Balanced versus single ended

Unfortunately this question can not be answered in absolute terms in a general manner. It is always component to component dependent. 

Example: all of my components are single ended: preamp, mono blocks & sources. My preamp is capable of driving long runs of quality se Interconnects.  25 feet from preamp out to the mono blocks with no issues. Other quality preamps may not be so endowed.  

Additionally,  many "balanced" preamps output from 6-9V to the amplifier(s). My mono blocks only require 1V to achieve full rated output. 

My se Interconnects are all the same throughout my system, are hand made by myself with great shielded cable & superb connectors. 

Essentially, one "size" doesn't work for everyone.  You must not have an inflexible mindset & experiment. 

That said, if you have equipment with XLR connectivity exclusively then you have no choice. 

I am runnning Triode Audio TRX-M845 mono blocks into Acoustic Zen speakers.  The exact set up that has won several "best in show" sound room awards.  So I asked Triode what cable format they use.  They answered they use RCA cables in every situation.  Who am I to argue with them? 

True balanced-need to be input to output

on all gear or it’s not truly balanced ,just converted to rca or 2 wire?

@fsonicsmith

“As an owner of an ARC Ref 6 and Ref 80S and Ref 150 SE I know that Warren Gehl and Co strongly suggest running balanced with the very best IC’s you can afford. I conducted listening tests with a wide assortment of balanced IC’s at all price ranges and heard huge differences. I settled on Cardas Clear Beyond. ‘

I just saw this. Very nice system. As an illustration to the forum… I am going to repeat your text with my experiences. This is in no way saying you are incorrect. But I am pointing out no matter how similar your systems the answer can be different.

My experience: As an owner of an ARC Ref 6SE and Ref 160s and Ref 160m monos, I know that Warren Gehl and Co strongly suggest running balanced with the very best IC’s you can afford. I conducted listening tests with a wide assortment of balanced and unbalanced IC’s at all price ranges and heard huge differences. I settled on Transparent Ultra after extensive testing of Cardas Beyond. I found no significant audible difference between single ended and XLR.

There are a lot of similarities in our systems and yet to me in my system Transparent was far superior to Cardas (I tried all kinds). But we definitely agree that there are very large differences in the sound quality among interconnects.

I'd not considered this point before, but given that the signal is duplicated then reversed then transported then recombined, doesn't that mean that any coloration or other effect by the interconnect is simply negated?  So, you don't really need fancy balanced cables?