Editing Head-related transfer function (section)

== How HRTF works ==

The associated mechanism varies between individuals, as their head and ear shapes differ.

HRTF describes how a given sound wave input (parameterized as frequency and source location) is filtered by the [[diffraction]] and [[Reflection (physics)|reflection]] properties of the [[Human head|head]], [[Pinna (anatomy)|pinna]], and [[torso]], before the sound reaches the [[transduction (physiology)|transduction]] machinery of the eardrum and inner ear (see [[auditory system]]). Biologically, the source-location-specific prefiltering effects of these external structures aid in the [[sound localization|neural determination of source location]], particularly the determination of the source's [[elevation]].<ref>Blauert, J. (1997) Spatial hearing: the psychophysics of human sound localization. MIT Press.</ref>