Patent ID: 8467547

Claim:
An audio compressor for modifying a dynamic range of an audio signal comprising: a detector that receives the audio signal and determines a value indicative of a perceived volume of the audio signal; a gain generator in communication with the detector and configured to generate a gain function that attenuates the audio signal when the signal is above a threshold value in accordance with a static characteristic curve; a release filter configured to receive the gain function from the gain generator, where the release filter uses an adjustable parameter to bring about a release time that elapses from a drop in the audio signal below the threshold value and before the attenuation is stopped, the release filter further configured to generate an adjusted gain function to apply to the input signal to either attenuate or amplify the input signal to generate a compressed output signal; and a controller in communication with release filter to provide the adjustable parameter to the release filter, the controller configured to receive the compressed output signal and to dynamically determine the adjustable parameter based on the compressed output signal, a static release time, and the threshold, where the release filter uses the adjustable parameter to dynamically adjust the release time.