Shielding Lifted Patch Cables - criticism needed

[Muranyi, Andras]

Hi DIYers,

Rearranging, racking and clarifying my setup - in hope of getting rid of
the last dBs of hums and noises (what noises!... a whole set of radio
broadcasts recieved!) - I've also redone my cable set.
My system runs unbalanced, and there was no chance that I could upgrade
a significant part (at least my mixer and the amp) to balanced, so I had
to look for another solution. I tried one trick: Used unbalanced 1/4"
connectors and *balanced* cables for all chords; at the source end the
top soldered to the first wire and the sleeve to both the second wire
and the shielding, while at the other end the first wire soldered to the
top of course but only the second wire to the sleeve, and the shielding
left lifted.
The setup is pretty silent now, but I'm wondering if it is because of
the precise imlementation only, or my fuss with the shielding may have
helped.

What do experts say?

-- 
* MURANYI Andras web-designer, studiovezeto  *
* ROMbrandt Multimedia * http://www.miwo.hu/ *
* mailto:Muranyi.Andras at miwo.hu              *