Networked Audio Products in 2021
We’ve been counting licensees and products since 2013 and, after a huge amount of work, we are proud to release the latest list of all networked audio products.
This report will be in two parts; today we release the headline totals, in a few weeks we will have even more comprehensive detail on protocols, compatibility and rate of adoption.
The Big Total
3306 networked products currently shipping from 420 manufacturers
There are a total of 3,306 networked products currently shipping from 420 manufacturers; and that number is going up all the time. That’s nearly two new products every day in the past year.
There might be a worldwide pandemic, but that doesn’t seem to have stopped new product launches. Dante has passed the milestone of 3,000 shipping products
There is a modest increase in RAVENNA products but most of the leap in the number of RAVENNA manufacturers over 2020 is simply us having better data.
We’ve said goodbye to CobraNet
In 2020 we stopped counting CobraNet products. CobraNet modules are declared End of Life and Cirrus Logic do not recommend its use in new designs.
Whilst there are CobraNet projects still around, and a small number of manufacturers selling some equipment, it is impossible to get any reliable data on available products. We think the number of CobraNet devices on the market is in the tens of products. CobraNet is not a consideration at all in any forward looking statement about the the audio industry.
Our Methodology
We must allow for some human error in our results as some manufacturers provide poor information, and counting products is not the most entertaining of tasks! We think that even allowing a few percent for human error, our results are still a very realistic indicator.
As we mention every time we do this, we set out some rules for counting devices as this proved not to be as easy as we thought. When is a product a product? When is something a different product? The consensus is that we are being fair, but we are always happy to discuss. Our perspective is always from the angle of “What can a user actually buy?”.
These are the rules we set out:
• We have investigated products that appear to be shipping. It’s sometimes difficult to see if products are discontinued or if they are yet on the market. We have done what we can to verify whether each product is available for purchase. We worked extra hard this year and checked a great number of manufacturer price lists. This seems to be a more reliable indicator than if something is just on a website.
• We have included every SKU of a product. If a company sells a 2x600W amplifier and a 2x1200W amplifier they are counted as two products, because they would have a different use.
• Where the same product is available to purchase in a variety of card configurations, such as a processor that is 16-in/16-out, 8-in/24-out, 24-in/8-out etc., this is counted as one product as the overall channel count is the same.
• Where a similar product is available in different models 8-in/8-out, 12-in/12-out, 16-in/16-out, or a mixer with different input channel counts then these are counted as separate products as they would have a different use.
• Interface cards are counted in these product totals. Where a manufacturer’s network interface card fits into many audio products we have counted each shipping product, because that interface enables that product to become a networked audio device.
• A software driver or program that enables a Mac or PC to support a particular network protocol is counted as one product. If there are several versions with different channel counts or capabilities then each one counts as a separate product.
We have not included hacks, circuit boards, OEM kits for manufacturers or something that is not an actual product sold on its own or, at a user level, that allows a product to become networked.
Summary
The number of networked audio products continues to grow with a big jump in the number of manufacturers joining the party.
Dante continues to be the dominant force with RAVENNA in second place. The number of products for all other protocols is pretty inconsequential and there is small reduction in AVB.
Copyright and usage
You are permitted to use the information, data, wording and charts in this report freely, except for commercial gain. We require a credit to be given, visible (and spoken in the event of a presentation) in all use cases.
We kindly request that you seek permission from us if you wish to use our research and normally permission will be given without hesitation.
If you are using this data for commercial gain – for example as part of paid consultancy or paid speaking engagement, then we require you to contact us to see if a fee is appropriate. In most cases this will not be the case, but again we ask to be credited.