Balanced is better from my experience. I tried the 1.5m RCA and balanced XLR versions of the Transparent Music Link Super XL interconnects between my Krell KRC-3 preamp and Mark Levinson 331 power amp. The balanced XLR version was more transparent, open, neutral, airy, dynamic with more harmonic integrity. The improvement in my setup was quite dramatic. I chose the balanced XLR.
