Balanced Interconnect Recommendations

Real life experiences ...
I have the REGA OSIRIS integrated amp and the REGA ISIS VALVE cdp/ dac.

(1) REGA itself recommends balanced XLR interconnects between them . I stress-tested
their manual Recommendations with shoot-outs between high-end RCAs versus XLRs ....in my shootouts, REGA was right .

(2) In direct cable bake-offs in MY system (emphasis added ...) against numerous high-end brands, NORDOST FREY XLRs were best of breed at their price points.

(3) Completing the NORDOST cables array with NORDOST FREY shotgunned speaker cables and matched jumpers was a further audio performance improvement.

I would like an eventual further move up to NORDOST VALHALLAs , but budgets are always a limiting factor.

highly recommended .

@akg_ca I too have the Isis and was wondering if you could describe the sonic differences you heard between using rca’s and xlr’s from the Isis into the Osiris. Thanks so much 

The Isis is fully balanced though correct?

Yes, the Isis is fully balanced

Deep and wide soundstage, a cable that just gets out of the way and doesn’t draw attention to itself I’d suggest WyWires. I was a big fan of silver conductor for years, owned and dropped it and went back to copper after I went to WyWires.
Skimmed through the previous post and don’t recall the mention of balance circuit will drop the noise floor by 3db which I believe is because it does not tie the ground to the chassis so you’re picking up less noise; those that are techy I’m sure will chime in and explain better.

I run balance on several components and definitely feel micro detail has improved significantly as I can listen to lower levels and still tap my toes... I’m definitely listening to lower levels as my system has become more resolved or refined. You will not know until you try balance on your own system. Canare gets tossed out a lot lately here and for good reason as it’s great wire for the money; actually it’s stupid cheap and worth an evaluation as you might be glad you did as it will save you a ton of money. It can be purchased about anywhere but mentioned a lot at Blue Jeans Cable. Very flexible cable used primarily in studios and live venues.

https://www.bluejeanscable.com/store/shopbycable/L4E6S.htm