@mtbiker29
There's a fair bit of misinformation here. Since we've been doing balanced lines longer than anyone else, perhaps I might set the record straight:
1) the advantages of balanced lines have nothing to do with length whether 6 inches or 60 feet.
2) there is a balanced line standard called AES48. If the equipment does not support the standard, you may hear differences between cables; this is why balanced vs RCA is a debate, which really shouldn't happen. But most 'high end audio' equipment does not support the standard hence debates...
3) In a well designed balanced system there isn't extra circuitry- in fact you may have less stages of gain than single-ended. For example our balanced preamps have only 4 stages of gain (despite passive equalization in the phono) between the LOMC input and the main output.
4) balanced, if properly done is better than RCA connections and if you get to hear that difference there's no going back. Balanced lines ushered in the golden age of high fidelity in the 1950s. Prior to that everything was single-ended requiring the recording equipment to be right beside the musicians.
5) phono cartridges are balanced sources. Since balanced line gives you more neutral connections, this is a big incentive since if there's anywhere in the system that the cables have to get it right, its between the tonearm and phono preamp input. No matter how good the system is it can't make up for colorations that RCA cables inevitably cause.
