A system is provided for enhancing a sound signal produced by an audio system in a listening environment by compensating for ambient noise in the listening environment. The system receives an electrical sound signal and generates a sound output therefrom. A total sound signal is sensed representative of the total sound level in the environment, where the total sound level includes the sound output and the ambient noise. The system extracts an ambient noise signal representative of the ambient noise from the total sound signal, using an adaptive filter with an adaptive step size, in response to the total sound signal and to a reference signal derived from the electrical sound signal. The system generates a control signal in response to the ambient noise signal and adjusts the sound output of the audio system to compensate for the ambient noise level in response to the control signal.
