Switched from RCA to XLR Interconnects - WOW

Now try some Clear Day balanced cables ...

Canare Starquad L-4E6S cable are among the best. 

RCA is cheap crap. 

No self respecting self-proclaimed audiophile should be using anything but XLR for interconnects beyond the TT RCA phono leads. (No sense to have XLR from your cartridge but everything else analog should be XLR, preferably the components should all work at pro level to give you the maximum headroom)

Dill....I agree re:ClearDay......however, I understand he's ill and doesn't make cable anymore.  Too bad....I wish him well.

@sbank OK, now I see what you meant.  Thanks!
@dill  I asked Paul to make some Clear Day balanced cables once but he wasn't making them.  That was quite a while back so maybe something changed, but now, unfortunately due to illness Paul is not making anything.
@shadorne Now that I switched I fully agree with you about how we should all be using XLR connections.  Unfortunately, many high end component manufacturers do not include them, and of those who do, I have heard some of them do not include true balanced inputs/outputs.  
I'm guessing it all comes down to cost of adding them and the lack of demand for them.  I will look into the Canare cables you mentioned.  Thanks!  

Thanks for the mention, Spencer (SBank1).

Yes, there will often be 6 db more volume for a given volume control setting when balanced interconnections are used, compared to unbalanced interconnections. That isn’t always the case, though, and it depends on the specific designs of the components that are being connected.

The reason relates to the fact that a properly designed balanced receiver circuit will respond to the instantaneous voltage difference between the two signals in the balanced signal pair, which is twice as much as the voltage of each of those signals. And the signal voltage of an unbalanced interface is often the same as the voltage of each of the signals in a balanced pair of signals between the same components. And in some cases the unbalanced signal may actually be the same signal as one of the two signals in the balanced signal pair.

More generally, regarding the differences that were heard keep in mind that you’ve not only changed the cable from unbalanced to balanced, and changed the make and model of the cable, but in doing so you’ve also changed the configuration of the output circuit that is being used in the phono stage, and the configuration of the input circuit that is being used in the integrated amp. Which is one reason that cable differences tend to be system dependent.

And yes, I agree with Spencer’s mention of the potential benefits of a well designed balanced interface. I would add to his list that a well designed balanced interface will have less susceptibility to ground loop issues than an unbalanced interface.

Regards,
-- Al