.since you think that hardly any one has heard a "properly done balanced system".........why do you keep talking about it? Are you just trying to get people to buy your gear? So they will finally hear what balanced can do? Most people do not want your gear.....so, no matter what you say about cables......they are all going to hear all the differences in cables that are very obvious to any who listen. So it is silly to keep saying that balanced cables have no sound since everyone but you hears something different.....I exaggerate.....maybe a couple of people agree with you.....he he.
Still not seeing how this negates the transfer function of the cable.One aspect of the balanced line standard is in fact that it is low impedance- there is in essence a termination standard, whereas with single-ended there is not. The low impedance aspect is as important as the aspect of not referencing ground- it swamps cable 'transfer function' (which is the capacitance and inductance of the cable).
And of course *everyone* has heard balanced cables set up properly- they are in most recordings. Mercury used to park their recording truck behind Northrup Auditorium in Minneapolis to record the Minneapolis Symphony. The mic cables had to run nearly 200 feet. I experience this when I was playing in the St. Paul Civic Symphony back in the early 1970s. One of our performances was being recorded and I saw the mics hanging over the orchestra when we were warming up. The cables went into the cloud ceiling then down to a booth off to the side of the auditorium. I investigated and got to hear the mic feed over headphones. That and prior work in the studio is why I know this system works. Its why we made the first balanced line products for home stereo use. In the 1950s when hifi was getting going, the cost of transformers was not cheap and consumer equipment was. The RCA connector was originally used in televisions between the tuner and IF amplifiers; it was cheap and wide bandwidth; that is the main reason they are in use today. But high end audio is all about how far you can push it to get your system to sound like music instead of electronics- the balanced line system is a nice step in that direction as it removes cable artifact.
Many recording engineers of course have heard balanced cables set up correctly- which is why if you talk to them they will tell you cables don't make a difference. Audiophiles often assume they are talking about single-ended cables; audio engineers often assume audiophiles are talking about balanced cables. So there appears a sort of disconnect that makes it seem to audiophiles as if engineers don't have good ears or something. Its not the case- just apples and oranges.
I talk about 'properly done balanced system' because once you hear it there is no going back. There are balanced cables made today that cost over $1000/foot; if you subscribe to the Veblen Effect (consciously or unconsciously) you might be convinced that cables costing this much are some of the best made anywhere. One of the advantages of balanced operation is you can run long runs, allowing you to place your amps as close to the speakers as you can to minimize the effect of the speaker cables. Imagine a 30 foot run of cable that's $1000/foot; now imagine a system that negates cable artifacts allowing you to run the same length with inexpensive cables and no audible difference. In case anyone has a problem working this out, setting up a balanced line system that works properly is a lot cheaper, and you don't have to think about a cable investment loosing its value in an incredibly short time...