Unbalanced to balanced VPI junction box change?

If you plan to run the cartridge (which is an inherently balanced source) in balanced mode, one thing you might consider is the fact that you will have a low impedance balanced line connection, which in plain English means that you will not be able to hear any differences at all if you change the wire.

This is because a true balanced line connection has that much immunity to interconnect cable artifact. So no worries!

I have an XLR junction box...no need to change from Valhalla (unless you want better sound - I had Nordost and now have Discovery...in MY system, it sounds much better). Just get the junction box and install it yourself ..easy to do.

Pbnaudio is right in that you should be able to swap out the junction boxes. You should be able to use the Nordost you already have in the tonearm. Looking at your system, you show a Sim phono stage. Its fully balanced, of course, so it does make sense to switch to balanced on the TT. If it was my system, I would do it. It shouldn't cost anywhere near $1000 unless you need a new cable to go from the TT to the Sim.

"This is because a true balanced line connection has that much immunity to interconnect cable artifact. So no worries!"

Are you talking about just tone arm cables, or all balanced cables? On fully balanced components and IC's, I can definitely here differences.

ZD, Ralph's contention just applies if certain criteria are met, and they are very often not met. See his post here, in which he explains further, and also offers what I consider to be a highly persuasive proof of that contention, at least for line-level interfaces.

I would add, though, that most high output cartridges, such as moving magnets, will not meet those criteria, and their response in the treble region can be profoundly affected by phono cable capacitance. Also, cable capacitance can even make a difference when it comes to low output moving coil cartridges. See this post by Lyra cartridge designer Jonathan Carr, starting with the paragraph that begins "I should now debunk another myth ...."

Best regards,
-- Al