On a scale of one to ten how would you rate.......

My Rowland class D amp has only XLR inputs (mature decision) so I cannot compare but from what I've heard balanced gives a little more air. There is another reason for using XLR different from the sound quality, It is an arrangement of connectors that don't allow to touch/be touched. It is very important in studios with hundreds of cables passing and real possibility of cable being yanked from its place but in my system it is only sonics I care about.

Al - Thank you for the link. I believe that grounding shield at both ends is a mistake but there are some studies showing improvement with high frequency noise rejection.

One important thing they mentioned in the article is to NEVER defeat ground loops by disconnecting earth ground (third prong). Device that uses only 2 wires (hot and neutral) is designed differently with no metal parts exposed. Disconnecting third prong (very common advise on this forum) can lead to death.