Phono stage options - balanced with XLR both input and output...

Hold it! I am on the side that says phono cartridges, except for a very few that use a common ground, ARE inherently balanced in the sense that they CAN deliver a balanced signal. Mijostyn, my point was that when used to deliver a balanced signal, the signal ground floats. There is no ground connection on a cartridge. When wired for SE operation we choose one side as signal ground arbitrarily and take signal off the other end.

I confess lack of knowledge about the very latest ARC preamps. If the internal circuitry is balanced in the strict sense of that term, then I must apologize for conveying the wrong idea. Certainly classic ARC units were not balanced, eg, SP10, 11, etc.

went to ph2 website. Mea culpa. It’s balanced.

There is no ground at the cartridge if run in balanced mode. A cartridge has two terminals which may be used to derive positive and negative phases, respectively, of a balanced signal. OR one side is grounded and output is taken from the remaining terminal, in an SE setup. I have no idea what Mijo means when he says that SE "strangles" the signal, but there are some advantages to balanced mode operation. like common mode noise rejection and added gain, compared to the exact same cartridge and phono set up in SE mode. I have never had a hum or buzz problem in a balanced phono set-up. But I also have an SE system that sounds wonderful. Based on experience, I am not dogmatic about balanced operation but I do prefer it. Holmz, the presence of XLR connectors does not necessarily mean that the signal is treated in balanced mode. I don't know what's inside your PH2, but AR is not known for balanced circuits.

CH Precision

DSA Phono

Atma-sphere MP1 and MP3

There are more but I cannot conjure up the names offhand.

Be careful that you are getting a unit with a true balanced circuit inside.  Many companies obfuscate on that.  Some use a transformer or a chip to simulate balanced input or output.