Balanced cables

@68pete

That was exactly my point. Also depends on the source. If a phono, which in MOST cases run single ended in, then I don’t see a reason to favor converting back and forth from single ended to balanced downstream in the chain vs just staying single ended all the way.... assuming you don’t have a mixture of true balanced devices and single ended devices in the chain - which itself is a little weird.

@ audiozen you said,

"Back in 1998 I purchased a pair of Paradigm Active 20 speakers and a BAT Vk3 preamp. I decided to buy an pair an eight foot of MIT interconnects with the box on the cables. They retailed for $1000.00 and Audio Advisor was selling them at 40% off. Hooked them up and a week later I was disappointed with the sound quality and on a whim, decided to use the very cheap 20 ft. stock pair of IC's that came with the speakers. I removed them from the box, hooked them up, put on a disc and was blown out the window. Completely shocked. The differences were not subtle, a big major difference. Sounded like a completely different speaker raising the performance to a whole new level I wasn't prepared for. I said to myself, "Whats wrong with this picture?" and called Paradigm and spoke to one of their engineers. I asked how much are your stock IC's that came with the speakers? He said $20.00 a pair. He asked me the model of the MIT's and said that IC will not work because its a high capacitance low resistance cable. Our 20's are designed to use with low capacitance high resistance IC's and mentioned that components from different companies worked best with IC's that match the mathematical values of their designs, and has nothing to do with the price of the cable. The Cable Company in Ohio has complete charts of those mathematical values from each high end company for their amps and preamps. If you go into a broadcasting-recording supply house and buy inexpensive cable that matches the value numbers of those components you will be blown away at the performance of your gear."

Very interesting. Not meaning to railroad the discussion but are you saying TheCableCompany can help match the best IC's for your system based on mathematical value designs each company has for their components? If it's that simple why don't companies list those values in the specs for their products? I've got the Primare A32 power amp and Pre32 preamp (both fully balanced) and am presently using Violectrics XLR IC's (a brand TheCableCompany doesn't even carry) and I love the sound. I'd be curious to see if the mathematical values of these products truly compliment each other. I know it doesn't "really matter" as long as I like what I'm hearing...just curious.

Am I correct that if an interconnect length is 50’ it is uncontroversial that XLR is the way to go?

Slaw....I hear the "metallic" sound from all sources.   I tried many mats and insist my bare Classic platter is best for me.

When running mic cables in my distant past, of 100m or more balanced was the way. And transformer balanced , too.
From a low impedance (100 ohms ) would keep the system quiet even after crossing and running alongside hundreds
of power cables.
IC balancing was cheaper but not as effective in industrial use.