CEDAR Audio
CEDAR Audio Ltd (Cambridge, UK) develops proprietary real-time audio restoration, noise suppression, and dialogue enhancement software plug-ins and hardware for film/TV post-production, music production, live broadcast, enterprise communications, and forensics/security markets worldwide.
- Company typePrivate
- Founded1988
- HeadquartersCambridge, United Kingdom
- Headcount11–50
- GTM typeB2B
- OfferingSoftware
What CEDAR Audio does
CEDAR Audio Ltd is a Cambridge, UK-based audio technology company founded in 1988 that develops real-time audio restoration, noise suppression, and dialogue enhancement software and hardware. The company's product portfolio spans a plug-in family (APEX Adaptive Limiter, Blade EQ, DNS One, VoicEX 2, Auto Dehiss, Declick, Declip 2, Debuzz, Decrackle, Dethump, Retouch, ScreenVox, StageVox, Forensic Enhance), the CEDAR Trinity audio surveillance suite for law enforcement, CEDAR ICONS modular bundles, and real-time hardware processors used in live broadcast and live sound environments. Its technology centers on proprietary digital signal processing algorithms — including adaptive limiting, spectral editing, and dialogue noise suppression — for which the company claims originator status. CEDAR holds Academy Award, Emmy, and CAS Award recognition for audio restoration technology.
The company serves a horizontally diversified set of professional audio end markets: film and television post-production, music production and mastering, live broadcast (radio and television), live events and location sound, corporate communications (via VoicEX 2 adoption by enterprise customers such as Expedia Group), and forensics and security (via the CEDAR Trinity suite). Customer segmentation is horizontal rather than vertical-anchored, spanning independent engineers, studios, broadcasters, government agencies, and enterprise communications teams. The company is employee-owned following a January 2026 ownership transition advised by Initium Corporate Finance, and maintains 11-50 employees.
CEDAR's revenue model is built on one-time perpetual software licenses, bundled plug-in packages, and hardware unit sales, distributed through a combination of direct e-commerce (FastSpring storefront), a global authorized dealer network, and regional distribution partners (e.g., GerrAudio Distribution for Canada). Pricing is not publicly disclosed, though educational pricing is offered for academic institutions. Go-to-market relies on industry event participation, professional audio publication reviews, case studies, and a direct website funnel, with no evidence of subscription or recurring-revenue mechanics.
CEDAR Audio firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- CEDAR Audio
- Legal name
- CEDAR Audio Ltd
- Website
- https://cedar-audio.com
- Company type
- Private
- Founded year
- 1988
- Operating status
- Operating
- Headcount range
- 11–50 employees
- Short description
- CEDAR Audio Ltd (Cambridge, UK) develops proprietary real-time audio restoration, noise suppression, and dialogue enhancement software plug-ins and hardware for film/TV post-production, music production, live broadcast, enterprise communications, and forensics/security markets worldwide.
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
CEDAR Audio industry classification
Industry- Product category
- Audio Restoration Software
- NAICS
- Other Sound Recording Industries (512290), Sound Recording Studios (512240)
- SIC
- Instruments For Meas & Testing Of Electricity & Elec Signals (3825)
- akta.pro primary industry
- Audio Editing, Restoration & Mastering Software (MPAIAIAH)
- akta.pro secondary industries
- Audio Editing & Restoration (Cleanup, Noise Reduction) (MPAIAHAJ), Audio Restoration & Forensics (Archival Repair, Forensic Enhancement) (MPAHAEAH)
Keywords
Where CEDAR Audio is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- Cambridge
- HQ country
- United Kingdom
- HQ region
- Europe
Offices1 record
Markets served
CEDAR Audio business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2B
- Offering type
- Software
- Cost components
- Technology or R&D, Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Supply Chain
Revenue model
- Software Plug-in Sales: One-time perpetual license sales of audio processing plug-ins for professional audio, forensic, and studio applications. Products include individual plug-ins and bundled packages.
- Hardware Products: Real-time hardware processors for audio restoration and processing, sold as standalone units for broadcast, live sound, and professional studio environments.
- Professional Audio Software: Production and post-production software tools for film, television, music production, and remastering applications.
Go-to-market motion3 records
Distribution channels3 records
Marketing channels7 records
CEDAR Audio product offering
Product offeringCore offering
CEDAR Audio develops and sells real-time audio restoration software plug-ins and hardware processors for professional audio, broadcasting, and forensic applications. Its product line covers noise suppression (DNS One, DNS 8S, VoicEX 2), adaptive limiting (APEX, Adaptive Limiter 2), spectral editing (Blade EQ), and targeted restoration tools (Auto Dehiss, Declick, Declip 2, Debuzz, Decrackle, Dethump, Retouch). It also offers the CEDAR Trinity surveillance suite for law enforcement and security use.
