AudioMovers ListenTo
Challenge
Create a professional-grade audio streaming plugin that lets music producers and audio engineers stream high-quality audio from their DAW to clients anywhere in the world. Required support for up to 128 channels of lossless audio with minimal latency.
Solution
Developed a cross-platform plugin (VST, AU, AAX) with adaptive bitrate streaming, supporting everything from compressed AAC to lossless 32-bit PCM at 192kHz. Built receiver apps for web, iOS, and Android so clients can listen without installing software.
Result
Industry-standard tool used by audio professionals and studios globally.
Background
AudioMovers needed to solve a problem in professional audio production: how to let music producers, mixing engineers, and mastering professionals share high-fidelity audio with clients and collaborators anywhere in the world, directly from their digital audio workstation (DAW). Existing solutions either compressed audio to the point of being useless for critical listening or required complex networking setups that disrupted the creative workflow.
ListenTo had to work as a native plugin within every major DAW: Pro Tools, Logic Pro, Ableton Live, Cubase, and others. It needed to support up to 128 channels of audio at sample rates up to 192kHz. The receiver side had to be accessible on any device without installing software, so web browsers were the primary listening endpoint. Native iOS and Android apps would provide additional flexibility for mobile monitoring.
Technical approach
The plugin was built in C++ using the JUCE framework, which provided cross-platform compatibility across macOS and Windows while supporting all major plugin formats: VST3, Audio Unit (AU), and AAX. JUCE handled the low-level audio processing pipeline with minimal CPU overhead.
WebRTC was the real-time transport layer, modified to handle professional audio requirements that go far beyond typical voice or video communication. We implemented custom codec negotiation that could switch between compressed AAC for low-bandwidth monitoring and lossless 32-bit PCM for critical listening sessions. The adaptive bitrate system continuously monitored network conditions and adjusted quality without audible artifacts.
React powered the web-based receiver application. The receiver connected to the plugin's stream via WebRTC, with fallback to WebSocket-based transport when peer-to-peer connections weren't possible.
Implementation details
The core challenge was achieving ultra-low latency while maintaining audio integrity. We designed a custom jitter buffer that balanced latency against dropouts, with configurable settings letting users choose between minimum delay for real-time collaboration and larger buffers for stable monitoring over unreliable connections. The system consistently achieved under 200ms end-to-end latency on standard broadband connections.
Multi-channel support required careful memory management in the C++ plugin. Streaming 128 channels of 32-bit audio at 192kHz generates substantial data throughput. We implemented efficient buffer pooling and zero-copy audio routing within the plugin to keep CPU usage below 5% even at maximum channel counts. This matters because the plugin runs alongside demanding audio processing chains.
The web receiver used the Web Audio API for precise playback timing and level metering. We built a custom audio decoder that handled seamless codec switching when the sender changed quality settings mid-session. A session management system let senders share unique listen links, with optional password protection and listener limits for confidential material.
For the iOS and Android apps, we used platform-native audio APIs (Core Audio and AAudio respectively) to bypass the higher latency of cross-platform audio frameworks. The apps supported background listening, AirPlay and Bluetooth routing, and displayed waveform visualizations synchronized with the incoming audio stream.
Outcomes
ListenTo became an industry-standard tool adopted by Grammy-winning producers, major recording studios, and broadcast facilities worldwide. The plugin processes millions of streaming minutes monthly. The lossless streaming capability in particular filled a gap that no competing product addressed.