[ellinokon]

I can see how you would read it as such, but I'm mostly saying: Transients are a huge part of how we perceive sound. A speaker with properly timed transient response allows the speaker to reproduce sound more accurately. The importance of this attribute naturally follows.

The unique characteristics of certain sounds will be lost when the speaker is unable to translate its wavelengths properly in the analogue space within the required period.

[klodolph]

It’s not a question of whether you can hear transient response differences, because the answer to that question is obviously yes.

The question is whether the differences between the transient response in the NS10 and the transient response in other speakers is a good explanation of why people like the NS10s, and I can think of some ways that we could figure this out experimentally.

I suspect the transient response is only a small part of a much larger picture which includes: the NS10s are popular and people are used to them, the NS10s have a midrange emphasis that helps people hear problems in the midrange, the NS10s are sealed which affects how you should place them relative to the wall behind them, etc.

[ellinokon]

Right! I feel you have been heavily implying it isn't a trait worth considering, which it obviously is. Transients do matter, and any mixer worth his salt will recognise when the speaker is fighting against them in this regard.

I personally think the tight transient response coupled with the mid forward character is what makes it a solid tool worth considering. Remove either trait and the speaker would lose its usefulness. My suspicion would be that the transient handling plays an important part of why people like working with these speakers.

As to why they are popular: I'm totally on board with calling it hype reaching critical mass. The NS10s sounds terrible, but they are pretty consistent between rooms given their sealed nature. If you can count on it being everywhere it is worth learning as a tool. The speaker also being revealing of transients and a critical band of frequencies is the icing on the cake here.