Grounded Speaker Cable

I've never heard of such a thing. Who makes this cable? It sounds like it could be an issue with some amplifiers that do not share common grounds.

Audio Envy makes it. It's their SP14, which is the successor to the SP12 that I'm using currently.

I, too, am skeptical about this wire. I would ask the manufacturer for proof of concept before buying.

B

I've never heard of such a thing. Who makes this cable? It sounds like it could be an issue with some amplifiers that do not share common grounds.

It seems like it could be a problem with a floating ground, it definitely wouldn't work with one pair of speakers I own.

I couldn't find a reference to that cable, but guessing it's shielded and that's what the ground is for?

Here's an interesting article on the grounding debate that may explain it:  Grounding and shielding: No size fits all

Personally, I've been eyeing Analysis Plus' speaker cables because of their approach to shielding.

Tannoy speakers use a earth ground wire see here @ 6:39.

Mike

Makes me wonder whether the separate ground wire could cause a ground loop hum due to too many grounded items. 

@ditusa These speaker cables apparently have a ground wire running from the cable itself to a nearby outlet. If the purpose of this is to reduce RF (as with Tannoy), then it may be more useful in a city, where a lot of RF exists typically, instead of in a more rural area.

@rlb61 Wrote:

Makes me wonder whether the separate ground wire could cause a ground loop hum due to too many grounded items.

The separate ground wire is not connected to the crossover.

I think it earth grounds the metal driver speaker basket only. In my opinion, it's for marketing purposes. 😎

Mike

@rlb61 I think your best solution would be to email or phone Captain and inquire, that way you get an answer directly from the source. I believe if Captain designs it there is a purpose.

I spoke with Cap. Still not clear on the need for a ground wire on the speaker cable of my amp is grounded already.

It would be nice if this was on the website with an explanation of how it is supposed to work.

My Clarisys Speakers has a ground lug. Supposedly to be used with a unit like the Shunyata Altares/ Gemini grounding system. I actually tried it, and I got hum.

ozzy

FYI, I spoke about this with a client/friend of mine who is a master electrician. His opinion is that the ground wire could cause some problems depending on the amp, and could result in ground loop hum. Unless there's a massive amount of RF (which is found typically in commercial and industrial applications), the likelihood of this ground wire improving sound in a residential setting appears to be minimal.

I can't find any reference to an Audio Envy SP14 speaker cable with ground.

Is there a link?

@tony1954 ... they are not on the website yet. I read about them in a post from a guy on A’Gon and then emailed the company. I use AE SP12s and think they are excellent. However, I am skeptical with respect to this ground wire thing and, after having read more about it and speaking with my electrician friend, I think the potential benefit is very small to non-existent. I’ll keep my SP12s (which are far better than the Cardas wire I used for years), and will continue to stay off the cable roller coaster.

@rib61, This article just came to mind an overview of audio system grounding and interfacing see here.

Mike

"likelihood of this ground wire improving sound in a residential setting appears to be minimal"

not minimal, NONE, no need, NADA, in fact it ADDs potential for problem.

You cannot solve a non-existent problem.

Read all 200 pages .put some science behind audio equipment and very informative on published reference.  Very helpful.

User @nutty has these speaker cables. He has both the SP12s and the SP14s and he said he likes the 14s much better. Maybe he'll chime in here.

The 14s are also better in their inductance measurements according to Cap. If you like the 12s, the 14s are just sweeter sounding. The new interconnects are also worth considering. I really think Cap has knocked it out of the park with these new cables - maybe he could send you a pair to demo

@cd45123 ... Given my research on this issue and now having spoken to a couple of electricians, I’m gonna pass on the SP14s. I think there is the potential for real problems with this ground wire, and I’m not convinced that there will be any material difference in sound quality to justify making the change. The SP12s sound really great in my system, so if it ain’t broke, I'm not gonna fix it.