Are Expensive Balanced Interconnects Necessary?

The best way to solve this, IMO, is to do what I did, which is buy the same exact cables, one set with balanced XLR and the other set with RCA (WBT RCA in my case) and test them back and forth in your system in your room with your ears. When I did this for a few months I actually found that I preferred the RCA. You may find the opposite, and unless someone else is paying for your system, your opinion is the only one that is right for you.

That said, my cable runs are very short (<1 meter) so it may not make a difference for me. "They" say if you have long runs it makes a difference, but I have not heard it in my own system. Upgraded and different brands I have tried do sound different and some are better than others ( I currently use Kimber Kable base series), but with the same cables, XLR versus RCA have not made a difference for me with my short runs.

The best way to solve this, IMO, is to do what I did, which is buy the same exact cables, one set with balanced XLR and the other set with RCA (WBT RCA in my case) and test them back and forth in your system in your room with your ears

Nice answer @l1975r however the question that the OP asked was about expensive versus cheaper XLRs.

It is dumb enough to suggest that the OP buy expensive XLRs, when they will not likely hear any difference, but adding in an expensive set of RCAs which the OP does not need, is certainly going a bit far (IMO).

yes

You can get great XLRs for not much money IF you buy them from Ali-Express. I have the white ones which are amazing and very inexpensive

vonhelmholtz

Another +vote for "yes".

Happy Listening!