But surely that assumes your hearing is differenly configured in each ear. What actually happens, do the base notes come out of one particular speaker or what?
Imagine an orchestra in a concert hall being recorded with two microphones, left and right. Listening at home with the speakers connected correctly, you will appreciate the same spatial sensation as live - sounds recorded on the left come out of the left speaker. Connect the wrong way round, and the orchestra will be the "wrong" way round.
Just to add, it's the way the music or what you listen to has been recorded which determines what comes out of the left and right channels. You didn't say what sort of amplification you were using,but it would have to be of fairly good quality to enable one to receive 'true stereo'...although the separation on cheaper types can be quite good,and is sometimes very discernible.