An audio conferencing apparatus and method. The apparatus includes a data
bus, such as a TDM bus, a controller, and an interface circuit that
receives audio signals from a plurality of conference participants and
provides digitized audio signals in assigned time slots over the TDM bus.
The audio conferencing platform also includes a plurality of digital
signal processors (DSPs) adapted to communicate on the TDM bus with the
interface circuit. At least one of the DSPs sums a plurality of the
digitized audio signals associated with conference participants who are
speaking, to provide a summed conference signal. This DSP provides the
summed conference signal to at least one of the other DSPs, which removes
the digitized audio signal associated with a speaker whose voice is
included in the summed conference signal, to provide a customized
conference audio signal to each of the speakers.