Abstract: An apparatus and method are provided for providing voltage to be used to control a call and multimedia via an electronic device. The apparatus includes a connector to be biased at a first voltage supplied from an electronic device external to the apparatus; and at least one voltage divider to divide the first voltage into a second voltage based at least in part on a user input to the apparatus, the second voltage to be used to control a call and multimedia via the electronic device.

Abstract: An audio system embodiment includes a loudspeaker cabinet having at least one loudspeaker transducer and defining a longitudinal axis. Several microphones are distributed around the longitudinal axis, defining an array of microphones. A reference microphone is positioned in the loudspeaker cabinet, e.g., in a rear chamber of the at least one loudspeaker transducer. The audio system includes a processor and a memory having instructions that, when executed by the processor, cause the audio system to receive an audio signal from each distributed microphone and the reference microphone, and therefrom to estimate a direction, relative to the plurality of microphones, of a nearby, acoustically reflective surface. Responsive to the estimated direction, the audio system affects a mode of operation, e.g., beam forms an audio output in a selected direction corresponding to the estimated direction of the acoustically reflective surface. Related principles are described by way of reference to exemplary embodiments.

Abstract: The present disclosure describes a multi-mode headset incorporating both bone conduction and aural transducers. Bone conduction plates of the headset rest on a users' temples, just in front of each ear in one implementation, and create sound through vibrations in a first mode, allowing the user to listen to the headset while still leaving environmental or external sounds audible. In a second mode, the user detaches aural transducers or earbuds from an attachment point and inserts them into the user's ears, blocking external noise and providing passive and/or active noise isolation. In a third mode, both the bone conduction plates and aural transducers may be used simultaneously, providing additional amplitude and potentially wider frequency response. The headset may include a switch, such as a magnetic proximity sensor detecting the position of the aural transducers, to control a mixer or amplifier to re-route audio through the aural transducers.

Abstract: A feedback signal is employed to facilitate enhancing an acoustic overload point and electrostatic discharge protection of a sensor component and associated circuit. The sensor component comprises a backplate component and a diaphragm component. The backplate component is biased to a low-level voltage associated with a ground. The diaphragm component is biased to a defined high-voltage associated with a charge pump. The diaphragm component generates a signal based on movement of the diaphragm component in relation to the backplate component in response to the input signal. A feedback component receives the signal from the diaphragm component and generates an inverted signal based on the signal. The inverted signal or a processed inverted signal, which can be derived from a filter component that filters the inverted signal, is transmitted to the backplate component.

Abstract: A headphone detector including a headphone and a processor. The headphone has a microphone and a speaker, and the microphone is configured to generate an audio signal based on an output of the speaker. The processor is configured to receive the audio signal, determine a characteristic of the audio signal, and assess whether the headphone is on ear or off ear based on a comparison of the characteristic to a threshold. The threshold corresponds to one or more of an audio response of the audio signal at a corresponding frequency and an audio response of a feedback microphone signal at a corresponding frequency, under one or more known conditions.

Abstract: A noise cancelling headset includes an earpiece, the earpiece including a feedback microphone, a feed-forward microphone, and an output driver. A first feedback filter receives an input from at least the first feedback microphone and produces a first filtered feedback signal. A first feed-forward filter receives an input from at least the first feed-forward microphone and produces a first filtered feed-forward signal. A first summer combines the first filtered feedback signal and the first filtered feed-forward signal and produces a first output signal. An output interface provides the first output signal as an output from the headset.

Abstract: A system and method to perform an estimation of a location of an active speaker in real time includes designating a microphone of an array of microphones as a reference microphone. The method includes storing a relative transfer function (RTF) for each microphone of the array of microphones other than the reference microphone associated with each potential location among potential locations as a set of stored RTFs, and obtaining a voice sample of the active speaker and obtaining a speaker RTF for each microphone of the array of microphones other than the reference microphone. The method also includes performing an RTF projection of the speaker RTF for each microphone on the set of stored RTFs, and determining one of the potential locations as the location of the active speaker based on the performing the RTF projection.

Abstract: This application relates to methods and apparatus for loudspeaker protection. A loudspeaker protection system (100) receives a digital audio signal comprising a plurality of samples at an input node (IN). A delay block (15) delays the digital audio signal and a gain block (14) applies a controlled gain to the delayed digital audio signal. An excursion predictor (12) is configured to receive a version of the audio signal from the signal path upstream of the delay block and determine a predicted excursion for a loudspeaker based on the audio signal. A gain controller (23) controls a gain setting (g) of the gain block in response to the predicted excursion and a first loudspeaker impulse response model and a predetermined excursion limit. The gain controller (23) is configured to determine at least one gain setting {ga gi} to be applied to a set of samples {Va . . .

Abstract: The present disclosure provides systems and methods to dynamically extend loudspeaker capabilities. In particular, a system comprising a loudspeaker can receive an electronic audio signal. Responsive to a change in available headroom, one or more parameters of an equalizer being applied to at least a portion of the signal in order to extend a physical low-frequency response of the loudspeaker can be modified based on the change in available headroom. Additionally or alternatively, responsive to the change in available headroom, a bandwidth of low-frequency content of the signal that is being synthesized by the system to extend low-frequency capability of the system beyond physical capabilities of the system can be adjusted based on the change in available headroom.

