Horizontal-plane localization needs no listener-specific HRTF, but vertical does

Evidence

Once an HRTF is recorded, sounds can be passed through the HRTF for presentation over headphones to a listener. Sound will then be perceived as external to the body, despite the headphone presentation. Interestingly, for localization in the horizontal plane, a listener-specific HRTF is not necessary. Wenzel, Arruda, Kistler, and Wightman (1993) compared sound localization abilities for people listening over headphones using their own HRTF and an HRTF measured using different people. They found that localization in the horizontal plane was generally unaffected by the specific HRTF. However, listeners performed better at localizing in the other two planes when they were presented sounds from their own HRTF. In particular, it appears that the pinnae cues were most relevant. — Jennifer Lentz, Psychoacoustics- Perception of Normal…, 1538

Once an HRTF is recorded, sounds can be passed through the HRTF for presentation over headphones to a listener. Sound will then be perceived as external to the body, despite the headphone presentation. Interestingly, for localization in the horizontal plane, a listener-specific HRTF is not necessary. Wenzel, Arruda, Kistler, and Wightman (1993) compared sound localization abilities for people listening over headphones using their own HRTF and an HRTF measured using different people. They found that localization in the horizontal plane was generally unaffected by the specific HRTF. However, listeners performed better at localizing in the other two planes when they were presented sounds from their own HRTF. In particular, it appears that the pinnae cues were most relevant. Consequently, depending on the application, a specific HRTF may or may not be important. — Jennifer Lentz, Psychoacoustics- Perception of Normal…, 1538

Categorization

• XREF: Connects to spatial-audio engineering for VR/headphones, specifically whether generic HRTFs suffice.
• QUESTION: Why are pinnae cues so central to vertical-plane but not horizontal-plane localization? This suggests a deeper question about which localization cues the nervous system weights by plane.
• corroborated: 2 independent passages support this claim — Jennifer Lentz, Psychoacoustics- Perception of Normal…, 1538