If you used an adapter from unbalanced to balanced this could limit your amp since balanced connections have much higher output voltage on pre/pro's and higher input impedance on the amp. Is that what you meant to say or am I talkin out my backside.
Yes. And I found when you work it out it comes in at around -10db loss of sound level.
I was using for a long while a Pioneer receiver that only had RCA pre-outs and had to use RCA-XLR cables as there was something that caused a wicked hum between the LFR1100 speakers DSP and the Anthem amp that I had purchased. If you play with the room correction sound levels you can compensate by putting the channels to +db for the ones that are on the RCA-XLR and -db for the ones that are not.