.0m

tweak 1

I think you have "Bats in the Belfry"!

Re. Pin 1: In studio facilities, XLR cables usually have the shield (gnd.) lifted at the receive end to prevent ground loops while still blocking EMI/RFI. This is very well known in professional audio circles. There is too much interconnected equipment in the studio to be dicking around with ground loop problems from one miswired cable or a non-standard I/O.

@english210 

‘what cables of either configuration would people here recommend to someone who’s sceptical but willing to try something more than freebie cables’?

Specific recommendations are next worthless as it is highly improbable that any other listener has your system in your room, listens to the same music at the same levels and has your ears and predilections. Each of the aforementioned will change how one perceives cable sonics.

Any particular cable may make some or no difference depending on the aforementioned parameters and the system in which it is installed.

I am a Grammy nominated recording engineer, built electronics for the industry, installed studios and been an audiophile for more than 60 years.

I put this together to help educate about the fallacy of a magic bullet in cables.  http://ielogical.com/Audio/CableSnakeOil.php

It's really unfortunate that there is so much that is just plain wrong. For example, almost all electronics are unbalanced internally. To use balanced cables, invented by the telephone company to send signal over very long distances and cancel common mode noise at the receiving end, one must add an additional stage on the output to balance and another stage on the input to unbalance. NOTHING is inaudible. Two additional stages will add coloration and masking. Kind of pointless for a 1m run.

Some balanced stages are 'capable' of driving unbalanced loads but can suffer audibly when asked to do so. Often one does as well driving an unbalanced load with just the +phase. Others tie -ve and 0v at the source, leaving the shield unterminated at the destination. Each piece can be unique and can be difficult to integrate. Studios like balanced because it minimizes the aforementioned problems when connection many tens of pieces of outboard gear to many tens of music channels for tens of thousands of possible combination. Home systems are trivial by comparison as they are largely static. 

Sadly, Hi End Audio has largely devolved into "If it don't go, chrome it." See Come Admire My Hi-Fi Jewelry Roger Skoff writes about what things cost, and why. 
http://www.enjoythemusic.com/magazine/viewpoint/0618/HiFi_Jewelry.htm

As far as lifting the shield on balanced cables, either end is fine. Some prefer source and some prefer destination. In decades of exposure to both, no preference was discovered.

ANY and ALL cable auditions should be over a period of a week and 100% refundable. ALWAYS replug existing cables before auditioning new ones. New cables often have manufacturing 'goo' that takes several insertions to remove. Adding contact enhancers is not recommended. 
See http://ielogical.com/Audio/#CableQuest

Your ears and your system change continuously with environmental conditions. Make haste slowly. 99.99% of online audio is fan boy noise!

@almarg ++  one of the saner heads with solid recommendations