Commercial Integrator May 2023 - 20

Spotlight on Audio
According to Lifeline's Wright, line-array sales - both for standard and for steerable line
arrays - have been an engine driving more business with churches and auditoriums.
Wright pinpoints performance audio
as a category whose profit potential
and margin level exceed that of video.
" Performance-audio systems are typically
'solutions,' " he observes. " You're not just
buying displays or products that can easily
be purchased on the internet. Customers
are buying complete solutions that include
installation, programming, maintenance
contracts, etc. Whenever we can offer a
solution sale versus a product sale, there is
more profit. " Kawczynski amplifies the point
about performance audio's profitability.
He says, " We've done very well on these
projects. The revenue streams on these
projects, [apart] from other categories, are
slightly higher. "
But that's certainly not to say that this
category has been immune to systemic
logistical challenges. AVI-SPL's Richards
describes it clearly, pointing to longstanding
supply-chain issues that have only seen
recovery recently. " Wireless microphones
in general have been a large struggle and
continue to have longer lead times, " he
states. Compounding the problem across
all performance-audio categories has been
a shortage of Dante-enabling chipsets/
chips and other common components.
" We are now seeing product revisions and
backlogs clear up, " Richards says hopefully,
" but the past year has seen a lot of
challenges across the board. "
Peavey brings the conversation around
20
Commercial Integrator MAY 2023
to relationships, saying that having the
right ones can prove make or break. " It's
difficult to procure system components for
performance-audio systems without a relationship
with the manufacturers that clients
desire, " he says. " Unless those relationships
are in place, margins will be tight. "
Considering Audio-over-IP
We often say the AV industry is networkcentered
to a degree far beyond even a
few years ago. Our interviewees affirm this
trend's applicability to performance audio.
" Virtually every manufacturer has an audioover-IP
offering, and cross compatibility has
been improving steadily, " Peavey notes.
" Nearly every system we design/install has
a networking component, whether that be
Dante, AVB or Q-LAN, and there is a method
to convert between these, or to AES and
analog, allowing the integration of these
protocols to be straightforward and economically
viable across all project sizes. "
Peavey adds that, unlike the VHS versus
Betamax war, he expects no single solution
to ultimately win. " Dante and AVB each
provide a solid solution, " he declares. " So,
it is difficult to see either disappearing in lieu
of the other. " Kawczynski seems to agree
that there's room for both. " I currently find
Dante and AVB to be very effective digital
audio protocols [that] satisfy many of our clients'
requirements and needs, " he explains.
Many manufacturers have widely adopted
both protocols, he says. Moreover, both
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Commercial Integrator May 2023

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Commercial Integrator May 2023