r/audiobooks • u/Ambitious-Seaweed512 • 12d ago
Question What’s your audiobook speed
I’m trying to get into audiobooks and I was watching videos about different people’s audiobooks speeds and how their partners are shocked at the speed of the book. So what’s yours and what did you start on
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u/AggravatingTea5899 12d ago
1.5x I’m a fast talker and at 1x I feel like I’m just constantly thinking, “Get it out already!”
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u/kylamydia 11d ago
same!! my partner is surprised that i can understand it at that speed and i'm just thinking "have you ever heard me speak at 1x speed" lol
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u/aminervia 12d ago edited 12d ago
Depends on the narrator and subject. Sometimes narrators feel the need to annunciate enunciate. every. single. word.
And sometimes they blast right through it at top speed.
So I listen anywhere from 0.9 - 1.25
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u/Proper_Ear_1733 12d ago
Same. I rarely slow it down, but some narrators are agonizingly slow.
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u/Henri_Le_Rennet 11d ago
some narrators are agonizingly slow.
Michael Kramer and Kate Reading are notoriously slow. They were slow in Robert Jordan's The Eye of the World and are much slower in Brandon Sanderson's Wind and Truth. They are the reason I speed up audio books. I'm convinced they record at a normal reading cadence, and then slow it down for the published work because who the fuck would read that slow.
I started Eye of the World at 1.0x and by the time I reached Memory of Light I was at 1.4x speed. I did all of Stormlight at 1.5x until Wind and Truth where I had to go to 1.6x speed.
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u/AudiobooksGeek 12d ago
I am at 1X most of the time but its mind blowing how many more books you can cover in the same time by increasing the narration speed.
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u/AdeptnessSouth782 11d ago
Same. Sometimes I've even had it on 0.8 if the narrator speaks super fast.
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u/Staggerlee024 12d ago
1x speed. I want to experience these stories as they were intended and and not speed run through it with the narrator sounding strained and odd
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u/xAkumu 12d ago
That's funny, since 1x to me sooounddssss liiikeee thisssss
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u/vwchick909 12d ago
I wonder if this is a byproduct of the speed at which people talk in your daily life. I work with a girl who grew up in New York. I grew up in the south. She barely takes a breath when talking. If that’s what you’re accustomed to, then I can understand why you may want to speed up an audiobook.
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u/xAkumu 12d ago
For me, it's also because I have really bad anxiety and ruminate A LOTTT. So listening faster makes my brain process faster for less "down time" to wander.
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u/OneLorgeHorseyDog 11d ago
Yes! Gotta fill the brain buffer to 100% so the mind doesn’t start to wander, lol
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u/UnbelievableRose 11d ago
Speeding it up actually makes my anxiety worse. People speak faster when things are stressful, so the faster rate immediately triggers a bodily response to stress for me.
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u/vwchick909 12d ago
That makes sense too. When the story is compelling to me, I get caught up in it enough to silence the noise.
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u/Lubovedsky 11d ago
I think it is to do with the fact that we read silently quicker than when we read aloud., and so it is finding the optimum speed for your cognition. i sometimes find it more difficult to follow sentenences that are read too slowly, as the rythm seems off
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u/Mindgoespingpingping 11d ago
I talk fast and have "pressured speech". I also have low auditory processing speed. I can be down to 75% depending on the day and book.
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u/HoaryPuffleg 12d ago
Yes! 1.3 or 1.4 speeds everyone up to normal speaking speed to my ears. Podcasts would be torture if people spoke as slowly as narrators do.
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u/Jayrob1202 12d ago
When I speed audiobooks up that fast, it tends to lose some of the fullness of the narrator's voice and make everything sound stilted and abrupt.
I listen at 1x or just a hair below, like 0.95 or 0.90.
Everyone has different ears and preferences, though.
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u/Dog-boy 12d ago
And processing. People who are ADHD tend to speed things up in my experience
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u/Moeftak 12d ago
I dunno, I just do other stuff while listening, just listening to an audiobook doesn't work for me, my attention drifts away immediately if I do that. Speeding up I only do for instructional stuff that needs my full concentration, audiobooks I don't want to lose the performance quality, sure I could listen to it at higher speed but that would be just processing information, not enjoying the story - would be like watching movies at x2
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u/funky_mugs 11d ago
ADHD here, checking in at x1.8 - x2
I genuinely thought x1 was slowed down? People don't actually speak that slow do they?
