Balanced cables are all I would ever use for anything over maybe 2 meters or so…and that's a stretch. It seems like balanced phono cables are a great idea as phono cables can use all the help they can get. My old Linn had a crappy tonearm cable that was improved amazingly when I bought a Jelco/Mogami cable…no hum from the cable picking up dimmer crap, and simply cleaner overall sound.