Have AZ Martrix Ref II's/ Compare to Silver Ref 2

About two years ago, I was doing a preamp shoot out and had a BAT VK3i preamp on hand to match with my BAT VK200 amp. Victor Khomenko advised me to hook them up with a balanced cable, so I bought a balanced version of the Matrix Ref II just for that. After comparing the system for awhile having the two BAT components connected with a single ended Matrix Ref II and a balanced one I heard absolutely no difference. I mentioned this in a thread in the forums here and some people said there was the possibility that the Matrix Ref II wasn't a truly balanced design. I sold the preamp and never contacted Acoustic Zen about this, so I never confirmed whether the balanced Matrix Ref II was truly balanced or not. This is something to consider before changing over your RCA Matrix and Silver interconnects to balanced versions.

I have a couple of pairs of balanced Matrix Ref II. An ohmmeter check confirms that they are definitely wired correctly for balanced operation, so that wasn't the reason that you heard no difference.

I've noticed that the original single ended Matrix sounds much warmer (tube -like?) that the single ended Matrix II, and that the balanced Matrix II sounds more neutral than the Matrix II single ended.

Good to know, thanks Ghostrider45! Now, what is the reason?

Foster, I think with your config it's a little different. You're running directly to integrated. It's a different story than if you had a source to pre and then pre to amp. So I think the best way to find out is to try. In general, Silver Ref II is a more open sounding cable. No loss of bass or midrange bloom when it is used in a combination with Matrix Ref II. But by itself, I don't know.

Gunbei, I tried 2 Silver Ref II cables(from source to pre and from pre to amp) once and did not like it at all. It was a very artificial sound, very thin and absolutely uninvolving. I gave up on that idea quick. But, that was in my system, but in your system it may be different. I am using Silver Ref II from cd to pre and Matrix II from pre to amp.

Also, I had both a single ended and XLR version of Silver Ref II ICs and tried them side by side with my cd player into my preamp. No question, XLR is better, so I kept it and sold the single-ended cable. But, I think, it is better because of the way the components are ment to operate. Not because it is a better cable. So, could it be possible that the biggest difference between single-ended and XLR cable can be noticed by comparing them on the source component into preamp, and not from preamp to amp?

Interesting experience and ideas, Audphile1. Factoring in my experience, your suggested conclusions make sense. Or it could just be different systems, gear, etc... What a hobby, eh?