Balanced usage with Opus 21

I am an Opus owner and have been since its release (including the upgrades). I too love this player... sounds great and is a very versitile unit. I have used RCA, balanced and DIN outputs in various configurations. I agree with the owners and reviewers concerning the DIN output being the clearest and best path to the music. I DID NOT however notice a difference between the RCA and balanced outputs in terms of quality of the sound (I mostly have used the balance outs directly to a Krell FPB 300c amp).
About a year ago I inserted a preamp (AES AE-3 DJH Signature from Upscale Audio) and would recommend that you add a preamp instead of changing out the amp. I don't think you would gain as much by simply going from RCA's to balanced outputs. A good preamp allows you to use the DIN output and gives depth to the music and more weight to the bottom end. Without the preamp the Opus 21 had a great soundstage width but lacked depth in that soundstage. Just my experience and two cents.

The balanced outs will definitely give you better performance than the RCAs, although how much you'll notice will depend on how easily you hear changes in your system. It is not a "OMG, it takes it to a whole new level" kind of difference, but a subtle improvement in clarity.

Whether the DIN output will be better than the balanced outs will depend on the quality of the cable you can find with a DIN option. I compared an Audience AU24 DIN-RCA cable (into a Neutrik RCA-XLR adaptor into my balanced preamp) against Au24 XLR interconnects and found the performance of the DIN output to be better. Changing that to an Audience Conductor DIN-RCA cable, the Au24 XLR inteconnects performed better.

I believe that the Balanced outs use 2 DACs per channel and the RCA outs use only 1 DAC per channel. Much like the CD-55.

One could surmise that 4 is better than 2 ...but that isnt always so! Having said that, I prefer the balanced outs over the RCAs on the Opus.

Philnyc,
I use mine balanced as well, and am curious why it will give me better sound than the RCA setup. Is it strictly a noise issue , or are there other reasons?
Thanks for the info,
CARL

If running direct to an amp it is far better to use the XLRs simply because of the higher voltage output. The difference between the RCA and XLR is more dynamic, and easier drive.