Balanced vs RCA between amp/preamp


Well I'm taking my first step into separate components with a Marantz SC-11s1 and SM-11s1. Would like to know about the +/-'s of using RCA vs balanced interconnects between the two. All my input sources are single ended.

I understand the Marantz components balanced connections have pin 2 wired cold and pin 3 wired hot. Does this mean I need to reverse the cables going to my speakers (if I decide to use balanced connections between amp/preamp).

I also understand the RCA connections conserve absolute polarity. But is there a performance "hit" taken by using singled ended connections between amp/preamp?

Thank you in advance......
wec56

In his Positive Feedback review of the EAR-Yoshino 868L line stage pre, the reviewer made the statement that, though the 868 provides XLR jacks for balanced operation, the pre-amp circuitry itself is single-ended. Designer Tim deParavicini in his manufacturer reply corrected the reviewer, stating that no, the 868 is a true balanced design. It is a commonly-held understanding by audiophiles and semi-pro hi-fi reviewers that a true balanced amp by definition has doubled parts. As atmasphere just said, that is a misconception and misunderstanding of what balanced is. A pre-amp can have single-ended circuits yet be true balanced in operation.

The real concern in any piece of gear is how the balanced inputs/outputs are implemented. In the EAR 868, Paravicini accomplished that goal via transformers. In his Music Reference RM-200, Roger Modjeski does so with a resistor network. Companies with lower standards typically create balanced inputs/outputs with the dreaded opamp, and with the expected sonic compromise. A higher retail price does not necessarily buy one balanced ins and outs NOT created with opamps. If possible, inspect the schematic of any piece of balanced gear you are considering buying, to see how it’s balanced connections are created, and if they conform to AES48.

Having been involved with every facet of Audio for over 35 years 
balanced if True balanced would be a bit quieter.
that being said your Amplifier and preamp need to have transformers for the input,outputs to be what is considered a True balanced . Most amplifiers have whst I call quasi balanced 
a  XLR but when you take the top off  it is wired  on the same grid
wiring with the RCA. I is a added expense to do properly .
check your components before spending any added costs. Jensen 
make some very good transformers for this application,
there are several good transformers out there I am not certain if Lundahl make any this small . 
As has been pointed out, balanced is not inherently better sounding.  A balanced signal is simply two unbalanced signals, one 180 degrees out of phase (mirror image).  The you subtract one from the other - common noise cancels.  That's it.
It is more immune to both ground noise and pickup of noise over long distances in noisy environments - like factories or concert stages.
Worse, the simple, common way to create balanced I/O is to add an opamp or other circuitry to create it - and every circuit, no matter how good, adds a little distortion and noise.
There are a bunch of reasons to use balanced - for example to run stereo amps as monoblocks - and yea, i advertised this as a feature on my amps/preamps 25 years ago - and it was true! And sounded great! -- but it used inherently balanced circuitry (not one extra part, not one), and quadrupled the power.
That said, 99% of the time i personally would run the simplest system possible. RCAs.
Plus, you save money on cables - generally lots. Spend that on something truly useful.
As to RCAs preserving absolute polarity - strange comment. So do balanced connections. Actually, absolute polarity is really a function of whether the circuitry inverts or not. If it does, well, swap the speaker leads :-) Problem solved for $0.00
G
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I believe that Frank Van Alstine once said balanced is a solution looking for a problem.