If aftermarket premium power cords work, why won’t short runs of premium XLR cables work?

I am sad your confidence in ’theory’ precludes all fact.

@elizabeth Its not theory. I've been doing this a long time, and I've seen plenty of cases where one cable sounds better than another, including balanced.

The thing is though that most high end audio products don't support the balanced standard. They might be fully balanced, but fully balanced and supporting the standard are two different things. The standard is there so that cables don't sound different from one another (amongst other things) but supporting the standard is hard so most manufacturers don't do it.

As a result, you have the experiences that you have, because the gear you used didn't support the standard (also known as AES48; Audio Engineering Society File 48).

You can read more about this here:
http://www.atma-sphere.com/Resources/balanced.php

Oh, jeez (x2)...

In my experience, different XLR do sound very different. I had Kimber Hero, Cardas Parsec, and finally Kimber KS1116. Each a big jump in price, and a good step up in sound.  

If this was the case, then the associated gear didn't support the balanced standard.

Whatever boxes are on the cable is not really relevant (and FWIW, they don't really serve a purpose either).

If the equipment supports the balanced standard, then you can use extensions all you like. If the equipment does not, the results are less predictable, but in your case no difference is heard so the answer is 'you're good to go' :)

Thanks for the clarification. Looks like Ralph interpreted the question correctly. In this case I suspect the answer is even less predictable than what he stated, because I doubt that anyone here has detailed knowledge of what is in the "network boxes" of the Transparent cables.

But if as you say you "can’t hear any difference, after adding the extensions on to them," that would seem to be the bottom line.

Regards,
-- Al

What I am saying, is if one needs a longer length XLR cable, do you think the signal is degraded by using a short high quality cable, with a longer mid grade extension?  I know power cords are carrying amperage and XLR cables are carrying smaller amounts of voltage, but does this question hold water?  I have stated before I'm using a couple of Transparent  Music Link Supers, with a couple of Hosa extensions.  I've tried using just the Transparents and can't hear any difference, after adding the extensions on to them.  Actually, the extensions are first, then the transparents.

I think that what Handymann is asking is that since a well chosen power cord is often said to provide a benefit, despite its short length relative to the much longer length of the wiring that is upstream of it, why wouldn’t a short length of XLR cable also provide a benefit. And I suspect he is asking that because a number of people have claimed in various threads here that balanced XLR interfaces are only beneficial if the run length is long.

In response, I would first emphasize that the technical considerations involved in supplying AC power to a component are completely different than the technical considerations that are involved in communicating analog audio signals between components. So I wouldn’t extrapolate any conclusions or expectations from one situation to the other.

Second, the people claiming that balanced XLR interfaces necessarily provide no benefit if the run length is short are incorrect. If the components being connected have well designed balanced interface circuits, and especially if they support the balanced standard Ralph referred to, balanced XLR interconnections can reduce sensitivity to cable differences (as Cleeds mentioned), can reduce susceptibility to ground loop issues, can reduce noise levels, and can provide higher overall system gain, regardless of length. And also, contrary to what is sometimes said here, regardless of whether or not the components are "fully balanced," meaning regardless of whether they have balanced internal signal paths.

However, my understanding is that the majority of audio components having balanced interfaces do not conform to that standard. So in those cases an XLR interconnection may provide better results or worse results than an RCA interconnection, depending on the specific designs. And perhaps depending also on how AC power is distributed to the interconnected components. (For example, if power is supplied by a single dedicated line vs. by separate dedicated lines, or from the same power conditioner, or from a power conditioner to upstream components but with the amplifier plugged directly into the wall outlet. Those alternatives can affect ground loop-related issues, to which a well-designed balanced interface will be less susceptible than an unbalanced interface).

So as is usual in audio, it all depends :-)

Regards,
-- Al

XLR cables are easily extended, if the source supports the balanced standard. If not, its a bit of a crap shoot.
More on this:
http://www.atma-sphere.com/Resources/balanced.php

See the power cord discussion (posted on the Galen Carol website) by Caelin Gabriel of Shunyata Research. It addresses a few of the widely held beliefs and assumptions about power cords. I found it helpful.

I’m not clear on your question re PCs vs balanced ICs, so can’t help there. Sorry.

https://www.gcaudio.com/tips-tricks/why-power-cables-make-a-difference/

One of the advantages of a proper balanced (differential) circuit is that it minimizes the interaction with the balanced interconnect cable and makes it much less critical.