Pass Labs Aleph Question - balanced vs unbalanced?

I have experienced a bit of hum using the RCA's on Pass Aleph amps that I have not experienced with other amps.

My preamp had only RCA outputs so I never could run balanced, but I have read on many posts on other forums that an XLR input does infact yield a quieter sound. If your preamp has balanced it would be to your benefit to use it. YMMV

Right - but remember I have no hum in my system on RCA cables at full pre-amp output and CD player having just played music and then hitting pause and turning pre-amp all the way up...

So in that case then there is no reason to convert back and forth, right? If I have no RCA hum, then is there any sonic reason to use balanced?

The only "sonic reason" should be that one way sounds better than the other and that's up to you. Sometimes the differences are very subtle and it's hard to tell. Seeing as your pre is not a fully balanced unit, the signal would have to be converted to balanced, then when it gets to the amp, which is not balanced, it would have to be converted again. Seems to me the rca would stand the best chance of sounding better if there is no noise getting into them. If you don't hear an obvious difference, listen again for a little more soundstage, depth, holography etc, with the rca's. Good luck.

Pass aleph amps are balanced (differential) I've looked at the schematic. They are single-ended in that they are not push-pull. This is a different use of the single-ended terminology. They do benefit from a balanced connection to the preamp.