Apparantly - and I stress apparently, because it is just something I have heard - so don't shoot the messenger.
Balanced (XLR) cables are significantly better where the cable is longer than 30+ feet. However, there is an opinion that the balanced circuitry that processes the balanced signal can vary greatly from one component to another so you can never be certain of whether the signal is not being coloured by that circuitry.
Single ended is much better suited to shorter runs and with the right cable architecture/geometry can out perform XLR and there is no processing of the signal - other than amplification
I have observed improved performance when using a 1 meter single ended cable vs. a 2 meter XLR cable, but how much of that was due to the Balanced circuitry as opposed to the cable materials and architecture I have no idea.
Something to investigate ? - maybe :-)
Balanced (XLR) cables are significantly better where the cable is longer than 30+ feet. However, there is an opinion that the balanced circuitry that processes the balanced signal can vary greatly from one component to another so you can never be certain of whether the signal is not being coloured by that circuitry.
Single ended is much better suited to shorter runs and with the right cable architecture/geometry can out perform XLR and there is no processing of the signal - other than amplification
I have observed improved performance when using a 1 meter single ended cable vs. a 2 meter XLR cable, but how much of that was due to the Balanced circuitry as opposed to the cable materials and architecture I have no idea.
Something to investigate ? - maybe :-)