Balanced and Unbalanced streams of sound and how they are affected:

When audio flows through a cable it can pick up noise. That noise comes from signals or other electronic frequencies already in the air. The cables have to be sensitive to be able to pickup sound so just imagine what other noise they will pickup. You will also notice some other things about cables that are used in sound. A regular cable (unbalanced), only has one wire wrapped in insolation. This cable is insolated to help decrease the effect of other noise in the air. That means that one wire is carrying the sound from one end to the other. The question remains: "Why would that one wire pickup noise?" Is it picking up noise because it's making noise? So now let's try two cables with insolation. One cable goes in one direction from positive to negative and the other cable goes in the other direction from negative to positive. Will these streams of sound even themselves out? These questions will lead you to understand how the wrapping, direction, and size of such cables are affected by all different kinds of conditions. Streams of sound can even be distorted by maneuvering the cable into a coil of some sort. These balanced and unbalanced measures of sound will give you an understanding of how certain types of cables can play a big role in sound quality.