Telescoping Shield

Refers to a shield configuration in shielded balanced cables. When the cable shield is connected at one end of a cable, but left “floating” or unconnected at the other it is said to be telescoping. A cable’s shield does not necessarily have to be connected to ground at both ends in order to provide effective shielding so they are often telescoped in studio wiring to reduce the likelihood of ground loop problems. Which end of a cable’s shield gets left floating (the source end or the destination end) is a subject that is debated in the tweaky circles of studio designers, but most people lift it at the source.