Dealer Field Guide · When to Spec Dante

# The audio backbone, and the call on when to spec it.

A one-page decision guide for distributed audio installs and Dante-native premium ecosystems. The 30-second take, the criteria, the field talking points, and two ready-made client frames for the conversation.

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The 30-Second Take
Dante used to be a multi-zone answer. It is now both.

Dante used to be a distributed-audio answer. It's now also the protocol that premium single-room ecosystems are built around — PAT, Theory, Hyperion Axis, Bijou, Trinnov, and the pro lines from AudioControl and others all assume it.

Spec Dante when the gear assumes it, when the install is distributed, or when scope is likely to grow. Skip it only when the gear is conventional, the system is simple, and the install is genuinely one-and-done.

The cost delta gets paid back in labor, flexibility, and the next change order that doesn't require re-pulling cable.

The Architectural Shift

Channel count, not zone count, is the new signal in premium installs. A 9.2.6 immersive theater is one zone with seventeen channels. Dante was made for this.

Two Patterns
Both earn it, for different reasons.
01 · Single-Room Premium
The gear decides.

High-end home theater and stereo systems increasingly assume Dante as the protocol between processor and amplification. Hyperion Axis, Theory, PAT, Bijou, Trinnov — the gear is built around it. Spec'ing analog into a Dante-native stack means an extra A/D-D/A stage, manual channel mapping, and giving up the diagnostics the manufacturer built in.

One zone, one room, still Dante.

02 · Distributed Audio
The math decides.

Multi-zone whole-home systems where one Cat6 replaces a closet of speaker cable, software routing replaces a fixed-I/O matrix, and adding a zone in year three is a config change instead of a re-pull. The math is labor plus flexibility, and on six-plus zone installs it wins decisively.

Zone count, distance, and phasing likelihood are the signals.

The Quick Read
Spec it, or let it go.
Spec Dante

- Dante-native gear specified (PAT, Theory, Hyperion Axis, Bijou, Trinnov) — single room or distributed, the architecture decides
- 6+ audio zones, or phased expansion likely
- Rack-to-zone runs exceed 100 ft
- Outdoor zones, detached structures, hillside lots
- Client values reconfigurability ("what if we add a pool house?")
- Install will outlive the original spec by 5+ years

Pass on Dante

- Conventional analog/HDBaseT gear and a single simple zone
- Consumer-only gear with no Dante in the stack
- No network skills on the install team and no plan to bring them in
- Budget is the hard constraint and scope is genuinely fixed
- Project ships in 2 weeks with no time to architect a network properly

Field Talking Points
Six lines for the client conversation.
Cable Consolidation

One Cat6 carries hundreds of channels. Amps live near the speakers; one network cable replaces a closet's worth of copper.

Distance, No Compromise

100m per hop on Cat6, kilometers on fiber. No impedance gymnastics. Analog over long runs in residential is a slow leak.

Software Routing

Add a zone, change a routing, repurpose a room — software change, no re-pull. A fixed-I/O matrix can mean rewiring the rack for two new zones.

Sample-Accurate Sync

Sub-millisecond, PTP-locked. Same source to the deck, the great room, and outdoor — no phase issues at the boundaries.

Audio Quality Preserved

Uncompressed, up to 32-bit/192k. No A/D-D/A stack-up. Resolution survives all the way to the amp.

Network Diagnostics

Signal flow, levels, and device presence visible in real time. Chasing an analog hum across a 6,000 sq ft estate vs. watching a green light — different days.

Dante on the AVPro Global Line Card
When premium gear is specified, AVPro Global slots in around it.

When the client's Dante-native premium gear (PAT, Theory, Hyperion Axis, Bijou, Trinnov) is already specified, the AVPro Global line card slots in around it. Verify Dante support by SKU, but these are the typical points of entry across the territory.

- AudioControl — Hyperion family is Dante-native end to end; Director M6800D 16-channel Dante matrix amp
- AVPro Edge — MXnet 1G Dante EV2 carries audio and video on the same Cat 6A backbone
- ProControl — Commercial-grade processing and control with Dante where the room scale calls for it
- ThenAudio — Where the BOM includes pro/commercial audio infrastructure

The Honest Caveat
Dante is unforgiving when the network is wrong.

Spec it where it pays off — and either build the network skills in-house or partner with someone who has them. A flaky managed switch will eat your weekend. Audinate Level 3 is free, online, and AVIXA-credited — there's no excuse not to have someone on the team certified before the first install.

Bottom-Line Client Frames
Two quotes. Pick the one the conversation calls for.
For Distributed Installs

"This system is being built for what you want today and what you'll want in three years. Dante is the spine that lets us add, change, and grow without re-pulling cable. It's why your music sounds the same in the kitchen and on the deck, and why your installer isn't back next year tearing open walls."

For Single-Room Premium

"The gear we're putting in this room was designed to talk to itself over Dante. Anything else means adding a translator in the middle that wasn't supposed to be there. We're not adding cost — we're matching what the manufacturer engineered."

## Run the decision tool next.

Five questions, a tailored recommendation, and ready-made next moves. Take it into the next walk-through on your phone.

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Dante Edge
512 channels over 1 Gb · Audinate Dante is the de facto commercial AV audio standard. ✦ Hyperion APR-16 ships with a 4-port Dante / AES67 switch on board. ✦ Axis 10 · PoE-powered, hides behind the display, the receiver is gone. ✦ MXnet 1G Dante EV2 · audio and video on the same Cat 6A. ✦ Director M6800D · 16-channel Dante matrix amp · 8 stereo zones, one rack unit. ✦ Audinate Level 3 is free, online, AVIXA-credited. ✦ 512 channels over 1 Gb · Audinate Dante is the de facto commercial AV audio standard. ✦ Hyperion APR-16 ships with a 4-port Dante / AES67 switch on board.