Looking for a preamp with XLR connections

While balanced and differential circuits are usually superior, it is not universally so. I’ve seen measurements of at least half a dozen products for which the single-ended connections resulted in the same or better performance than the balanced option. Case in point is the Cary SLP-05 preamp (which is fully differential even). 

What matters most is compatibility between the separate components in order to minimize ground loops. Well designed gear does not induce ground loops regardless of circuit and connection type. It also helps to avoid using “boutique” or audiophile brand cables, since many of them have completely ineffective shielding and poor quality terminations. 

@helomech 

This is why I talk about the balanced standard.

If the balanced standard is supported ground loops don't occur. This is because in a balanced connection, ground is ignored- its not part of the signal path as it is in a single-ended connection! Its merely there for shielding.

When the balanced standard is ignored as we see in so many high end audio products, all bets are off. In a lot of balanced tube preamps in particular, the balanced output is simply two single-ended outputs (one out of phase with the other), each of which reference ground. That means that the ground isn't being ignored. When this happens all bets are off; such a preamp doesn't support AES48.

We've been doing balanced line preamps for home audio longer than anyone else. We did it because if you support the balanced line standard, you can get off of the interconnect cable game and not have to worry about their 'sound'.

It didn't occur to us to not support the standard. But that has become very common in high end audio today; whether by choice or ignorance of the standard I can't tell.

But if the preamp supports the standard you won't have to worry about interconnects. So when looking at a preamp, ask the manufacturer if the preamp supports AES48 which is the balanced standard.