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I did not notice any noise reduction.
- My phonostage can be switched from one input mode to the other on the fly. I turned the system all the way up and listened to the system gain noise on the balanced input mode then switched to single-end mode and noticed no change in noise level. This s most likely due to having a good input grounding scheme and/or little RFI/EMI around my table and phonostage. This method did use the same XLR input since the circuit is switched independent of the connector used.
The sonic benefit is audible in this case.
-Ayre (and ASR) claim that the phonostage works better using the balanced input. Using Julsang from the ATR Master Cut pressing of the Proprius LP (Cantate Domino) as a test this evening, I checked the sonic benefit in real time. In my situation, the gain is refinement, depth of stage, and a more whole sonic picture. In contrast, in single ended mode, there is a shade less of the items mentioned above. At the end of the day, Im still happy I made the connector change. Ive also made a pair of XLR to RCA adaptors to use with other phonostages that cross my path from time to time.
From what Ive read about your ASR Basis Exclusive, I would expect that your may hear similar benefits.
Hope this helps,
Dre