Unable to hear back of the head sound effects

I believe it has to do with loudspeaker setup, the room, and of course the recording. I can clearly hear percussion to the right rear in Euge Groove's song "Twelfth Night". Of course there are others but this song stands out for me.

For those who have never heard the surround effect on a stereo system, try listening to Roger Waters "Amused to Death". There are a few others but this comes to mind.

……just put the pipe down and then see !

@bassbuyer 

+1 to DSOTM in Atmos.  I manage 4.4.1

In real life, the shape of the pinnae surrounding our auditory canal plays a critical role in detecting sounds coming from behind.  It is our principal method of detecting danger.

With two-channel stereo, if the signal contains corresponding information, you will localise the source.  Chesky did this with their LEDR test where the apparent source rises vertically from one speaker, arches over before descending towards the other speaker.

The more coherent the speaker, the easier the effect is to hear.  The information is mainly carried by the high frequency components of the signal, so clean high frequency response helps.

As we age, we lose high frequency 'reception' so a combination of deafness, old age, in-coherent speaker design and confusing reflections combine to mask the effect

The more coherent the speaker, the easier the effect is to hear.  The information is mainly carried by the high frequency components of the signal, so clean high frequency response helps.

As we age, we lose high frequency 'reception' so a combination of deafness, old age, in-coherent speaker design and confusing reflections combine to mask the effect

I think you're right.  If high frequency hearing is not good, you may not be able to perceive certain soundstage tricks especially behind the listener position.