There is the Pulse Eight 16x32 and 32x32 Audio switches available on the dealer portal now.
You can't use controllers to pass matrix audio unless you want delay (from being digitized) going to the other matrix. Frankly, that just wouldn't be a good outcome either.
How many inputs are you talking about? The above switches should cover all, if not most, jobs.
Dante can be used, albeit from other manufacturers, but that would all depend on the design. I come from the commercial AV world and I've been asking for Dante enabled products since its inception.