Is there a difference in balanced cables??

I'm fairly new at this, so forgive me if my question sounds silly. For the past three months, I've been swapping my balanced ICs back and forth, switching from a Kimber Kable KCAG which tended to be bright and sometimes edgy in my system, to a Monster Cable (which, though warm, lacks in detail and dynamics). Meanwhile, I've been wondering whether to buy another IC altogether.

A dealer who sells Audience cables warned me that many interconnects with XLR terminations aren't truly balanced, but that the Audience Au24s are. I wrote Audience who said that their Au24s and budget-priced Conductors are indeed "balanced" as well, but they cannot do so with their mid-priced Maestro wire, as that is of a different configuration which doesn't allow for balanced connections.

So, I've been looking at various ICs and putting the question to dealers and manufacturers regarding their being "balanced."

My system: Sonus Faber Grand Piano Home speakers, Electrocompaniet ECI 3, Cal Audio Labs CL-15 player, Audience Au24 speaker cables, Kimber Kable KCAG or Monster Cable interconnect, BPT L-10 powercord (amp), Audience PowerChord (CDP), Monument Reference speaker posts, Vibrapods.

Have I been given wrong information? What other balanced ICs should I consider besides Audience Au24, which, for me, is on the expensive side? Balanced Power Technologies IC-SL? Tara Labs RSC Vector? Analysis Plus Solo Crystal Oval?

THANK YOU.

A friend also wrote that I may have misunderstood what the dealer was saying, though I do know that components with XLR connections may not be fully blananced.

Can you tell me what a multi-meter is and where to get one? This would be a useful check to run.

Can you describe the differences?

Audphile 1 -- It makes sense to me that the AZ Silver Ref MkII would be much better in your system, which uses the AZ speaker cables. I recently experienced a dramatic demonstration of cabling synergy with Analysis Plus cables. Using AP Oval 12 speaker cables in my 2nd system (Sonus Faber Concertinos, PrimaLuna Prologue One amp, Audio Refinement Complete CDP, Shunyata Diamondback power cord on the front end, Atlas Eos power cord on the amp), I auditioned various RCA ICs--Audience Maestros, Atlas Navigators, and AP Copper Oval In and Solo Crystal Oval. While each IC was good, the AP ICs were best. Harmonic saturation, detail, imaging, and air all increased with the AP ICs and was dramatically better with the Solo Crystal Ovals. Playing the Huelgas Ensemble "Le Chant de Virgile," I could hear the bass enunciate and sing so well, it seemed he was in the corner of the room. It was chilling. And it made the point to me regarding synergy in a system among cables of the same make. Now, I'm very eager to try an Audience balanced IC in my main system as I've Audience Au24 speaker cables with an Audience PowerChord on my CDP. I also have Kimber Kable KCAG and an Atlas Navigator All-Cu on hand. We'll see.