Ambient dialogue audio extremely directional

When using surround sound, ambient comments from companions can be very quiet depending on their position in relation to Rook. To the point where I'm starting to think Rook has extremely directional hearing. 

I get that it's the point of Surround Sound, but you should be able to hear a person standing 5ft behind you just as well as someone 5ft in front of you, and A LOT BETTER than someone 50ft away. Example: following the contact through Treviso with Harding in tow. Harding is 5ft behind me, the contact somewhere way ahead of me, not even visible because around a corner or something. Some ambient dialogue comes up between the 3 of us and I can hear the contact better (like she's standing right in front of me even) than I can hear Harding, just because the camera is angled the right way. 

Really wondering if I'm missing some hidden setting, if it's on my end, because I can't imagine this being intentional. Obviously Windows is set to employ surround sound, and the game audio is set to it too. Anyone else experiencing this?