Head shadowing gives roughly 6 dB interaural amplitude difference near 1.85 kHz

Evidence

When a sound is to the right of a listener, the reflection reduces the sound energy that arrives at the left ear. Consequently, the intensity of the sound reaching the right ear will be much higher than the intensity of the sound reaching the left ear. The reduction in intensity at the ear distant from the source is called head shadow. Note also that the head shadow is greatest when the sound is to one side of the head. As a sound moves around the head from the left ear to the center of the head, the degree of head shadow will decrease. A sound directly in front of a listener will not yield a head shadow, and sound intensity at both ears will be the same. — Jennifer Lentz, Psychoacoustics- Perception of Normal…, 1454 (#expands, via linked claim)

Acoustically, the entire head (and shoulders) makes part of the external ear. The distance between the two ears, located at opposite sides of the head, causes an arrival time difference of the sound wavefront that depends on the angle of incidence. A difference in sound level appears at high frequencies due to shadowing by the head to the side that is opposite to the sound source. — Ville Pulkki, Matti Karjalainen, Communication Acoustics- An…, 726 (#expands, via linked claim)

Categorization

• XREF: connects to: Directional hearing resolution is worst near 1.7 kHz where head size equals one wavelength; Stereo phantom center images have a spectrum dip near 2 kHz from interaural crosstalk — Toole, Floyd E, Sound reproduction- the acoustics and…, 415; Head shading creates interaural level differences used for sound localization — Ville Pulkki, Matti Karjalainen, Communication Acoustics- An…, 726 (+11 more)

Related

• Head shadow attenuates sound arriving at the far ear unless the source is centered (similarity 0.94)
• Head intensity-shading fails below the frequency where head size reaches one-third wavelength (similarity 0.93)
• Head shading creates interaural level differences used for sound localization (similarity 0.92)
• Head shadowing and binaural hearing raise sensitivity by six decibels or more (similarity 0.92)
• The head shadows and reflects sound to create level differences between the ears. (similarity 0.91)
• Acoustic head shadow creates a better ear with higher SNR in everyday listening (similarity 0.90)
• Head shadow gives one ear a better signal-to-noise ratio in typical listening (similarity 0.90)
• Head-related pressure reflections and binaural hearing boost sensitivity by about 6-12 dB (similarity 0.87)
• Head orientation is necessary because interaural level differences plateau off-midline (similarity 0.86)
• Head separation between ears produces arrival-time and intensity cues for direction (similarity 0.85)
• Loudspeaker level differences become inter-ear phase differences via cross talk (similarity 0.84)
• Sound reaching the far ear must travel around the head (similarity 0.84)
• High-frequency sounds reflect off the head while low-frequency sounds diffract around it (similarity 0.83)
• Head scattering creates level differences between the two ears’ received signals. (similarity 0.83)
• Directional hearing resolution is worst near 1.7 kHz where head size equals one wavelength (similarity 0.83)

Broader Connections

• Head shadow attenuates sound arriving at the far ear unless the source is centered #expands (0.92) — Jennifer Lentz, Psychoacoustics- Perception of Normal…, 1454
• Head shading creates interaural level differences used for sound localization #expands (0.85) — Ville Pulkki, Matti Karjalainen, Communication Acoustics- An…, 726
• Acoustic head shadow creates a better ear with higher SNR in everyday listening #expands (0.80)
• Head-related pressure reflections and binaural hearing boost sensitivity by about 6-12 dB #exemplifies (0.75) — David Howard, Jamie Angus, coustics and Psychoacoustics, 634