Abstract: An example apparatus includes an output jack including a ground pole and a power output pole, a power supply circuit configured to generate a power signal, a coupler circuit operably coupled to the ground pole and the power output pole of the output jack, such that the coupler circuit is configured to couple the power signal with a noise signal on the ground pole to generate a combined output signal on the power output pole.

Abstract: A noise cancelling headset includes first and second earpieces, each earpiece including a respective feedback microphone, a respective feed-forward microphone, and a respective output driver. A first feedback filter receives an input from at least the first feedback microphone and produces a first filtered feedback signal. A first feed-forward filter receives an input from at least the first feed-forward microphone and produces a first filtered feed-forward signal. A first summer combines the first filtered feedback signal and the first filtered feed-forward signal and produces a first output signal. An output interface provides the first output signal as an output from the headset.

Abstract: A binaural decoder for an MPEG surround stream, which decodes an MPEG surround stream into a stereo 3D signal, and a decoding method thereof. The method includes dividing a compressed audio stream and head related transfer function (HRTF) data into subbands, selecting predetermined subbands of the HRTF data divided into subbands and filtering the HRTF data to obtain the selected subbands, decoding the audio stream divided into subbands into a stream of multi-channel audio data with respect to subbands according to spatial additional information, and binaural-synthesizing the HRTF data of the selected subbands with the multi-channel audio data of corresponding subbands.

Abstract: Audio systems and methods are provided to increase relevant content of an audio signal relative to a noise level, and include filtering the audio signal to remove spectral content below a cutoff frequency, where the cutoff frequency is based upon a noise value.

Abstract: Described herein are systems, devices, and methods for discovering and assigning wireless speakers to one or more devices capable of providing audio content. In some embodiments, the speakers may receive one or more channels of multi-channel audio content. In some embodiments, one or more wireless speakers are discovered, a prompt identifying at least one speaker location is provided at an output device, a list of wireless speakers is provided to the output device, wherein the list of wireless speakers corresponds to the discovered one or more wireless speakers, a selection of a wireless speaker from the list of wireless speakers is received; and the selected wireless speaker is associated to the at least one speaker location.

Abstract: A system with a plurality of microphones positioned at different locations, and a modification system in communication with the microphones. The modification system is configured to derive a plurality of audio signals from the plurality of microphones, compute a confidence score for each derived audio signal, and based on the computed confidence scores, use one derived audio signal to modify another audio signal.

Abstract: At a microphone array, a soundfield is detected to produce a set of microphone signals each from a corresponding microphone in the microphone array. The set of microphone signals represents the soundfield. The detected soundfield is decomposed into a set of sub-soundfield signals based on the set of microphone signals. Each sub-soundfield signal is processed, such that each sub-soundfield signal is separately dereverberated using other ones of the sub-soundfield signals to remove reverberation from the sub-soundfield signal, to produce a set of processed sub-soundfield signals. The set of processed sub-sound field signals are mixed into a mixed output signal.

Abstract: A device includes a processor, a memory, and a combiner. The processor is configured to receive a first combined frame and a second combined frame corresponding to a multi-channel audio signal. The memory is configured to store first lookahead portion data of the first combined frame. The first lookahead portion data is received from the processor. The combiner is configured to generate a frame at a multi-channel encoder. The frame includes a subset of samples of the first lookahead portion data, one or more samples of updated sample data corresponding to the first combined frame, and a group of samples of second combined frame data corresponding to the second combined frame.

Abstract: An audio system includes an external microphone to receive a near-end audio content and a loudspeaker transducer and a corresponding enclosure defining an acoustic chamber. An internal pressure-gradient microphone is positioned in the acoustic chamber to detect a radiated output from the loudspeaker transducer. The audio system also includes a processor and a memory having instructions that, when executed by the processor, cause the audio system to receive a near-end signal from the external microphone and a reference signal from the internal microphone. The instructions, when executed, further cause the processor to cause the audio system to filter the reference signal from the near-end signal to define a clean near-end signal, and to emit the clean near-end signal. Related principles are described by way of reference to method and apparatus examples.

Abstract: A hearing protection headset that can be worn by a user includes left and right earcups. The headset includes a radio communication system enabling at least one radio signal to be received and played through one or both of the earcups. Noise control circuitry in the headset is configurable by a user between at least three active modes of operation—the circuitry having a first active mode in which the headset provides automatic noise reduction, a second active mode in which the headset provides automatic noise cancellation, and a third active mode in which the headset provides both automatic noise reduction and automatic noise cancellation. A switch is manually operable by the user to configure the circuitry between the first active mode and the second active mode and the third active mode.

Abstract: A smartphone having two microphones is used for determining the direction of a loudspeaker in a surround system setup. This is performed using smartphone rotation in azimuth and polar angle direction while capturing in its microphones a test signal from a current one of the loudspeakers. From the microphone signals a corresponding TDOA value is calculated, and the smartphone is rotated until that TDOA value is nearly zero, resulting in a loudspeaker direction information.