Balanced or single ended phono cable to Aesthetix Io?

Dear NKJ and thekong
NKJ - your observations line up with mine. +1 for the world best phono stage, or close to it.
I have worked with most of the other things you mention - tube choices, isolation , and I have dual power supplies. although not interconnect quality between the supplies and the Io.
thekong, agree the loading at the back is fiddly, didnt get it, how you adjust this with another cable.

thekong - that was innovative! what load did you end up with (and for what cartridge)?

I am much - but not fully - in line with Atmasphere on this, since his experience agrees with mine. Balanced is usually better. I also agree with Williewonka, and nkj. I think the quality of the cable plays a role, though, even in balanced mode. Balanced cables also perform differently in my system, although the variation in single ended cables is even greater. I am using a rather "naked" classical well-rated cable, the Kimber KCAG (single ended), in a DIY mod to make a phono cable (soldered to the mini-DIN plug at the tonearm side). I did this because I always liked the KCAG compared to various other single ended IC’s. The cable needs dressing, but even then, I can sometimes hear phones etc.it is a bit like an antenna. But aside of this it makes music in a light (should I say silvery) and airy way that I like. Nkj - I also tried a Hovland cable (single ended), yes it was nice, better tuned to the task I think, but it did not totally outperform the KCAG. I was a bit disappointed. - My experience with balanced / xlr is that there may be a price to pay, also, for the shielding, a less open and immediate sound. Not at all sure about this, just my two cent reflection.
"Why not just run balanced all the way" - my thought also - even if, in my case, the effect will be diminished by the (SE) first gain stage of the Io. - Thanks for all advice. I will certainly try both options, as soon as I get the Io back from repair. Tell you more then. In the meantime, more experiences from users of similar systems are welcome.

My Io has been on repair. Meanwhile I bought a used ASR mini basic to be able to play vinyl (much good sound for c 700 usd, but no Io of course),  which is single ended only. Therefore, I have not been able to follow up on single ended vs balanced. I am considering, when the Io comes back, trying a Heimdall 2 tonearm cable with XLR, that I can get to a fair price. Or maybe, I am better served by rewiring my SME V tonearm direct to the phono preamp (some services offer this - cf smetonearms.com).