# stranded versus solid ground wire **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [March 13, 2007, 12:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stranded-versus-solid-ground-wire/395735 "2007-03-13T12:56:26Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 5\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![UncleFred](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/f0a364/32.png) [@UncleFred](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/UncleFred)\ **Post date:** [July 4, 2016, 6:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stranded-versus-solid-ground-wire/395735/21 "2016-07-04T18:58:33Z")
> [@friedo](#): > > Stereo systems do not carry high-frequency signals. Coaxial and other shielded cable are used for low-level signals in audio/stereo and video systems. They employ stranded wire for the outer layer. This is to create a mostly continuous tube of conductor around the central cable, to contain or keep out electrical radiation. It would not be practical to have a solid outer layer - that would be more like a pipe and the cable would not be usably flexible. I believe the inner conductor can be solid or shielded, depending on the application. ---
**Author:** ![Crafter\_Man](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/crafter_man/32/458_2.png) [@Crafter\_Man](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Crafter_Man)\ **Post date:** [July 4, 2016, 9:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stranded-versus-solid-ground-wire/395735/22 "2016-07-04T21:25:48Z")
> [@UncleFred](#): > > They employ stranded wire for the outer layer. This is to create a mostly continuous tube of conductor around the central cable, to contain or keep out electrical radiation. It would not be practical to have a solid outer layer - that would be more like a pipe and the cable would not be usably flexible. In addition to braid, the outer conductor can be foil or (more commonly) a layer of braid _and_ a layer of foil. [Belden 1694A](https://www.bluejeanscable.com/pages/technicaldocs/1694tech.htm) is an RG-6/U coax cable that has a foil/braid shield. Coax cable with a [solid and semi-rigid outer conductor](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Copper_wire_and_cable#/media/File:Semi_rigid.jpg) has been available for many decades, though it is most often used in microwave systems. ---
**Author:** ![jz78817](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jz78817/32/1028_2.png) [@jz78817](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jz78817)\ **Post date:** [July 5, 2016, 12:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stranded-versus-solid-ground-wire/395735/23 "2016-07-05T00:42:41Z")
RG-6 is not used for baseband audio. ---
**Author:** ![Me\_Billy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/e480ec/32.png) [@Me\_Billy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Me_Billy)\ **Post date:** [July 5, 2016, 3:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stranded-versus-solid-ground-wire/395735/24 "2016-07-05T15:02:01Z")
And then there is “Quad Shielded” coax… [https://www.perfect-vision.com/PerfectVision/CoaxialCableGuide.aspx](https://www.perfect-vision.com/PerfectVision/CoaxialCableGuide.aspx) ---
**Author:** ![jz78817](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jz78817/32/1028_2.png) [@jz78817](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jz78817)\ **Post date:** [July 5, 2016, 3:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stranded-versus-solid-ground-wire/395735/25 "2016-07-05T15:30:50Z")
quad shielding is to prevent signal ingress/leakage at CATV frequencies (7-500 MHz.) it has little to no relevance to baseband audio (DC-20 kHz.) even worse, a lot of RG-6 uses a steel conductor with a thin layer of copper plating on it. it’s fine for RF applications since skin effect is significant at those frequencies, but it would be not-good for baseband audio since the skin depth is too great and steel’s resistivity is higher than copper. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stranded-versus-solid-ground-wire/395735.md?page=1)