I dunno what a ground loop is. I have the altec lansing vs2121's, and it says not to put electronics beside the sub. Well one day I decided to get stupid, and I sat my LCD monitor right on top of the sub, and guess what, IT WORKED!!! I sat my Ipod on top of the sub and IT WORKED TOO!! I think only devices that are susceptible to magnetic interference will get messed up. For example, you wouldn't dare put a CRT beside it, and if you try to use some sort of wireless devices, the sub might mess up the signal. It's really only magnetic interference, so I highly doubt that the control thingy will be damaged by magnetics.