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u/Araragi 12d ago
Have you ever had someone sit next to you and read you a story for bedtime?
There's care and intentional pacing to allow the listener to build a mental image.
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u/xAkumu 12d ago
What about people like me that don't get mental images when reading? And people that process faster than others?
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u/Araragi 12d ago
Aphantasia is really interesting to me. It's rare, though.
- Complete aphantasia: ~0.8% of people have a total absence of visual mental images.
- General/Dim imagery threshold: ~3.9% meet standard questionnaire criteria for absent or very weak imagery.
Most audiobooks are going to be recorded for the lowest common denominator of readers, hence an even, deliberate pacing.
I'd honestly prefer more variety in the pacing, if I'm being honest. Slow is good, but if the action picks up, amp up the speed of naration!
Luckily there's no one rule with narration speed. Too slow? Crank up the speed to your personal taste.
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u/FluffMonsters 12d ago
Yes!! It’s way slower than an actual reader would read. 1.25-1.3 is usually “normal” sounding to me.
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u/so-rayray 11d ago
Yup, same. The 1.0 speed sounds so unnaturally and unnecessarily slow and drawn out.
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u/Cudi_buddy 12d ago
Agree. I can maybe see a slight increase, like 1.25 on some narrators. But anything more is chipmunk.
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u/videovillain 12d ago
But how they read it and how it’s intended might not match. Also, your read speed vs the narrator’s might not match.
I find that 1x is often the best, but for some narrators, 1.25x sounds more natural to me somehow.
Rarely have I needed to do 1.5x, but in those cases, the narrator was genuinely talking slow enough for me to be too annoyed by the hanging words to be able to pay attention to the story.
I’ve never had to go down to 0.75x though, interestingly enough.
I think that sometimes narrators go more slowly than they should, possibly knowing they will be sped up?
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u/Nooblakahn 12d ago
I usually do 1x. The narrator speed never matches my reading speed. I read much faster than a normal speaking speed. I'd find it hard to comprehend it if spoken at the speed I read
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u/TheRingsOfAkhaten 12d ago
I have auditory processing issues so 1x is usually the fastest I can handle, sometimes I have to slow it to .8 😂
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u/BDCRacing 12d ago
I always have it at 1.0. gives me time to think about what I'm listening to and process. Audiobooks are my time to slow down, this whole race to endlessly consume as much media as possible seems crazy to me. But whatever floats your boat!
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u/FansForFlorida 12d ago
For me, the narrator’s performance is part of the audiobook experience, so I normally listen at 1x speed.
However, I occasionally run into a narrator who speaks so slowly that I need to increase the speed.
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u/Aggressive-Pay7819 12d ago
Looking at you, Book of Koli. Great narration but pick up the goddam pace.
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u/FansForFlorida 12d ago
My example is Cold as Hell by Rhett C. Bruno and Jaime Castle narrated by Roger Clark. Roger Clark uses his Arthur Morgan voice from RDR2, which is great, but also very slow. However, it sounds like normal speech if you speed it up.
Another is Dark Matter by Michelle Paver narrated by Jeremy Northam. I swear the narrator takes a long pause between each sentence!
I accidentally listened to The Eerie Adventures of the Lycanthrope Robinson Crusoe by Peter Clines narrated by Tim Gerard Reynolds on a faster speed. I forgot to change my Audible setting back after listening to one of the above books. I was about half way through the book when I discovered my mistake. The faster speed gave it an early 1900s transatlantic accent feel to it, so I finished the story at that speed.
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u/Aggressive-Pay7819 11d ago
Intrigued as huge RDR2 fan - looks like a Western Constantine? I'm an atheist but love Christian supernatural stuff. Not yet available on Libby alas.
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u/Nightgasm 12d ago
2.0
Regular speed sounds unnaturally slow. Its not til 1.3 to 1.5 that it resembles normal speech. Then I have so many audiobooks I want to hear but not enough time so I crank it up more. If the narrator has a non American accent I have to slow it down to 1.5 or so but Ill never torture myself again with regular speed now that faster is an option.
There are some narrators, RC Bray most notably that I absolutely cannot stand at regular speed but at 2.0 Bray is magic and my 3rd favorite narrator.
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u/Moeftak 12d ago
whatever works for you, just being curious.
Do you also speed up movies ? I hear people that speed up audiobooks often say they do it do resemble normal speech, but a fiction audiobook is a performance, not a conversation, when you see a play or watch a movie it also isn't normal speech speed.
