Unifying multiple audio bus interfaces in an audio system

An integrated circuit (IC), comprising:

• a primary slave audio device, comprising:
• a first control circuit;
• and
• a first audio bus interface comprising a first control lane and a first plurality of data lanes;
• a dependent slave audio device, comprising:
• a second control circuit;
• and
• a second audio bus interface comprising a second control lane and a second plurality of data lanes;
• the primary slave audio device and the dependent slave audio device communicatively coupled via a slave status link;
• the first control circuit and the second control circuit each configured to receive, from a master audio device, a mode instruction that indicates operation in one of a detach mode and a unify mode;
• and
• the second control circuit configured to:
• while operating in the detach mode, transmit a slave status for the dependent slave audio device to the master audio device via the second control lane;
• and
• while operating in the unify mode, transmit the slave status for the dependent slave audio device to the primary slave audio device via the slave status link.