... The goal of the balanced line system is to eliminate sonic artifacts of the cable and eliminate ground loops. To do that, the equipment has to support the balanced line standard, known as AES48 ...
With all respect to Ralph, that’s a circular argument and the claim not quite exactly true. The AES48 standard he touts was only adopted in 2019, and balanced audio circuits predate that by many decades. To suggest that only those complying with the standard are capable of such feats as eliminating ground loops is just not accurate.
if you adhere to the standard, it works.
I have differentially balanced Audio Research gear that works, yet the components are not AES48 compliant. As with many things, there is more than One Way. Similarly, I’ve heard AES48 compliant equipment that sounded like drek. In the end, AES48 is just a standard.