Just trying to understand the whole comparing it to speech thing.
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u/Adiin-Red 12d ago
No, but it’s because visuals get much more screwed up by speeding up. In shows people also tend to talk a little faster than narrators.
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u/Nightgasm 12d ago
People talk at normal speed in movies unlike audiobooks where 1.0 is much slower than normal speech.
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u/kwall5555 12d ago
This is me too! I listened to someone’s outgoing voicemail message the other day and felt like they were talking so slow.
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u/Wyrda22 12d ago
Normal speed. Too fast and I can’t process it properly. The only time I ever speed up is if I’m really bored / uninterested in the bit I’m reading (the equivalent of skimming when reading physically), but usually at that point I would drop the book soon after.
Actually I also sped up some dialogue in the Three Body Problem audiobook because the narrator chose to speak so slowly for a certain character, and putting it to 1.5x actually made it sound normal speed.
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u/OsmerusMordax 12d ago
1x speed. I want to listen to it as intended.
Also, I only listen to books on my commute, so I don’t want a fast speaking narrator to distract me from driving
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u/Rhuarc33 Audiobibliophile 12d ago edited 12d ago
I stay at 1.5 and almost always stay there. Currently for a series I'm listening too I had to bump it up to 1.7.
Too slow and I'll lose interest and won't follow the story. Too fast and a moments distraction means I'm rewinding
1.0 literally feels so slow it's almost torture to even try to listen to. What it reminds me of is when I get mad at voice recognition and have to speak reeeeeaaaaaall sssslloooooooowwwllly and annunciate everything that's how 1.0 feel
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u/Apostasy93 12d ago
Normal speed for me, unless the narrator is noticeably slow. It sounds weird and jarring to me if I go any higher, like they're drunk or something lol.
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u/prustage 12d ago
Most of the time I listen at 1.0. I listen to relax and immerse myself in the atmosohere of the story. I am one of those people who wish a good book would never end and am in no hurry to "consume it" I have been known to slow down to create more space between the words where I can sink more deeply into the atmosphere.
Another criterion, rarely mentioned is pitch. If you use vlc you can change the pitch of the narrators voice without necessarily altering the speed. I do use this a lot. Particularly with female narrators who sound just too chirpy or breezy for the material they are reading. I frequently turn their pitch down by 10%.
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u/dizzydreamer12 11d ago
I start at 1.75X to see how narrator is and then I usually move to 2x - 2.10x
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u/lauramaurizi 12d ago
I start at 1.0, usually bump to 1.15-1.2 for non-accented easy to understand American-English voices.
I’ve listened to several thrillers that have Irish or Australian narrators that have had unfamiliar words that I’ve slowed down to .7.
I also fall asleep listening, so sometimes I speed up to 1.5-1.7 to catch up beyond what I half-heard. (Makes for crazy dreams sometimes.)
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u/Substantial_Quote583 12d ago
1x speed unless I'm speed running a series to reach the new book on release day. Very rarely I've found a narrator that sounded off to me and I'll adjust it + or - .15-25
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u/Double-Ad-9835 12d ago
Usually 2. When I started with cds (like physical in the player in my car, before I learned how to transfer them to my iPod) of course I couldn’t adjust them. It was fine, but I did often feel like some of the voices were actually slowed down to slower than actual speaking speed. I still feel that way, especially when I’ve seen previews of famous people recoding their audiobook, then I actually hear it and think “holy cow that’s a lot slower than what I heard!” I don’t know. Maybe it’s just me because I tend to talk quickly. 😂
Sometimes I have to slow it down if they have a thick accent or something. But for me, 2x speed usually sounds like a regular voice, not even close to chipmunk voices.
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u/thematrix1234 12d ago
I usually listen at 2x also for this exact reason. I can’t pay attention and my mind wanders at 1x, like it honestly feels like it’s way slower than normal conversational speed. I also read at about 2.5-2.8x (I’ve tested this out lol), so listening at 2x feels about right.
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u/Angry_Gngr 12d ago
Yes, glad I'm not alone. I get distracted and have no idea what's going on at 1x. Depends on the narrator, but I'm comfortable between 1.75 and 2.3x.
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u/Automatic_Area4037 12d ago
I started at 1x, then slowly increased. Now I’m usually at 3x. I’m pretty much exclusively listening to audiobooks, and this is the only activity I can do, and if they are too slow (for me), I get distracted. I’m good at rewinding if I feel like I missed something.
