I prefer single ended interconnect for my 38 foot run between my balanced preamp to amplifiers.
My turntable looks to be running balanced from the appearance of the cable. I had a custom built balanced cable terminated as single ended. The purpose of this was to obtain the superior cryo treated balanced locking connectors for use in a tight, high stress situation.
Between the two (true balanced) Aesthetix pieces, there was some sonic gain with balanced runs, provided identical quality cable was used in each test. I concluded that cable design, shielding and termination were at least as important as the differences between SE and balanced.
In extremely long runs such as microphone cable the results would likely be very different. In some situations microphone cable is over a hundred feet and in proximity to electrical connections, sound reinforcement equipment, other signal cables and possibly television and computer gear. In this difficult situation, a true 600 ohm balanced has advantages and is the reason pro gear is set up this way.
My turntable looks to be running balanced from the appearance of the cable. I had a custom built balanced cable terminated as single ended. The purpose of this was to obtain the superior cryo treated balanced locking connectors for use in a tight, high stress situation.
Between the two (true balanced) Aesthetix pieces, there was some sonic gain with balanced runs, provided identical quality cable was used in each test. I concluded that cable design, shielding and termination were at least as important as the differences between SE and balanced.
In extremely long runs such as microphone cable the results would likely be very different. In some situations microphone cable is over a hundred feet and in proximity to electrical connections, sound reinforcement equipment, other signal cables and possibly television and computer gear. In this difficult situation, a true 600 ohm balanced has advantages and is the reason pro gear is set up this way.