In some ways, a high performance amplifier is like a high performance race car. It needs to accelerate instantly and then stop on a dime - without swerving off the track.
Transient response* is an important factor in amplifier design.
In audio, an example would reproducing a 96 piece orchestra that’s reaches a crescendo, then pianissimo. The finale of Gershwin’s ’Rhapsody in Blue’ would be a good example.
Other examples would include: hearing a close-mic’d plucking of a guitar string - or - the thwap of a drum stick hitting a snare drum - and then the decay that follows. Does it sound like the real thing? A good synergy between the amp and speakers will define that. Much depends on the kind of music being listened to and the priorities of the listener.
_ _ _ _ _
* In electrical engineering and mechanical systems, the transient response refers to the temporary behavior exhibited by a system when subjected to a sudden change or disturbance in its input. It encompasses the system’s reaction to a stimulus before it settles into a stable, long-term state1. Specifically:
- Rise time: The time required for a signal to change from a specified low value to a specified high value (typically 10% to 90% of the step height).
- Overshoot: When a signal exceeds its target value.
- Settling time: The time for the output to remain within a specified error band after an ideal instantaneous step input.
- Delay time: The time required for the response to initially reach halfway to the final value.
- Peak time: The time to reach the first peak of the overshoot.
- Steady-state error: The difference between the desired final output and the actual output when the system reaches a steady state12.