http://www.aviom.com/blog/balanced-vs-unbalanced/The benefit of balanced cables in HT is only if your house has ground issues. Like a ground loop or something like that. If your not getting any audible noise from RCA's.. Then there wont be a benefit...
I use XLR's... But, only because 2 houses ago my system was picking up or transmitting an audible noise.. XLR's fixed that. However, i have multiple outboard amps that are getting a signal from the processor... If your using a receiver there likely wont be any benefit today in the time of HDMI cables..
Today i only use the xlr's because they're already bought and paid for..
Also, from an electrical theory perspective... There is no benefit to spending top dollar on an xlr cable... As long as the connections are good; your good to go...
I'm not Ian, but hope this helps.
