I agree. The amp looks great but I've committed
to using XLR as well. I've gone with the
AudioSource Modular amps. One problem it has
with XLR is that they won't auto-detect
when it gets a signal like its unbalanced
connector would. So there is some inconvenience
of having to turn a lot of things on manually
but I don't mind much.

XLR works. I originally had this nasty
hum when I was using the unbalanced inputs. Once
I switched to XLR it was gone. The hum was
associated with some grounding issue. I purchased
a Belkin PureAV power supply center to help
alleviate that also.

Having modular amps is bulky though. I have to
have two racks of AudioSource amps to house them
all & since it's heavy, they aren't a part of
the rack furniture. They're placed on an amp stand
on the floor next to the rack. Definitely
something I wouldn't have forseen when I was
researching stereo equipment.

Twitchy_one