Balanced vs Unbalanced?

"Balanced" is another 'selling point'. It 'can' be good, or it can just be useless nonsense.
The majority of 'add on' balanced is done with smoke and mirrors: just an op amp adds an inverted signal at the end of a nonbalaced chain, just so a balanced connection can be used. Then, at the far end, the balanced connection is wasted and turned back into an unbalnced signal to amplify.
The REAL stuff that is fully balanced from start to finish is "the real deal" and will be better (usually, and it costs twice as much too)
The ONE advantage for an opamp sort of balanced connection is if the cable has to be long, or if a lot of RFi/ hash noise in area.
i have an op amp out to an op amp in (Bryston) and still use the balanced because it is a 20 plus foot run. It is not really better.. just no worse.
IMO "balanced" using op amps is just marketing BS.
it is no worse than unbalanced in practice, even though it adds the opp amp into the mix.

According to McIntosh's manuals with their balanced gear, if your interconnect cables are 6' or under, unbalanced connections are quite satisfactory. However, longer than 6', a 40db advantage in noise reduction is possible. Whether you can actually hear any difference between the two types is subjective.
Here's another one--why is McIntosh the only company to use autoformers, when other companies (i.e. CJ) don't use them? Any sound differences?

While I agree with the above responses, usually the XLR connectors on balanced cables are better. They are beefier and "lock" in place for a more solid connection.

Use balanced if noise is a problem. The XLR is a beetter connection, but requires more circuitry, thus sonically the circuit is beetter with RCA provided the RCA make good connections. Remember, Sheffield lab used coax cable that went from Wiley Chapel about 200ft. out the door to the recording equipment, no XLR's. How much noise do you hear on those recordings? It was shielded cable as well. Jallen

Balance is only better if the signal from the source is balanced from the start, at the digital to conversion. I have owned several CD players & DACs that where that was the case and balanced did sound better. However I have owned a few CD players that had balanced output but the signal was split and inverted at the output stage that does not sound as good as single ended. It depends on the design. For a curve I have all single ended input sources, but between my Pass Labs XP 10 & my XA30.5 I use balanced. I have tried both balanced & single ended & I prefer balanced. Go figure