AES67 vs. Dante: which one to choose for your professional audio network?

AES67 and Dante are the two protocols that have become dominant in digital audio transmission over IP networks in recent years. How do they really differ? Which is the most suitable for professional audio? Which option should we choose for EN 54 certified public address and voice evacuation systems working in critical environments?

Here is a clear and up-to-date comparison between Dante and AES67, designed to facilitate the work of integrators, maintainers and technical managers.

What is AES67?

AES67 is an open standard published by the AES (Audio Engineering Society) in 2013 to facilitate interoperability between IP audio systems.

It is not a new protocol, but a common specification that defines how different technologies (such as Dante, Ravenna, Livewire+ or Q-LAN) can coexist and communicate with each other, using widely accepted standards such as:

• RTP for audio transport.
• PTP v2 (IEEE 1588-2008) for time synchronization.
• Multicast with IGMP for distribution.
• SDP for flow description.

What is Dante?

Developed by the Australian company Audinate, Dante is a proprietary solution that provides audio streaming and control over IP networks. It is a standard highly valued for its ease of use, automatic device discovery and centralized configuration through the Dante Controller application. For this reason it is very popular in the audiovisual sector (AV), live events and broadcast.

Although not based on open standards, recent versions of Dante do include support for AES67 to facilitate integration in mixed networks.

Technical comparison AES67 vs Dante

Overcoming limits: LDA Audio Tech’s solution

One of the historical weaknesses of AES67 has been the lack of native discovery, configuration and monitoring mechanisms, which has hampered its adoption as a Dante-style turnkey solution.

LDA Audio Tech has addressed this limitation by developing proprietary protocols, specifically designed for:

• Automatic discovery of networked devices (NEO+, NEXO, NEXO HUB…).
• Centralized configuration of AES67 streams, without the need for external tools such as SAP or NMOS.
• Continuous monitoring of real-time operation, integrating status, synchronization and latency checks.

This entire system has been developed based on EN 54 requirements, ensuring not only interoperability, but also robustness, traceability and security in PA/VA applications.

Since all LDA Audio Tech devices are designed and certified under EN 54, this includes audio processing at firmware and software level, developed and programmed in-house. We guarantee that all audio processing is audited according to the standard, in strict compliance with the technical and reliability guidelines required by the standard.

LDA’s solution is one of the few AES67 implementations able to compete with Dante in terms of ease of management, without sacrificing the standard’s openness.

Which one to choose?

Choose AES67 if:

• You want to build a system based on open standards.
• You need interoperability between different manufacturers.
• You are implementing solutions in EN 54 certified environments, where you need to ensure synchronization, availability and traceability.
• You are looking for technological independence and long-term scalability.

Choose Dante if:

• You prefer a plug and play solution, with no need to configure protocols manually.
• You are working within a closed ecosystem where all devices are compatible with Dante.
• Your priority is ease of deployment, especially in events, corporate AV or broadcast.

In short: AES67 prioritizes interoperability and scalability; Dante, simplicity and fast deployment.

Can they work together?

Yes, AES67 and Dante can operate together. Many modern Dante devices are “AES67-compatible”, which allows them to be integrated into an AES67 network using the defined mechanisms.

However, there are specific requirements. Several parameters need to be carefully aligned, such as:

• Port range.
• Sampling frequency.
• Clock format (PTP v2).
• Stream description (SDP).

Dante devices with firmware v4.2.x or higher (for Brooklyn, Broadway and HC chipsets) support AES67. Dante devices that do not meet these specifications (e.g., those using the UltimoX chipset) can register to a domain in AES67 mode, but will not be able to send or receive AES67 RTP streams. This is explained in this technical note from Dante.

In such cases, LDA Audio Tech has developed solutions to ensure full compatibility. We can use the LDA Dante-16 device to convert up to 16 Dante channels from any device to the AES67 protocol, which can be received natively by the LDA NEO+ public address and voice evacuation system.

Summary

Both AES67 and Dante are solid and complementary technologies. Although Dante dominates in ease of integration, AES67 stands out for its openness and flexibility, features that are especially relevant in critical and regulated environments.

At LDA Audio Tech we are committed to AES67 not only as a transport standard, but also as a strategic pillar for the design of professional PA/VA networks, secure and adapted to standards such as EN 54. And we offer our own tools that make it a complete and intuitive solution.

Do you have a public address and voice alarm project and you are not sure what solution to implement? Contact us and we will help you to design it.