Binaural realism degrades when the listener’s head differs from the recording head.

Evidence

Because the sound is recorded at the ears, dummy or real, the full effect of head shading, interaural delay and pinna reflections is accounted for in the recording. This can result in amazingly realistic recordings, especially if your own ears are used. However, if other people’s ears are used, the effect is less realistic, because a given person learns the responses of their own head and ears. — David M. Howard, Jamie Angus, Acoustics and Psychoacoustics, 2248

Categorization

• XREF: Connects to head shading, interaural delay and pinna cues covered in the HRTF/notch chapter work earlier in the book.
• QUESTION: Why do simple approximate head models outperform accurate individual-specific ones — is confusion of cues really better than mismatched detail?