This is often used by audio mixing engineers and taught in a roundabout way at schools and studios. We think a lot about where thins “sit” in the mix. Proximity wise, and even height wise in a stereo mix.
Eventually you learn how to locate things in headphones and it’s a really weird sensation when you realize you can do it.
The kicker is we start out by simulating real environments in mixes, but then end up having to simulate what people expect from the medium as opposed to real life.
For example something I learned doing video audio, if someone is writing something on a train, viewers expect to hear the pen on paper. But irl, there’s not a chance it’s audible. Explosions are always distorted because microphones end up clipping due to the volume, etc.
A great book on spatial simulation is The Art of Mixing by David Gibson. Older but forever relevant
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