Adaptive Audio Compression for In-Ear Monitor Amplifier Limits
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional audio systems experience distortion in in-ear monitoring signals due to exceeding the output power of headphone amplifiers, leading to reduced battery life and undesirable clipping, especially during loud passages.
Innovation Solution
An audio system with a base station and mobile devices that include an audio compressor to dynamically adjust the input signal level based on the set volume, ensuring the output level does not exceed the amplifier's limit, thereby avoiding distortion and reducing power consumption.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Illumination intensity
If the playback volume of the in-ear monitoring signal is increased to allow users to hear themselves and musicians clearly, then the audio signal level increases, but the output power of the headphone amplifier is exceeded causing distortion and clipping
Solution Approach 1:
The audio compressor performs preliminary compression of the in-ear monitoring signal before it reaches the headphone amplifier output stage. By proactively reducing peak levels and limiting the signal dynamically, the system prevents the amplifier from being overloaded, thereby avoiding distortion and clipping while still allowing high playback volume settings.
2Object-affected harmful factors
If a complex amplifier with high output power is used to avoid distortion during loud passages, then the audio quality is maintained, but the power consumption increases and battery life is reduced
Solution Approach 1:
The invention extracts the distortion-problem-solving function from the amplifier hardware and relocates it to the digital signal processing domain through the audio compressor. Instead of relying on a powerful amplifier to handle peak levels, the compressor pre-processes the signal to prevent overload, allowing the use of simpler, lower-power amplifiers while maintaining audio quality.
3Use of energy by moving object
If signal clipping is applied to limit the output level above the maximum power of the headphone amplifier, then the battery life is extended, but strong and undesirable distortions occur in the reproduced signal
Solution Approach 1:
The audio compressor dynamically adjusts the signal level in real-time based on the instantaneous amplitude of the in-ear monitoring signal. Unlike static clipping that abruptly cuts off peaks, the compressor continuously modulates the gain, smoothly limiting peaks while preserving the natural dynamics and waveform shape of the audio signal, thereby avoiding distortion artifacts.
Data Source
AI summary
Embodiments disclosed herein relate to an audio system with a base station connected to multiple mobile devices. In some embodiments, the base station and the mobile devices are adapted to exchange data. In some embodiments, the base station is connected to an audio mixer adapted to receive multiple input signals from the mobile devices, mix them into an overall signal, provide them as an in-ear monitoring signal, and transmit them to a mobile device comprising an output amplifier and sound transducers connected thereto. In some embodiments, the mobile device, which receives the in-ear monitoring signal, may have a volume control to adjust playback volume. In some embodiments, the mobile device may have an audio compressor that compresses the input signal level of the in-ear monitoring signal as a function of the set volume so that the output level of the output amplifier does not exceed a predetermined limit level.