Product overview
CEDAR Audio is a platform-plus-modules architecture offering real-time audio restoration and enhancement solutions. The core product line includes hardware processors and software plug-ins for professional audio, forensics, and live broadcast applications. The flagship plug-in portfolio encompasses adaptive limiters (APEX, Adaptive Limiter 2), spectral analysis tools (Blade EQ), noise suppressors (DNS One, DNS 8S, VoicEX 2, ScreenVox, StageVox), and restoration tools (Auto Dehiss, Declick, Declip 2, Debuzz, Decrackle, Dethump, Retouch). CEDAR Trinity serves the forensic and security market. Bundled offerings (Dialogue, Home, Restore, ICONS) package related capabilities for specific use cases. The company also offers the CEDAR for Pyramix integration module.
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Brands
- ScreenVox™: Audio plug-in for dialogue noise suppression
- StageVox™
- VoicEX 2™
- Retouch™
- Forensic Enhance™
- CEDAR Trinity™
- DNS One
Products and services
- APEX Adaptive Limiter Flagship adaptive and spectral limiter plug-in for mastering and demanding post-production tasks; positioned as the new gold standard for transparent limiting.
- Adaptive Limiter 2 Adaptive limiter plug-in for real-time audio level control and transparent peak protection in professional audio workflows.
- Blade EQ Hyper-resolution analyser EQ combining CEDAR's spectral analysis expertise with an IIR EQ for surgical frequency problem resolution.
- Auto Dehiss Real-time hiss reduction plug-in for removing background hiss from audio recordings.
- Debuzz Real-time buzz removal plug-in for eliminating electrical hum and buzz from audio recordings.
- Declick Real-time click removal plug-in for eliminating transient clicks and pops from audio recordings.
- Declip 2 Audio declipping plug-in for recovering distorted audio caused by clipping.
- Decrackle Real-time crackle removal plug-in for eliminating surface noise and crackle from recordings.
- DNS One Dialogue noise suppressor plug-in for removing background noise while preserving speech clarity in studio and post-production environments.
- DNS 8S Hardware noise suppressor designed specifically for live sound and broadcast applications where audio over IP is not required.
- ScreenVox Studio-based dialogue noise suppression plug-in for screen-specific audio processing in post-production.
- StageVox Stage-specific dialogue noise suppression plug-in for live and location sound applications.
- VoicEX 2 Advanced dialogue noise suppression plug-in for removing unwanted noise while maintaining natural-sounding speech, used in enterprise communications.
- Dethump Hum removal plug-in for eliminating low-frequency hum from audio recordings.
- Manual Declick Manual click removal tool for detailed editing and correction of audio artifacts in studio environments.
- Retouch Audio restoration plug-in for comprehensive repair and enhancement of audio recordings in studio post-production.
- Forensic Enhance Audio enhancement software for forensic analysis, surveillance, and security applications.
- CEDAR Trinity Audio surveillance software suite for monitoring and analyzing audio in security and law enforcement applications.
- Real-Time Hardware Hardware-based real-time audio processing systems for broadcast, post-production, and live sound applications.
Quantifiable outcome
- Studio Magazin review calling APEX Adaptive Limiter 'the new gold standard for mastering and demanding post-production tasks'
Companies that use CEDAR Audio
Customer profileNamed customers1 record
Segments6 records
Ideal customer profiles6 records
CEDAR Audio technology and API
TechnologyTechnology focussed Yes
API detail
- Has API
- No
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
AI capability3 records
Feature8 records
CEDAR Audio partnerships and signals
Strategic signalPartnerships
One partnership is on record.
- GerrAudio DistributionregionalCEDAR Audio appointed GerrAudio Distribution as the authorized distributor for Canada. GerrAudio is described as 'respected audio specialists' who will manage distribution of CEDAR Audio products in the Canadian market.
Scale indicators2 records
Recent moves7 records
Expansion highlights6 records
CEDAR Audio competitors and assessment
Company assessmentBroad incumbents
- Avid (Pro Tools): Avid's Pro Tools is the dominant DAW in professional audio post-production and music production. Pro Tools includes built-in audio processing and restoration tools and serves as the primary platform where CEDAR's plug-ins (including CEDAR for Pyramix integration) are used, making Avid both a platform partner and competitive incumbent.
- Dolby Laboratories: Dolby is a broad incumbent in professional audio, offering dialogue intelligence, noise reduction, and audio enhancement technologies for cinema, broadcast, and streaming. Dolby's Atmos and Dialogue Intelligence products compete with CEDAR's broadcast and post-production offerings, though Dolby is much larger and more diversified.
