Humans localize single sources well but fail at source distributions

Evidence

The task of perceiving the distribution in such a case could be thought to be a simple one, since the accuracy of direction perception for a single source is of the order of a few degrees at best. However, the distribution is analysed from signals from the sources summed in the ear canals, and naturally the presence of multiple temporally and spatially overlapping source signals arriving from different directions makes the analysis task difficult. — Ville Pulkki, Matti Karjalainen, Communication Acoustics- An…, 1487

Categorization

• QUESTION: Why does the auditory system sum overlapping signals in the ear canals rather than separate them? This seems like a fundamental architectural constraint worth chasing.
• XREF: Relates to cocktail-party problem and auditory scene analysis literature. — connects to: Single-ear listeners can still localize sound sources but with degraded accuracy — Ville Pulkki, Matti Karjalainen, Communication Acoustics- An…, 1456; Localization precision peaks in front, degrades at the sides, improves behind — Professor Dr.-Ing. Hugo Fastl, Professor Dr.-Ing. Eberhard, Psychoacoustics- Facts and Models, 1718; Humans localize sound accurately using only two real-time ear signals (+3 more)

Broader Connections

• Combining stereo cues produces spurious cues that confuse localization #expands (0.78)
• Single-ear listeners can still localize sound sources but with degraded accuracy #complicates (0.75) — Ville Pulkki, Matti Karjalainen, Communication Acoustics- An…, 1456
• Localization precision peaks in front, degrades at the sides, improves behind #expands (0.72) — Professor Dr.-Ing. Hugo Fastl, Professor Dr.-Ing. Eberhard, Psychoacoustics- Facts and Models, 1718
• Humans localize sound accurately using only two real-time ear signals #complicates (0.72)
• Localization improves as we learn our own ears’ direction cues through experience #complicates (0.72)
• Sound localization is most accurate when facing the sound source #qualifies (0.72) — Jennifer Lentz, Psychoacoustics- Perception of Normal…, 1493