are balanced connections always the way to go when connecting a pre amp to amp and lets say a cd player?

This is a complex issue. Some would claim "yes" - but there was a great and very detailed debate of the subject back when the 990 was announced in which Altec (then using the user name soundhound) presented a strong argument against balanced connections for the typical home installation. I went looking for the thread but couldn't find it. Basically, though, the one case where it is always easy to justify using balanced cables is the case for which they were created: environments with a lot of EMI/RFI noise where the ability to reject that noise is really valuable. For a space like a recording studio, with a huge amount of gear and a ton of wiring for various systems all wrapped together in a single space, that noise rejection is priceless. For a short cabling run in a home, that noise rejection is rarely going to be important. Once you get away from that single situation, though, you will be hard pressed to get a really unified consensus on the benefits of balanced connections. (And that doesn't even touch on the issue of whether the equipment at either end is truly "balanced" internally or not...)

gonk, what does that mean exactly, internally balanced?

is the 990 internally balanced?

See this Wiki article for details on how balanced audio works, including a paragraph on "internally balanced." Basically, consumer gear is rarely internally balanced, so you are converting from single-ended ("unbalanced") to balanced at the input and/or output of the unit. The Model 990 is not internally balanced.

One advantage to the balanced cables is that they lock into place so there is very little chance that they can come loose.
I am using microphone cables from Parts Express and they are doing a great job.
I don't really see the point of spending $30.00 or more on balanced cables.

http://www.parts-express.com/pe/showdetl.cfm?Partnumber=241-342

Sorry for the late reply, but I was on vacation when this thread was started, and I'm just getting back to looking at forums. I've used unbalanced interconnects for years without complaint. However, when I got the 990 and 7700, I decided to try the balanced connections. I am using the Parts Express Dayton line of XLR cables and am quite happy with them. I have made too many changes to my system to honestly evaluate any difference between my previous use of unbalanced cables versus the new setup with balanced cables. Both seem to perform more than adequately in my setups which feature short runs. I've never used an interconnect longer than 12 feet, and typically most of my equipment is connected with 3 and 6 foot cables. With analog inputs, I don't know of any non-pro-sound equipment aside from amps and preamps that use balanced connects. So, there's really not much to be gained if the connection from the record, disk, or tape player is unbalanced. In my new setup, I have no analog inputs at the moment (BDP-83 will change that in the near future), so there might be some advantage to using balanced interconnects between the pre/pro and amp. However, unless you've got a long run in a EMI/RFI "noisy" environment, you'll probably be hard-pressed to notice any difference.

Happy listening,
Bill

Gonk:

If I remember the original argument from Soundhound correctly, his main argument about balanced connectors is that they eliminated even order harmonics, while unbalanced connectors did not. I don't recall his argument fully, but my further recollection was that this difference was audible and not desirable

The countervailing argument was that for many users, balanced cables removed background hiss/hum that had previously existed in their systems. Whether this was noticable at normal listening levels was another point altogether.

That sounds about right, 73Bruin.