I've been over that issue with the balanced cables. Ralph was nice enough to explain it to me. There's a catch. In order to have a balanced system where the sound of the cables are eliminated, your equipment has to meet the exact specifications for a balanced component. I'm not talking about the typical SE component that just has XLR connectors, and people are fooled into thinking that the component is really balanced. I'm talking about components about components that are built, sold and not questioned to be fully balanced. Some examples would be fully balanced Ayre, ARC, BAT, Pass, Rowland and most other similar brands. I've owned components, and still do, from all the brands I just listed and more. In every single case, I can hear differences between balanced cables in a system where are the components are fully balanced. According to Ralph, something about all of these components isn't quite exact enough to be balanced in a way to eliminate the sound of the cable. I have no doubt that Ralph is correct, but I have yet to find components that meet these exact specifications. So the chance that you can actually apply that theory in the real world if pretty low from what I can see. Personally, I'd love to hear this for myself. It would save me a ton of money on cables.