[Hallicrafters] Dipole antenna balun question

[Waldo Magnuson]

My 40 meter half-wave dipole simply feeds a co-ax cable (RG-8X) where 
the center conductor is connected to one side of the antenna and the 
shield to the other side.  It seems to work pretty good and the SWR is 
near one.  My question is:  Would a balun between the antenna and the 
co-ax perform significantly better?  Or using a twin-lead show any 
difference? Or even using a folded dipole and 300 ohm line or a 3-wire 
folded dipole and a 600 ohm line be worth the effort?  Or just go on 
the air more often with what I have?  Thanks in advance for your 
thoughts.
73,  Skip  W7WGM
P.S.  I've been able to talk with CO, ID, CA, HI in the last few weeks 
with my dipole and HT-44 at 80 watts.