Patent ID: 8452427

Claim:
A system for providing pre-amplification functions in an audio signal path comprising: a pre-amplifier configured to receive as an input an audio signal from an audio source; and a programmable multimedia controller separate from the pre-amplifier, the programmable multimedia controller configured to interact with and control a plurality of separate audio components, video components and motor-operated devices located about a building, the programmable multimedia controller including a general-purpose computer executing a general-purpose operating system that manages the operation of the programmable multimedia controller, the programmable multimedia controller configured to receive as an input the audio signal from an output of the pre-amplifier, the general-purpose computer of the programmable multimedia controller configured to analyze the audio signal and in response thereto cause the programmable multimedia controller to issue control commands to the pre-amplifier via a command pathway that couples the programmable multimedia controller to the pre-amplifier, the control commands to control pre-amplification functions of the pre-amplifier, wherein the pre-amplifier is further configured to perform the pre-amplification functions on the audio signal to adjust the audio signal and output the adjusted audio signal on the output coupled to the programmable multimedia controller and a second output coupled to a power amplifier, and wherein the programmable multimedia controller is further configured to monitor the adjusted audio signal to verify adjustments have been implemented.