Linn ikemi balanced output

FWIW:
Linn didn't believe too heavily in balanced circuitry at the time - but put this in because it was becoming 'required' to be taken seriously. This is not to say the balanced is worse than the single-ended, it in fact might be quite a sight better, but it will probably have a lot to do with the cables and preamp in question, as well as how your system is physically setup (e.g. EM/RF interference). So it's a classic YMMV.

I owned the Ikemi and the owners manual makes no distinction between RCA or Balanced as preferential circuitry. I think balanced usually best when making long runs, IMHO.