[Chicago]

I have a BP-6 with 4B-SST2 and BDA-1/BDP-1 and am considering upgrading to BP-26/MPS-2 with balanced cables vs single-ended cables with BP-6 - would there be significant difference in sound ? 

James answered this question awhile back in a thread titled Bryston pre-amp comparison.  It sounded to me like there was not all that much difference in the sound, more the features.  Folks at this site did note an improvement between the BDA-1 and BDA-2.

http://www.audiocircle.com/index.php?topic=95091.0

[sweetspot]

  All I can say is with my 4B and the BP25 there was a significant improvement 

   I  have the same equipment and I agree.

[redbook]

 

[PierreB]

I try both but return to RCA-RCA because in my system it sounds better (2B SST - BP25).

[DaveC113]

I was just looking up the best way to hook up a new Marantz pre/pro and 5 channel amp. It turns out there is a measured ~12 dB difference in S/N ratio with the RCAs coming out on top, that's because the Marantz gear is not balanced, it just offers the ability to use balanced cables which are processed back to single ended. So it really does depend on the component in question, it's not always better to use balanced connections and in home environments the noise rejection usually does not matter. But if your gear is a balanced design then it's usually best to use XLR cables.

[redbook]

I was just looking up the best way to hook up a new Marantz pre/pro and 5 channel amp. It turns out there is a measured ~12 dB difference in S/N ratio with the RCAs coming out on top, that's because the Marantz gear is not balanced, it just offers the ability to use balanced cables which are processed back to single ended. So it really does depend on the component in question, it's not always better to use balanced connections and in home environments the noise rejection usually does not matter. But if your gear is a balanced design then it's usually best to use XLR cables.

   Exactly....very well sated. I think that's why it works so well in my case.