An audio apparatus includes a sound sensing device, a first amplifier and a sound producing device. The sound sensing device configured to detect an ambient sound pressure. The first amplifier coupled to the sound sensing device is configured to convert a first signal corresponding to the ambient sound pressure into a second signal with inverted polarity of the first signal. The sound producing device is coupled to the first amplifier and configured to produce a counter sound pressure corresponding to the second signal. Overall phase delay from the ambient sound pressure to the counter sound pressure is less than 25 degrees.

A wearable device and a portable apparatus are provided. The wearable device includes two wireless earphones each including a speaker, a sound receiver for receiving sound from a peripheral object, and a signal converting circuit that is electrically coupled to the sound receiver and is configured to convert input signal from the sound receiver into a target spectrogram. The two spectrograms from the signal converting circuits have a time/phase difference, and at least one wireless earphone includes a storage unit and a judging circuit that is electrically coupled to the storage unit, the two signal converting circuits, and the two speakers. The judging circuit is configured to compare any target spectrogram with basic spectrograms of the storage unit so as to determine which kind of objects the peripheral object is, and is configured to obtain an instant position of the peripheral object by the time/phase difference.

Technology described in this document can be embodied in an earpiece of an active noise reduction (ANR) device. The earpiece includes a plurality of microphones, wherein each of the plurality of microphones is usable for capturing ambient audio to generate input signals for both an ANR mode of operation and a hear-through mode of operation of the ANR device. The earpiece further includes a controller configured to: process a first subset of microphones from the plurality of microphones to generate input signals for the ANR mode of operation, process a second subset of microphones from the plurality of microphones to generate input signals for the hear-through mode of operation, detect that a particular microphone of the second subset is acoustically coupled to an acoustic transducer of the ANR device in the hear-through mode of operation, and in response to the detection, process the input signals from the second subset of microphones without using input signals from the particular microphone.

Earpieces and methods for acute sound detection and reproduction are provided. A method can include measuring an external ambient sound level (xASL), monitoring a change in the xASL for detecting an acute sound, estimating a proximity of the acute sound, and upon detecting the acute sound and its proximity, reproducing the acute sound within an ear canal, where the ear canal is at least partially occluded by an earpiece. Other embodiments are disclosed.

Various implementations include a wearable audio device that includes an array of microphones and an audio processing system for processing audio signals from the array of microphones. The audio processing system includes a system for analyzing the audio signals and generating a first set of sub-array signals that preserve signals originating from a mouth of a user using a fixed coefficient beamformer, and generating a second set of sub-array signals associated with noise sources originating from directions other than the mouth of the user, wherein each sub-array signal includes a sub-combination of signals from the array of microphones; a primary generator that generates a primary signal by combining the first set of sub-array signals; and an adaptive filter for processing the primary signal, wherein the adaptive filter utilizes the second set of sub-array signals as a set of noise reference signals to adaptively steer a null towards the noise sources to generate an enhanced primary signal.

A wearable audio output device is in a respective physical environment and in communication with an electronic device. While one or more audio properties of the respective physical environment satisfy first audio criteria, the wearable audio output device provides audio output corresponding to the first audio criteria, the audio output including: audio corresponding to audio content from the electronic device at a first device-content audio level; and audio corresponding to ambient sound from the respective physical environment at a first ambient-sound audio level. The wearable audio output device detects a change in the one or more audio properties of the respective physical environment, and in response to detecting the change in the one or more audio properties of the respective physical environment, provides audio corresponding to ambient sound from the respective physical environment at a second ambient-sound audio level that is different from the first ambient-sound audio level.

A device includes one or more processors configured to receive an input audio signal. The one or more processors are also configured to process the input audio signal based on a combined representation of multiple sound sources to generate an output audio signal. The combined representation is used to selectively retain or remove sounds of the multiple sound sources from the input audio signal. The one or more processors are further configured to provide the output audio signal to a second device.

The disclosed computer-implemented method may include applying, via a sound reproduction system, sound cancellation that reduces an amplitude of various sound signals. The method further includes identifying, among the sound signals, an external sound whose amplitude is to be reduced by the sound cancellation. The method then includes analyzing the identified external sound to determine whether the identified external sound is to be made audible to a user and, upon determining that the external sound is to be made audible to the user, the method includes modifying the sound cancellation so that the identified external sound is made audible to the user. Various other methods, systems, and computer-readable media are also disclosed.

Earpieces and methods for acute sound detection and reproduction are provided. A method can include measuring an external ambient sound level (xASL), monitoring a change in the xASL for detecting an acute sound, estimating a proximity of the acute sound, and upon detecting the acute sound and its proximity, reproducing the acute sound within an ear canal, where the ear canal is at least partially occluded by an earpiece. Other embodiments are disclosed.

One embodiment provides a method, including: activating, on an information handling device, a noise cancelling setting; recording, using a microphone associated with the information handling device, ambient audio; determining, using a processor, whether an authorized sound is present in the recorded ambient audio; and notifying, responsive to determining that an authorized sound is present in the recorded ambient audio, a user of the authorized sound. Other aspects are described and claimed.