which turntable or how to convert to balanced phono setup?

elliottbnewcombjr

... I would not needlessly complicate a home audio system with xlr ...

XLR is just a type of connector. Why do you think it’s complicated?

... I tried xlr, and found it a waste of time ...

As @lewm suggests above, you probably weren’t using balanced components, so I wouldn’t expect much of a difference.

For my part, I neglected to mention that a feaux balanced input can be implemented using a transformer at the input driving a single-ended circuit. Some commercial components do that. This offers some of the benefits of balanced operation.

I have a PE 505 that I use with TEAC TN 5BB balanced turntable that I have been very happy with. I enjoy not being concerned with hum and other noise problems that used to drive me nuts. Pro-Ject has a variety of balanced turntables beginning at reasonable prices such as Debut Pro B (except I see it supplied with MM cartridge so upgrade to MC is needed). I now have an all-balanced system based on Schiit Gigastack that seems to be a great value and I will certainly try to keep balanced as a priority - piece of mind in avoiding noise and signal loss from long cable runs can be very helpful. I have a non-balanced Pro-Ject turntable that I would also like to convert to balanced if I could find an easy way to do it.

Sorry to be so pedantic, but it is not the turntable (or the tonearm) that is "balanced".  It is the cartridge; any (modern) cartridge can be connected so as to drive the phono stage in balanced mode, if the phono stage has a balanced input. No matter what any manufacturer says, it is a simple matter to convert any cartridge output from SE to balanced. If you can solder, you can do a conversion from SE to balanced yourself.  If your tonearm leads are color coded as is typical, then White goes to pin2 of the L channel XLR. Blue goes to pin3 of the L channel XLR. Red goes to pin2 of the R channel XLR, and Green goes to pin3 of the R channel XLR, once you have removed the RCA plugs. But again, there is nothing to be gained unless you have a balanced phono stage. If you plug an XLR into a single-ended stage, pin3, which would carry the negative phase signal in balanced mode, goes to ground inside the SE phono stage, and you are back where you started.

OP

this page has 6 cable options, just click on each box, study the ends of the cables

https://pro-jectusa.com/product/connect-it-ds-series-audio-cables/

they show mini xlr, they do not show, but mini-din connectors exist also. This is a VPI junction box, it is to convert a tonearm with mini din to rca and separate ground

https://houseofstereo.com/products/vpi-industries-junction-boxes?variant=42106729791637&utm_term=&utm_campaign=**LP+pMax&utm_source=adwords&utm_medium=ppc&hsa_acc=4188007760&hsa_cam=19959714947&hsa_grp=&hsa_ad=&hsa_src=x&hsa_tgt=&hsa_kw=&hsa_mt=&hsa_net=adwords&hsa_ver=3&gad_source=1&gad_campaignid=21818316948&gbraid=0AAAAACNju7149wG8-gb_AwvQMznX9Yl-G&gclid=Cj0KCQjwjdTCBhCLARIsAEu8bpIU5VLu9ZNAmtrpanOQp-_ikzLWBFBXRJLVlM7m-6CjzF8I9TmR9HAaAtdNEALw_wcB

they make an optional XLR version, look on the same page

I had my tonearm re-wired  from individually soldered litz wires to use mini-din out

from this (silk insulation wore off, hum developed)

to this

Your TT has a separate ground -  connector/terminal and a pair of female rca jacks for L+/- and R+/- Note: removable headshells, fixed arms, the headshells/cartridges only have 4 pins/wires, the 5th wire, the isolated ground is for the body of the arm itself to prevent hum.

Some TT models come pre-wired with a 5 pin din connector (5 male pins recessed/protected in the arm post most often), the 5th wire is the tonearm body ground

.

Others have an OEM provided phono cable with connectors and provisions for L+/-; R+/- and a ground for the unit which is actually grounding the tonearm body.

A separate din/rca phono cable is simply a 5 pin female connector on one end (goes into the bottom of the arm post); a pair of rca +/- and an integral separate ground wire that is allowed to exit the common cover at both ends for individual connecting to industry standard ground terminals. Construction and material choices and length is based on considerations of both capacitance and inductance.

Many times over the years, I have successfully improvised with a separate common green wire for ground and any stereo rca interconnect cable.