AUDIO OUTPUT COORDINATION

To control the sound output of various devices ( 1 a , 1 b , 1 c, . . . ) a control unit ( 3 ) gathers information (I) on the sound output of the devices. Before a device starts producing sound, it submits a request (R) to the control unit. In response to the request, the control unit allocates a sound share (S) to the device on the basis of the sound information, the sound share involving a maximum volume. Thus the volume of any new sound is determined by the volume of the existing sound. An optional priority schedule may allow existing sound to be reduced in volume.