Two aspects of human hearing that may or may not shed light on this.
One, really low bass is non-directional. We sense almost nothing but volume. It is for all intents and purposes mono. Yet mono always sounds like it is coming from right between the speakers. Low bass is not mono like that. It is more like what out of phase mono sounds like, coming from nowhere and everywhere. Yet when playing music it never sounds like this either. It always sounds like it is coming from some definite location.
Another one, really high ultra-sonic frequencies. We cannot hear these at all! At least not on a hearing test playing only these frequencies, we hear nothing. But all instruments have higher harmonic overtones extending well up into the ultra-sonic range. When these are reproduced it lends a wealth of detail including depth of image that improves not only treble but midrange and bass as well.
These might seem to be very different, the extreme low bass on the one hand and the beyond treble on the other. But I think they are very much the same. I think in both circumstances what is happening is our brains assemble it all into an auditory model of the world around us.
How this all happens is anyone's guess. It sure does seem pretty obvious though that it does indeed happen.
The cells in the ear that detect these ultra-sonic frequencies, by the way, are three times as many in number as detect the sounds we can hear. So good luck figuring out how to measure for that.
One, really low bass is non-directional. We sense almost nothing but volume. It is for all intents and purposes mono. Yet mono always sounds like it is coming from right between the speakers. Low bass is not mono like that. It is more like what out of phase mono sounds like, coming from nowhere and everywhere. Yet when playing music it never sounds like this either. It always sounds like it is coming from some definite location.
Another one, really high ultra-sonic frequencies. We cannot hear these at all! At least not on a hearing test playing only these frequencies, we hear nothing. But all instruments have higher harmonic overtones extending well up into the ultra-sonic range. When these are reproduced it lends a wealth of detail including depth of image that improves not only treble but midrange and bass as well.
These might seem to be very different, the extreme low bass on the one hand and the beyond treble on the other. But I think they are very much the same. I think in both circumstances what is happening is our brains assemble it all into an auditory model of the world around us.
How this all happens is anyone's guess. It sure does seem pretty obvious though that it does indeed happen.
The cells in the ear that detect these ultra-sonic frequencies, by the way, are three times as many in number as detect the sounds we can hear. So good luck figuring out how to measure for that.