Recommnedations for moderately price balanced IC's, and adaptors to an RCA end

To Almarg, Mensch and those who responded: 

I bought the BAT VK-200 amp and hooked it up to the Rogue Sphinx integrated amp's variable output (pre-out) using a pair of Signal Audio Cables (that is, XLR male to RCA male). They supposedly take 50 hours to break in.  The VK-200 is an excellent sounding amp with deep bass, and detailed midrange.

Almarg was almost right on the money about some loss of volume because of the IC cable used  Actually, this is not totally conclusive on my part  I first  played Fleetwood Mac's "Tusk" CD, and it was loud at 12 to 1.00 o-clock    I followed with a specially produced classical music  sampler offered by the magazine, HI-FI Plus. This CD was produced to showcase microphones produced by Neumann and Sennhiser engineers  The CD's sound quality is very good, but not spectacular.  When I got to the excerpt from Stravinsky's "Firebird Suite"  ( the Finale), I gunned the volume a bit more, and discovered that at a point it got no louder. I looked at the volume control and it was at  5  o' clock.  The difference in volume  levels between the  two CD's  "may" (I say may) be attributable to the output level  that each CD was recorded. It also could be what Almarg suggested a consequence of not using a XLR to XLR interconnect, despite the fact that the amp is designed for  both balanced and  unbalanced operation. The latter needing an adaptor. or XLR to RCA cable.  Cheers, Jim 

Almarg,  Thanks for the response.  So far so good using BAT VK-200 hooked to the pre-out of the Sphinx integrated. I was playing the last LP of the "Mozart's Six Sonatas Dedicated to Haydn" played by the Quartetto Italiano on a the Philips label. Even though the pops and clicks, the recording is still stellar, and VK-200 lent a greater sense of presence to the performance.  I quirkily followed up with Grateful Dead's "Europe '72 CD which supposedly  was remastered with reduced noise compared the original LP with the booklet insert of pix from their famous tour.  It sounded good and I could hear the ambience of the Olympia Theater in Paris playing  "Sugar  Magnolia"  They really were on their game on this tour.  However, while listening, I wondered if this recording could have been much better, that is more definition, clarity, transparency in the midrange  I know that the Dead's sound crew recorded on tape directly off of the mixing board which probably has both pros and cons. 

This issue "clarity" may be the "stuff" for a new thread. This issue  haunts Derek and the Dominos's album "Layla"   Magnificent playing from the band especially Clapton and Duane Allman. I have the gold Mobile Fidelity CD and though better than the LP version, it still sounds somewhat muffled or lacking in overall clarity. However, some track sound better than others, especially "Little Wing", "Key to the Highway" and "Nobody knows when You are Down and Out"