Headphone reproduction lacks the spatial cues loudspeakers in rooms provide

Evidence

Stereo recordings are intended to be reproduced through loudspeakers in rooms—not headphones. The important psychoacoustic cues delivered to listeners through loudspeakers in rooms are fundamentally different from those presented by headphones. — Toole, Floyd E, Sound reproduction- the acoustics and…, 1666

Categorization

• DEFINE: Establishes the fundamental premise that stereo mixes target room playback, not headphone playback — a grounding definitional point.
• XREF: connects to: Headphones sound ‘in the head’ because they fail to model head movement cues — David M. Howard, Jamie Angus, Acoustics and Psychoacoustics, 735