Dante and Milan drive convergence as churches upgrade digital audio backbones

The move to networked digital audio represents a fundamental change in how live production environments manage signal distribution. By adopting protocols like Dante or Milan, facilities can replace bulky analog snakes with streamlined Cat5e/6 cabling, drastically reducing installation costs while enabling sophisticated remote management. However, the choice between proprietary ecosystems like Audinate’s and open standards like Milan dictates future hardware compatibility and total cost of ownership. As streaming demand grows, these backbones become critical for maintaining broadcast-quality audio parity across physical and digital platforms. Watch for the expanded adoption of AES67 as a universal patching layer to solve multi-manufacturer fragmentation.

Audinate continues to dominate the networked audio landscape, reporting in February 2025 that the Dante ecosystem grew to 4,372 products from 476 shipping brands. Despite a dip in hardware revenue during fiscal year 2025 due to inventory overstock, the company recorded a 30% surge in software revenue, reflecting a shift toward embedded Dante IP cores. Per Audinate's recent financial filings, over 316,000 professionals are now Dante-certified, reinforcing it as the de facto industry standard for live sound and house of worship environments.

Simultaneously, the standards-based Milan/AVB protocol is gaining momentum in the high-end reinforcement market. In April 2026, leading loudspeaker manufacturers d&b audiotechnik and L-Acoustics launched "Milan Manager" to simplify the configuration of deterministic, zero-congestion audio networks. While RH Consulting noted in March 2025 that Milan only accounts for approximately 77 products compared to Dante's thousands, the protocol's ability to reserve bandwidth via IEEE 802.1 standards makes it a preferred choice for large-scale venues seeking a royalty-free alternative.

Interoperability remains the primary friction point for technical directors. Recent developments from manufacturers like Yamaha and DiGiCo involve specialized I/O cards to bridge disparate protocols. For instance, per Mixonline in February 2026, AuviTran launched new AVB connectivity cards for Yamaha Rivage consoles, addressing a long-standing demand for better integration with Milan-certified speaker systems. This trend highlights a broader industry shift: rather than one protocol winning entirely, the 2026 production rack must increasingly support a hybrid architecture of Dante, Milan, and AES67.