Patent ID: 8442239

Claim:
An audio system for use in a vehicle, comprising: a plurality of audio sources connected to an amplifier in communication with a plurality of speakers, where each of the audio sources is operable to generate an audio output signal for receipt by the amplifier; a control unit connected with the amplifier, the control unit configured to store in a memory a plurality of passenger categories; the control unit further configured to store a plurality of balance settings in the memory, where each of the balance settings is for one of the plurality of audio sources and is stored in one of the plurality of passenger categories so that no passenger category contains more than one balance setting for each of the audio sources; a user interface in communication with the control unit, the user interface configured to select one of the audio sources from among the plurality of audio sources as a selected audio source; the control unit further configured to retrieve, in response to receipt of the selection of the selected audio source, a balance setting for the selected audio source from among the balance settings stored in a selected one of the plurality of passenger categories; and the amplifier further configured to reproduce the audio output signal of the selected audio source based upon the retrieved balance setting stored in the selected passenger category to drive the speakers of the audio system.