The leading-edge Cognio C20 Smart Processor delivers award-winning distributed intelligence, industry-leading scalability, and processor-to-endpoint extensibility in a compact, flexibly deployable Intel® x86 platform
SEATTLE, WA / ACCESS Newswire / August 26, 2026 / Symetrix, a global leader in high-performance AV processing, control, and monitoring solutions, today announced that the Cognio™ C20 Smart Processor is now shipping. Built on an Intel® x86 processor, the C20 is Symetrix's new leading-edge processing foundation for the company's award-winning Cognio distributed intelligence platform. It brings powerful new processing capabilities to a compact, one-third rack-width device created for flexible deployment at the edge or in the rack.
As the first purpose-built smart processor for Cognio, the C20 provides a powerful hardware foundation for systems designed to scale and adapt over time. It supports multiple rooms through independent Signal Flow Spaces or operates with other Cognio processors and endpoints as part of a larger distributed installation. This processor-to-endpoint extensibility allows AV teams to add processing and functionality where they are needed, then expand the system incrementally as requirements change. The C20 supports VESA mounting, surface, podium, under-table, or optional rack-tray installation, letting AV teams deploy processing closer to the rooms and applications it serves.
"Cognio gives AV professionals a fundamentally more adaptable foundation for designing and deploying systems," said Mark Graham, CEO of Symetrix. "The C20 delivers substantial processing power within a compact form factor that can be deployed wherever it is needed, while Cognio's distributed architecture allows the wider system to grow from processors to endpoints without forcing teams to redesign what's already working. With the C20 now shipping and our first certification course available, consultants and integrators can begin putting this new approach into practice."
Launching alongside the C20 is Cognio DesignOps Essentials: Foundations for AV System Success, the first certification course created to prepare AV professionals to design, configure, validate, and manage systems within Cognio.
Powerful Processing in a Compact, Flexible Form Factor
Designed for conferencing, higher education, government, and other networked AV environments, the Cognio C20 provides:
64 Dante transmit and 64 Dante receive channels
Eight channels of acoustic echo cancellation
32 playback channels
Eight record channels
8x8 USB-C audio bridging with HID synchronization
48 kHz or 96 kHz, 24-bit open-architecture signal processing
One USB-C 3.2 port
One USB-A 2.0 port
Two 1 Gb Ethernet ports
Support for multiple independent Signal Flow Spaces on a single system
These powerful capabilities allow the C20 to serve as both a networked audio DSP platform and a bridge between Dante-based AV systems and USB-equipped computers. In a conference room or classroom, for example, a user can connect a laptop for collaboration or content playback while the C20 manages room processing, echo cancellation, audio transport, media functions, and control. At just one-third rack width of traditional rack units (6.7" compared to 19" wide), the C20's compact chassis gives integrators greater freedom in deciding where that processing should live, making the C20 equally suited to localized edge processing and more conventional centralized deployments.
Because multiple Signal Flow Spaces can operate independently on a single C20, processing capacity does not need to be permanently bound to one room. As requirements change, additional Cognio-enabled processors and endpoints can be introduced where needed, allowing the system to expand incrementally without replacing working equipment or reworking the entire architecture.
The Cognio C20 is powered by Intel® x86 processor technology, providing a proven, high-performance computing foundation for Cognio's software-driven processing and control capabilities.
Learn more about the C20 at https://www.symetrix.co/cognio/c20-smart-processor and explore the broader platform at https://www.symetrix.co/cognio-platform.
Build, Validate, and Deploy C20 Systems with Cognio DesignOps
Available now for download, Cognio DesignOps software provides AV professionals the environment they need to begin designing, configuring, validating, and managing Cognio C20-based systems. Built around a software-first design approach, DesignOps allows teams to organize systems by site, space, and signal flow before hardware is finalized, then allocate C20 processing resources where they are needed. Its patented wire-free workflow uses a grid-based, spreadsheet-style canvas that reduces manual routing, simplifies complex signal flows, and allows designs to be segmented across rooms, zones, floors, or buildings while preserving traceability across the full system.
DesignOps also brings control creation, system validation, and operations into a unified workflow, delivering a broad set of features and capabilities, including:
Code-free control interface design using a browser-based editor
Customizable UI components including faders, meters, buttons, labels, navigation elements, images, and logos
Reusable themes and templates to standardize control experiences across projects
Offline system emulation to test signal processing and control behavior before hardware deployment
Early issue detection tools to reduce commissioning time and on-site troubleshooting
Real-time system monitoring with live status, metering, and diagnostics
Searchable event logging for system activity tracking and troubleshooting
Full lifecycle system management, including configuration, monitoring, and control after deployment
Learn more about DesignOps AV and Control Software at: https://www.symetrix.co/cognio/designops-software.
Get Certified for the Future of AV System Design
Cognio is designed to move AV planning beyond the structural limitations of processor-centric systems. Using Cognio DesignOps software, consultants and integrators can organize systems by site and space, create signal flows and control experiences, validate designs, and move into deployment and ongoing operation within the same environment.
To support AV professionals in adopting this new approach to system design, Symetrix is launching Cognio DesignOps Essentials: Foundations for AV System Success, a new certification program that helps AV professionals apply Cognio's software-first design methodology in real-world projects. The course introduces the software-first principles behind the platform and provides guided instruction for building hardware-independent signal flows and reusable templates that can be adapted across rooms, buildings, and campuses. Participants will learn how to develop no-code control interfaces and manage system behavior through offline emulation and testing. Upon completion, the course provides one renewal unit for CTS, CTS-D, CTS-I, and ANP credentials.
Registration for Cognio DesignOps Essentials is available now at https://symetrix.talentlms.com/plus/catalog/courses/237.
AV professionals can also watch Symetrix's on-demand session on building polished, reusable control interfaces with Cognio DesignOps at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sZQX985BrVU.
Built on 50 Years of Symetrix Audio Engineering
The C20 arrives as Symetrix marks 50 years of audio engineering, signal processing, and support for the professional AV community. Cognio carries that foundation into a software-driven architecture created for systems that are increasingly networked, distributed, and closely aligned with IT infrastructure.
Cognio has already been applied in a real-world university environment at Monash University in Australia, where the platform supports active-learning spaces and integrates with technology from Shure, Powersoft, EAW, Crestron, Lightware, Audinate, and ECHO360. The deployment demonstrates how common workflows and control experiences can be reused across different room types while individual spaces remain independently editable. Read the full case study: Monash University Reimagines Active Learning with Symetrix Cognio™ Platform.
Cognio C20 Smart Processor Availability
The Symetrix Cognio C20 is now shipping. To discuss a project, confirm ordering details, or place an order, contact Symetrix or an authorized Symetrix partner by visiting https://www.symetrix.co/sales.
Download the Cognio C20 press kit here.
About Symetrix
For 50 years, Symetrix has empowered AV professionals with high-performance signal processing, control, and monitoring solutions. Focused on delivering exceptional audio quality, intuitive design tools, and reliable networked systems, Symetrix serves customers across corporate, civic, education, healthcare, and entertainment markets worldwide. Learn more at www.symetrix.co.
Press Contact
Megan Fasy
Grithaus Agency
megan@grithaus.agency
+1 (617) 480-3674
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SOURCE: Symetrix
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