Abstract: A canal phone incorporates a transducer within an isolation sound chamber for reproducing sound from an audio source, and a sound-transmission passageway, or ambient sound port, for allowing ambient sounds to enter the isolation sound chamber. The passageway has inner and outer apertures, one oriented towards the ambient noise environment outside of the listener's ear and the other oriented toward the isolated chamber formed by the space between a loudspeaker diaphragm within the canal phone and the tympanum of the listener's ear. The canal phone has a port blocking switch mechanism that selectively opens or closes the aperture of the passageway that is open to the ambient noise. This switch mechanism may also electrically disconnect the transducer and seal either the outer or the inner end of the passageway in different embodiments of the invention.

Abstract: An active vibration noise control device cancels vibration noise by making plural speakers generate control sounds. The active vibration noise control device selects one or more speakers which output the control sounds, from plural speakers, based on a relationship between (1) a first phase difference which corresponds to a difference between phase characteristics of the vibration noise from a vibration noise source to an evaluation point and phase characteristics of the vibration noise from the vibration noise source to a pseudo evaluation point and (2) a second phase difference for each of the plural speakers corresponding to a difference between phase characteristics of the control sound from the speaker to the evaluation point and phase characteristics of the control sound from the speaker to the pseudo evaluation point. Therefore, it stably decreases the vibration noise at the pseudo evaluation point independently of a frequency band of the vibration noise.

Abstract: An object of the present invention is to provide a mobile terminal in which a sound path can be secured around speaker sound holes when the mobile terminal is placed and which can thereby provide stable sound to a user. A mobile terminal according to the present invention is a mobile terminal in which an upper housing including a display unit is connected to a lower housing (1) including an operation unit in a freely-movable fashion and a speaker sound hole (7) is formed in a surface of the lower housing (1) opposite to the operation unit (rear surface), in which the rear surface is configured so as to be inclined with respect to a placing-surface (6) when the mobile terminal is placed on the placing-surface so that a space (9) that allows speaker sound to be released is formed between the rear surface and the placing-surface, and a protrusion (4) is formed near the speaker sound hole (7).

Abstract: Described are systems and methods performed by computer to reduce crosstalk produced by loudspeakers when rendering binaural sound that is emitted from the loudspeakers into a room. The room may have sound-reflecting surfaces that reflect some of the sound produced by the loudspeakers. To reduce crosstalk, a room model stored by the computer, is accessed. The room model models at least sound reflected by one or more of the physical surfaces. The room model is used to calculate a model of an audio channel from the loudspeakers to a listener. The model of the audio channel models sound transmission from the loudspeakers to the listener. The computer uses the model of the audio channel to cancel crosstalk from the loudspeakers when rendering the binaural sound.

Abstract: A signal processing device includes a noise analysis unit for analyzing a frequency component of a noise signal obtained by converting a collected sound into an electrical signal, a plurality of filtering units for carrying out predetermined filtering operations on the noise signal on the basis of an analysis result, and an output control unit for temporally varying a synthesis rate of outputs of the plurality of filtering units according to a change in the analysis result of the noise analysis unit. When the analysis result of the noise analysis unit changes, one filtering unit starts a predetermined filtering operation by characteristics different from those of other filtering units that carry out predetermined filtering operations on the noise signal according to the change in the analysis result of the noise analysis unit.

Abstract: The application relates to audio encoder and decoder systems. An embodiment of the encoder system comprises a downmix stage for generating a downmix signal and a residual signal based on a stereo signal. In addition, the encoder system comprises a parameter determining stage for determining parametric stereo parameters such as an inter-channel intensity difference and an inter-channel cross-correlation. Preferably, the parametric stereo parameters are time- and frequency-variant. Moreover, the encoder system comprises a transform stage. The transform stage generates a pseudo left/right stereo signal by performing a transform based on the downmix signal and the residual signal. The pseudo stereo signal is processed by a perceptual stereo encoder. For stereo encoding, left/right encoding or mid/side encoding is selectable. Preferably, the selection between left/right stereo encoding and mid/side stereo encoding is time- and frequency-variant.

Abstract: A sound data transmitting apparatus that transmits digital sound data using first and second transmission channels for transmitting transmission signals of first and second forms respectively guaranteed and not guaranteed to obtain, as reception data, data same as transmission data, includes: a data separating unit that separates transmission digital sound data into first and second sound data that should be transmitted through the first and second transmission channels, respectively; first and second transmission processing units that process the first and second sound data separated by the data separating unit to obtain the transmission signals of the first and second forms, respectively; and a data transmitting unit that transmits, through the first and second transmission channels, the transmission signals of the first and second forms obtained by the first and second transmission processing units, respectively.

Abstract: A hearing aid compatible portable electronic audio device is configured to automatically determine whether or not the device is being used by a hearing impaired user who is wearing a hearing aid, and select a mode of operation based on this determination. The device includes a proximity sensor and a magnetic field sensor. The proximity sensor is used to detect a change in distance of the device to the user's ear. The magnetic field sensor is used to detect a change in magnetic field caused by the device moving relative to the hearing aid. The device selects between a normal audio mode of operation and a hearing aid compatible mode of operation based on both the change in detected distance and the change in detected magnetic field. Other embodiments are also described and claimed.

