Why Dwell Time Works for “Pop”
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“Pop” = Ball Rebound Speed, which is heavily tied to how quickly the ball leaves the stringbed.
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A shorter dwell time generally means higher ball exit velocity—the racquet “punches” the ball out faster, which feels like more pop but less “energy.”
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Conversely, longer dwell time gives a “softer” feel, with more ball cupping and potentially more control or spin, but there is a less immediate rebound.
Advantages of Using Dwell Time
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✅ Objective & Measurable: Unlike “feel,” which is subjective, We calculate dwell time for every racquet we do.
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✅ String-agnostic: Since you’re isolating the moment of contact, it’s less influenced by the brand, gauge, or material, especially when averaged over several hits.
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✅ Independent of Vibration Dampers: Since dwell time happens before stringbed vibration even knows what is happening, dampers (which affect post-impact sound/feel) are irrelevant.
Things to Consider
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Dwell time is still influenced by tension, racquet stiffness, swing speed, and impact location.
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It might not fully capture the subjective “pop” some players describe, because that sometimes includes auditory feedback or even rebound height perception.
However, as a technical baseline, dwell time is an excellent metric for quantifying “pop” without getting bogged down in subjective or brand-dependent language.
We have been calculating dwell time for many years, so below we will associate a frequency (sound) with string bed stiffness so you can hear what “Pop” sounds and feels like!
Dwell Time: 5.677 ms.
String Bed stiffness:
Flex Four=71.1
RDC=74
ERT=42
Dwell Time: 6.829
String Bed Stiffness:
Flex Four=60.0
RDC=47.0
ERT=33.0
Dwell Time: 7.803
String Bed Stiffness:
Flex Four=57.0
RDC=36.0
ERT=27.0
Dwell Time: 7.803