There still seems to be some confusion, despite Ralph's clarification. If your phono stage has truly balanced circuitry inside, from input to output, then you would be remiss if you did not use an XLR connector where pins 2 and 3 carry the signal from the "hot" and "ground" pins of the cartridge, respectively, and the shield of the tonearm wire is connected to pin 1. However, MANY phono stages sport XLR inputs but are NOT balanced internally. Many manufacturers publish statements on this subject that are confusing, if not deliberately misleading, so be careful in this regard. If the internal circuitry is single-ended (not balanced), there is no real benefit to the XLR. The only difference between using the available XLR input vs the RCA input would be the possible tiny difference due to the difference in the two types of connectors. A truly balanced circuit will give you increased S/N and gain vs an SE circuit. Examples of truly balanced phono sections are Ayre, Atma-sphere, Raul's Phonolinepreamp, Aesthetix Io and maybe the Rhea, Pass Xono, I think, and I am sure there are more. The rest are pretenders.
I read a blurb earlier this week on a phono section that stated in two consecutive bulleted statements that it was "balanced" and then that it had an "SE RIAA section", as if each was a feature of the device. In plain language, it is not a balanced device. Even the dealer was confused on that one.
I read a blurb earlier this week on a phono section that stated in two consecutive bulleted statements that it was "balanced" and then that it had an "SE RIAA section", as if each was a feature of the device. In plain language, it is not a balanced device. Even the dealer was confused on that one.