Abstract: An active noise control device detects composite vibration of a vibration transmitting route to which both vibration of a rotating body caused by generation or transmission of drive force of a vehicle and vibration of a wheel generated by contact between the wheel and a road surface are transmitted. A first reference signal for defining a reference waveform of a canceling sound for canceling vibration noise in a vehicle interior is generated based on the composite vibration. The component of the canceling sound for canceling vibration noise of the rotating body is removed from the first reference signal to generate a second reference signal for defining a reference waveform of the canceling sound for canceling vibration noise of the wheel. The canceling sound is outputted based on the second reference signal.

Abstract: In order to obtain coded data which does not strike viewers and listeners as being incongruous, when plural audio data are to be coded, a coding program groups the respective audio data into one audio data, codes the grouped audio data in sequence with a predetermined number of samples being treated as units, and sets delimitations corresponding to the delimitations of the plural audio data in the coded data at coding units of the coded data.

Abstract: A digital music library builder including a casing, a receiver socket on the casing through which analog audio is received, an analog-to-digital converter housed within the casing for converting analog audio into digital audio, a meta-data identifier housed within the casing for identifying meta-data for a song, and a database manager housed within the casing for associating the identified meta-data with the song, within a digital music library.

Abstract: Parametric multichannel information is written onto a normal standard audio compact disc, e.g. in the user subchannels, so that the CD enables normal stereo reproduction with a normal reproduction device, or multichannel reproduction with a supplementary device which is easy to connect and which reads out both the stereo information and the parametric multichannel information from the audio CD actually conforming with the standard, and reconstructs more than two audio channels therefrom.

Abstract: Systems and methods are provided for using a hidden audio signal. In one exemplary embodiment, the method includes registering, at a central database, one or more of an identifier and a destination resource associated with the identifier, and encoding the one or more of the identifier and the destination resource in a hidden audio signal. The method further includes transmitting the hidden audio signal, including the one or more of the identifier and the destination resource, in connection with an acoustic signal, and receiving the acoustic signal at a user device. In addition, the method includes decoding the encoded one or more of the identifier and the destination resource at the user device; and requesting, from the central database, information associated with the one or more of the identifier and the destination resource. Further, the method includes receiving, at the user device, the requested information.

Abstract: A sound signal processing apparatus includes a sound source direction determination unit and a filter processing unit. The sound source direction determination unit determines sound source directions with respect to sound signals of a plurality of channels for respective first to n-th bands. The filter processing unit includes first to n-th filters which are connected in series and configured to boost or attenuate the sound signals with respect to the first to n-th bands. The respective first to n-th filters perform boosting or attenuation based on the sound source directions of the first to n-th bands which are determined by the sound source direction determination unit.

Abstract: Ambient sound is masked by receiving an audio signal, monitoring an acoustic signal that includes components of both the ambient sound the audio signal, determining a sound level sufficient to at least partially mask the ambient sound, and reproducing the received audio signal to produce an output acoustic signal at the determined sound level.

Abstract: An analog/digital audio converting apparatus enables listening to both digital and analog audio signals received from a digital receiving apparatus and analog audio signals input from an external source using the same receiver by providing a formatter capable of converting the analog audio signal into a digital audio signal with the digital broadcasting receiving apparatus.

Abstract: The invention relates to an apparatus for improving a stereo audio signal of an FM stereo radio receiver. The apparatus comprises a parametric stereo (PS) parameter estimation stage. The parameter estimation stage is configured to determine one or more parametric stereo parameters based on the stereo audio signal in a frequency-variant or frequency-invariant manner. Preferably, these PS parameters are time- and frequency-variant. Moreover, the apparatus comprises an upmix stage. The upmix stage is configured to generate the improved stereo signal based on a first audio signal and the one or more parametric stereo parameters. The first audio signal is obtained from the stereo audio signal, e.g. by a downmix operation in a downmix stage. The PS parameter estimation stage may be part of a PS encoder. The upmix stage may be part of a PS decoder.

Abstract: A system is described for enabling a user to listen to songs on a network-enabled device, including an embedded receiver for receiving at least one song list, and for receiving music streamed over a wireless network, list navigation software, for navigating the at least one song list and selecting a desired song therefrom, using a keypad communicatively coupled with the network-enabled device, an embedded transmitter for transmitting a song selection to a tracking server, and an embedded audio player, for playing the music streamed to the network-enabled device over the wireless network, a tracking server, including a data store including at least one song list, a receiver for receiving a song selection from said network-enabled device, the song selection comprising an ID for a selected song, and a transmitter for transmitting the at least one song list to the network-enabled device, and for transmitting the received song selection to a media server, and a media server, including a data store including audio

Abstract: A pseudo noise superimposing unit superimposes a pseudo noise (M-sequence) to an audio signal picked up by a microphone and outputs the superimposed signal to an amplifying system. An calculating unit calculates a correlation value between the audio signal picked up by the microphone and the pseudo noise. The calculating unit estimates a gain of a closed loop based on the correlation value. A gain control unit suppresses a gain of the audio signal based on the estimated gain of the closed loop.

Abstract: An improved decorrelator is disclosed that processes an input audio signal in two separate paths. In one path, a banded phase-flip filter is applied to lower frequencies of the input audio signal. In a second path, a frequency-dependent delay is applied to higher frequencies of the input audio signal. Signals from the two paths are combined to obtain an output signal that is psychoacoustically decorrelated with the input audio signal. The decorrelated signal can be mixed with the input audio signal without generating audible artifacts.