The end of a note tells you just as much as the beginning.
Attack gets all the attention in audio reviews—how fast the transient is, how crisp the edge. But decay is where the soul lives. The way a piano note lingers, the slow fade of a cymbal, the room reverb after a singer’s final breath—these are the moments that make music linger in your memory.
Decay reveals not only the recording space but the noise floor and dynamic linearity of your system. If decay vanishes too soon, your system’s either truncating the sound or burying it under noise. That’s why I’m such a stickler for quiet gear.
Focus on decay, and you’ll notice your music breathes again.
