Not needed for the audio signal. However, it is needed to ground the cable's screen to guard against RFI. The shield in a AES3 cable should be considered as an extension of the chassis.

Regards,
Carl

861v6+ID40, HD621, 8000.2, 7200HC, 7200.2, SKYQ Silver, PS3, PDP-LX6090, QNAP TS870-Pro (8*6TB), Roon, iPadAir2.
[In Reserve] C15, MD600 (2*3TB), TwinStore RM (2*2TB)