A series of experiments was carried out to further elucidate the role of spectral cues in locating sounds in the median sagittal plane (MSP). Broadband noise bursts, generated at ±30°, ±15°, and O° re aural axis, were recorded via microphones placed in the external ear canals of 8 Ss. When these recorded sounds were played back dichotically through headphones, they were perceived as originating from the loudspeakers, not the headphones. In fact, Ss could identify that loudspeaker which originally generated the sound nearly as accurately as they could when listening under free-field conditions. Analysis of the spectra of these recorded sounds revealed a notch in the frequency response curves which migrated toward the lower frequencies as the sound source was moved from above to below the aural axis. This feature of the spectrum may well be important for accuracy in locating sounds emanating from the frontal segment of the MSP. Four Ss were given additional tests to find out whether they could locate sounds recorded from one another’s ear canals. All Ss immediately externalized the recorded sounds. However, differences between performances among the various tapes of recorded sounds were statistically significant, suggesting that spectral cues provided by some Ss were more efficacious than others in furnishing information on the elevation of sound sources.

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An extensive series of behavioral tests was carried out to determine what region, or regions, of the sound spectrum were critical for locating sounds monaurally in the horizontal plane. Seven subjects were requested to locate narrow bands of noise centered at different frequencies, combinations of these noise bands, low-pass, high-pass, and broadband noise. As observed in an earlier study, increasing bandwidth did not necessarily lead to improved localization performance until the band became broad, including, for example, all frequencies above 4.0 kHz. What seems to be happening is that listeners perceive narrow bands of noise originating from restricted places in the horizontal plane which may differ one from another depending on the frequency composition of the stimulus. In several instances, if two noise bands were presented simultaneously, the resulting stimulus was located with reasonable accuracy provided each component, when presented singly, was perceived as emanating from clearly separate azimuthal positions. If, however, two noise bands, which were perceived to originate from approximately the same azimuthal position when presented singly, were now presented simultaneously, the resulting stimulus still was perceived to originate from the same region of the horizontal plane. This, then, is a case where augmenting the spectral content of the stimulus does not bring about improved performance. We suggest that the expression of judgmental biases in the apparent location of a band of noise may prove useful for understanding why some stimuli of specified width and center frequency are localizable while others are not.

Monaural localization of low-pass noise positioned in the horizontal plane on the side of the unoccluded ear was investigated. Listeners showed no localizing ability until the upper cutoff frequency of the noise was advanced to 5.0 kHz. Performance proficiency increased progressively with the inclusion of still higher audio frequencies. Consonant with the behavioral data were the results of sound spectrum measurements performed on a head–pinna model. The spectral composition of a broad-band noise positioned at various azimuthal positions became clearly distinguishable, one from another, only at the higher frequencies. Subject Classification: 65.62, 65.75, 65.54.