Elevation localization relies on pinnae spectral cues encoded as HRTFs

Evidence

In the important median plane we rely on spectral cues derived from the way sounds interact with our external auditory apparatus: the pinnae. When I was at the National Research Council of Canada a colleague, Dr. Edgar A.G. Shaw, was investigating the acoustics of the external ear, exposing the acoustical reasons why sounds arriving from different angles had different timbral signatures at the eardrums. These were the precursors to what we now call head-related transfer functions: HRTFs. The mechanisms include acoustical interference and resonances in the folds of the pinnae and the cavities within them. Several of them are sensitive to the direction of the incoming sound, exhibiting different levels of response for different directions. — Toole, Floyd E, Sound reproduction- the acoustics and…, 742

Categorization

• DEFINE: Defines HRTF via its physical origin in pinna folds and cavities.