Patent ID: 8731217

Claim:
An audio signal output level control method to be used in an audio device, the method comprising: detecting input levels of an audio signal; setting a plurality of thresholds for the audio signal, each of the plurality of thresholds being different from each other with respect to the detected input levels of the audio signal and defining a plurality of sections of the audio signal; determining a section from among the plurality of sections in which a calculated average value of the input level is located; determining a control mode from among a plurality of control modes to be applied to the audio signal based on a calculated average value of the input levels; controlling the input levels of the audio signal according to the determined control mode; and determining output levels corresponding to the controlled input levels, wherein each of the control modes has a plurality of level inclinations used to control the input levels, and wherein each of the plurality of level inclinations corresponds to an increase of each output level according to an increase of each of the input levels, and wherein, the control mode has a level inclination, from among the plurality of inclinations, which has the highest inclination in comparison to the other level inclinations applied to the input levels in the other sections, and is applied to the input levels in the determined section.