Direct peers
- Nugen Audio: Nugen Audio develops professional audio plug-ins for post-production, broadcast, and music mastering, including loudness metering and audio repair tools. Nugen directly competes with CEDAR in the broadcast and post-production segments with a similar plug-in-only business model.
- FabFilter: FabFilter is a Dutch plug-in manufacturer known for high-quality EQ, dynamics, and restoration tools used in professional audio production. While FabFilter's restoration focus is narrower than CEDAR's, it competes directly in mastering, EQ, and audio processing plug-ins for the same professional customer base.
- Waves Audio: Waves Audio is a major professional audio plug-in manufacturer offering noise reduction, restoration, and broadcast processing tools. While broader in scope than CEDAR, Waves directly competes in the audio processing plug-in market for music production, post-production, and live sound applications.
- iZotope: iZotope is the most direct peer to CEDAR Audio, offering audio restoration and repair plug-ins (RX suite) for music production, post-production, and broadcast. Both companies target professional audio engineers with software for noise reduction, dialogue enhancement, and audio repair, competing head-to-head in the same product category.
Emerging players
- Krisp: Krisp is an AI-powered noise cancellation and voice clarity platform targeting enterprise communications and contact centers. Krisp directly competes with CEDAR's VoicEX 2 in the enterprise communications noise suppression market, but with a SaaS model and AI-native architecture that CEDAR lacks.
- Sonible: Sonible is an AI-driven audio plug-in company offering smart EQ, de-essing, and noise reduction tools for music production and post-production. Sonible represents the AI-native competitive threat to CEDAR's traditional DSP-based plug-in approach in the same professional audio market.
- Adobe (Podcast and Enhance Speech): Adobe's AI-driven Enhance Speech and Podcast products offer one-click noise reduction and dialogue enhancement, directly competing with CEDAR's VoicEX 2 in the communications and content creation space. Adobe bundles these capabilities into Creative Cloud, giving it massive distribution advantages over CEDAR's standalone plug-in model.
Regional players
- Synchro Arts: Synchro Arts (UK-based) develops Revoice Pro and VocAlign for dialogue and vocal alignment in post-production, directly competing with CEDAR's dialogue-focused plug-ins. While smaller and more specialized, Synchro Arts targets the same film, TV, and music production post-production workflow where CEDAR operates.
Market position
Strengths5 records
Weaknesses5 records
Competitive moat4 records
Key risks6 records
Key highlights6 records
Customer concentration
CEDAR Audio social profiles
Digital presenceCEDAR Audio financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
CEDAR Audio leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
CEDAR Audio funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds1 record
Investors
Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
CEDAR Audio M&A and investment
M&A and investmentM&A
Investments
M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Frequently asked questions about CEDAR Audio
What does CEDAR Audio do?
CEDAR Audio develops and sells real-time audio restoration software plug-ins and hardware processors for professional audio, broadcasting, and forensic applications. Its product line covers noise suppression (DNS One, DNS 8S, VoicEX 2), adaptive limiting (APEX, Adaptive Limiter 2), spectral editing (Blade EQ), and targeted restoration tools (Auto Dehiss, Declick, Declip 2, Debuzz, Decrackle, Dethump, Retouch). It also offers the CEDAR Trinity surveillance suite for law enforcement and security use.
Is CEDAR Audio a public or private company?
CEDAR Audio is a private company. It is classified as management employee owned and is currently operating.
When was CEDAR Audio founded?
CEDAR Audio was founded in 1988. It employs 11 to 50 people.
Where is CEDAR Audio based?
CEDAR Audio is headquartered in Cambridge, United Kingdom, in the Europe region.
How does CEDAR Audio make money?
Three revenue lines are on record. Software Plug-in Sales are the primary driver. The others are hardware Products and professional Audio Software.
Who are CEDAR Audio's main competitors?
Broad incumbents on record are Avid (Pro Tools) and Dolby Laboratories. Direct peers are Nugen Audio, FabFilter, Waves Audio and iZotope. Emerging players are Krisp, Sonible and Adobe (Podcast and Enhance Speech). Synchro Arts is listed as a regional player.
Does CEDAR Audio have an API?
No public API is recorded for CEDAR Audio.
What industry is CEDAR Audio in?
CEDAR Audio's product category is Audio Restoration Software. Its primary akta.pro industry code is MPAIAIAH, Audio Editing, Restoration & Mastering Software, with a secondary code of MPAIAHAJ, Audio Editing & Restoration (Cleanup, Noise Reduction). Its NAICS code is 512290 and its SIC code is 3825.