Patent ID: 7903826

Claim:
A headset for reproducing audio, comprising: an input that receives an audio signal from an electronic equipment; at least one earpiece having an electro-acoustic speaker for converting electrical signals to audible sound; at least one microphone that receives ambient sound and converts the ambient sound to an ambient sound signal; and a processing circuit formed as an integral unit with the input and the at least one earpiece, the processing circuit including circuitry that combines the audio signal from the electronic equipment with the ambient sound signal from the at least one microphone and provides the combined signals to the at least one earpiece such that the electro-acoustic speaker reproduces the ambient sound in combination with audio from the audio signal, wherein the processing circuit comprises mixture circuitry adjustable by a user to adjust a ratio by which the processing circuit combines the audio signal and the ambient sound signal, and the processing circuit comprises gain control circuitry that compensates for changes in amplitude of the input signal such that the ratio remains constant, and wherein the at least one earpiece includes the at least one microphone, and the earpiece is configured to be inserted into an ear of a user with the microphone positioned within a cavity formed by the auricle of the ear.