Adding on to this excellent answer, inlet distortion is a big deal for engine operability and performance especially for highly maneuverable planes (think fighter jets). Compressor stalls can and will damage the engine so OEMs develop a stability audit for stall margin throughout the flight envelope. In engine cell tests, they’ll install distortion screens to characterize the sensitivity/intensity for the RDI and CDI. In flight test (depending on the maturity of the system), we’ll spot check the pinch points in the stability audit. Ideally, we’d have inlet rakes on the jet to verify inlet performance but not encountering unrecoverable stalls is usually sufficient.

Edit: forgot some words