Upgrade to balanced XLR interconnects?

I will second Beemer, find that kind of deal and you don't have to worry about it if you do not like them. You can turn around and sell them pretty quick at that price. BTW, beemer, I pick up some Ultral balanced this morning that I ordered to replace "super". Will cost me more than double!!!

not really stole them.... Transparent regularly sells cables on accommodation to dealer's store employees at 80% off retail, ($750 new for the ones you mention vs. $3500 retail), so depending on who you got them from they may still have made money on the deal. if Transparent can afford to do this (I am sure they do it for other industry types too, where do you think they get the glowing reviews from?) I can only imagine what the profit margin on these is. Nice cables, certainly, just not worth the $ imho. Suggest Cardas (still expensive), or maybe Tributaries.

-Ed

Try the Micro Purl Copper from Alpha Core. the Cable Company will let you try them before you buy.

Balanced is the way to go. It will surely show with the equipment you have. BUT try first. I switched form RCA to balanced three years ago and never regreted the decision.

I have found that certain links in the chain are far more sensitive than others to cable changes. For me the biggest is between preamp (ARC LS5) and amp (ARC VT130). Both of these units only have balanced connections, so for me to use single-ended cables is not possible. However my experience with Transparent cables, the Ultra specifically, has a rolled-off top end with my ARC system. The Cardas Golden Cross was magic between preamp and amp and can be found in the 5 or 6m length on the used market for $1200-1500. Finding a longer cable could be difficult to find on the used market. But recently I came across a very long run of NBS Statement for 15% of retail price and I just had to go for it. Like the Cardas was over the Straightwire Virtuoso, Transparent Ultra and Audioquest Diamond, the Statement was over the Cardas. Tonal balance was much more in check with the NBS and wow, yet another layer of resolution....you think the Cardas portrays ambience and 3D beautifully, the NBS is another level beyond. But! ... for the value, the Cardas is so difficult to beat, especially in the context of an ARC based system like you have. One other thing, the Cable Company is nice to allow you to hear many models, but of course, you end up buying new and to me anyway, paying retail for cables makes absolutely no sense at all. So my advice is to take note of the reviews and comments for a few cables that consistently get great comments (look at the Cardas reviews on audioreview.com) and just try one out. If you get a great deal, and then decide they are not really a good fit for your system or your liking, then selling them should be easy. I'm a big fan of listen-before-buy, but sometimes a good enough deal means you can own them for awhile and sell them at the same price. Good luck to you.