Patent ID: 8693701

Claim:
An audio headset compatible with active noise cancelling audio processing devices and audio processing devices without active noise cancelling, the audio headset comprising: at least one microphone for measuring noise; an encoder for encoding a noise measurement signal received from the microphone via an input of the encoder, to produce an encoded noise measurement signal; and a connector for connecting the audio headset to an audio processing device, the connector having a terminal for carrying a microphone signal, wherein the audio headset is configured to detect if a device to which the audio headset is connected to is an active noise cancelling audio processing device or an audio processing device without active noise cancelling, wherein the audio headset is operable when connected to the active noise cancelling audio processing device to output the encoded noise measurement signal via the terminal and to receive a combined audio and anti-noise signal from the active noise cancelling audio processing device; and when connected to the audio processing device without active noise cancelling: to output one of a null signal and an unencoded signal from the at least one microphone via the terminal; and to receive an audio signal from the audio processing device without active noise cancelling.