The first arriving sound wave dominates perceived localization regardless of level

Evidence

Rooms produce a complex acoustic field that consists of a direct path of sound from the source to the ear and multiple reflected paths because sound is reflected from surfaces and objects. These multiple sound paths produce a great deal of noise in the acoustic signal, yet we normally do not notice these sound reflections nor do they drastically affect our judgments of sound location. Wallach, Newman, and Rosenzweig (1949), who coined the term the precedence effect, demonstrated that sound localization is based on the acoustic cues associated with the sound that arrives first at the ears. That the reflections do not alter the perceived sound location of the source implies that the first arriving sound takes precedence over the reflections of that sound in determining its location. — Jennifer Lentz, Psychoacoustics- Perception of Normal…, 1564

Categorization

• DEFINE: Defines the precedence effect and names its originators with the 1949 citation.
• XREF: Relates to how reverberation degrades speech and localization — connects to listening in rooms and hearing-aid processing that amplifies reflections. — connects to: Direct sound determines localization, loudness, and perceived spectrum quality — , Toole, Floyd E - Sound reproduction-…, 1546; The sound arriving first dominates perceived direction beyond 673 microseconds of delay; The first-arriving direct sound perceptually dominates despite carrying less energy (+9 more)
• corroborated: 2 independent passages support this claim — Jennifer Lentz, Psychoacoustics- Perception of Normal…, 1564

Broader Connections

• The first-arriving direct sound perceptually dominates despite carrying less energy #expands (0.95)
• Sound is localized to the first arriving acoustic source despite delayed reinforcement #corroborates (0.95)
• Direct sound determines localization, loudness, and perceived spectrum quality #expands (0.85) — , Toole, Floyd E - Sound reproduction-…, 1546
• The sound arriving first dominates perceived direction beyond 673 microseconds of delay #expands (0.85)
• Early reflected sound localizes sources while late sound becomes directionless #expands (0.80) — Eric J. Heller, Why You Hear What You Hear- An…, 2471
• The precedence effect suppresses spatial identity of reflections, not their audibility #expands (0.80) — , Toole, Floyd E - Sound reproduction-…, 840
• Precedence fusion suppresses spatial perception but never masks the delayed sound #expands (0.80)