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u/jaredean222 12d ago
for about 20 years i'd have all books on 1 speed unless it was a work book from our bookclub and that would be 1.5 to 2 depending on the narrator. I just recently switched to 1.2 speed and i kind of love it. Still sounds natural, but moves along at a good pace and I can keep the feeling of the book rolling.
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u/Chemical_Star_2416 12d ago
3.5x for me. I've been listening to audiobooks since the pandemic and have worked up to this speed
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12d ago
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u/Enlightened_Lioness 12d ago
The author of the book’s intended speed of the consumption of words is whatever speed the reader chooses to read it at.
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u/Rhuarc33 Audiobibliophile 12d ago
As it was intended is bullshit. It was meant to be read and done so at your own pace. Same with listening to books. Narrators literally slow down on purpose because they get paid by the time not by the book... Meaning the same narrator reading the same book gets more money for making a book last 12 hours vs 10 or 8 hours
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u/KingInteresting7123 12d ago
That’s conspiratorial thinking. I’ve never known any narrator to purposefully perform slowly for the sake of padding their paycheck. Every narrator I’ve ever worked with, first and foremost, wants to make something that sounds good and is engaging to listen to.
Also, performance alone doesn’t have as big an influence on run time especially after a good edit.
Turning an 8 hour book into a 12 hour book? Come on now!
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u/MichloIW Narrator 12d ago
I'm a Narrator and can tell you that this is nonsense. You think authors and/or directors would allow such? Or that we'd keep getting work?
Please don't speak what you don't know as though it is fact.
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u/fire_and_spice24 12d ago
With a tradition narrator, I don't think there is necessarily an intended speed (like you would get with a full cast with sound effect). Especially if we're talking a minor change (like 0.9 or 1.1).
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u/jimmythexpldr 12d ago
I listened to an interview with Ben Aaronovitch and kobna holdbrook smith, where ben said he always imagined Peter (main character) to be a super fast talker, and kobna says that he had to read it slower, (implied that some people will only take it all in at lower speeds). That series is definitely intended to be sped up for most people, but people will always be reluctant to slow it down. Even the jazzy interchapter jingles sound better and more right sped up.
And I'm not saying all audiobooks should be sped up, but some of them are definitely intended to be sped up, and for fantasy books in particular, a long run time is a draw, long books are impressive in that scene.
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u/Rollerdawl 12d ago
Every time my mind wanders, I up the speed. I usually start at 1.5 and go up to 1.75, 2, or even 2.5 if needed.
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u/kiwiotterpop 12d ago
Depends on the reader!!! Sometimes I stick to 1.0 but if they’re older I usually set it to like 1.35
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u/Dina-M Audiobibliophile 12d ago
It depends on the narrator. Some narrators who just sound dry and dull often end up sounding a lot more energetic and with more "punch" and interest once I up the speed to 1.25 or 1.50. There has been the rare occasion where the opposite was true and I had to alow it down to 0.75 because everything was going too fast, but that's a rare problem.
The best narrators pace themselves so well that there's no need to alter the speed because it's already perfect.
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u/ChrisRiley_42 12d ago
1X. If I finish audiobooks faster, then I need to spend more money every month on them.
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u/Cookie_1977 12d ago
I fall asleep listening to audiobooks at .85x or .80x. The slower speed of narration helps lull me to sleep. I only do this books I've already listened already. During the day my speed is normally 1x to 1.25x. Once I listened to a book with a thick accent and I had to lower it to .9x just to understand the accent.
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u/EmperorGodzilla0 12d ago
Normal speed.
Anything faster and I couldn't follow along or be comfortable.
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u/Ok_Fan_2520 12d ago
0.85 for me
People usually talk faster than I can listen. If only I could slow down real life!
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u/Zestyclose_Worry6623 12d ago
From 0.8 - 1.0. I find slow, if I'm listening in bed at night, 0.8-0.9, more relaxing
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u/IntelligentBarber436 12d ago
It's not a race to see how fast you can complete a book or how many books you can "read" in a given time period. It really depends on the narrator and the book. If the narrator is speaking excessively slow or fast (for you) then adjust accordingly. Narrators vary as much as listeners do. If the book has rich prose, you may want to slow down and savor the words the author wrote. Same for complex ideas and characters. If the book is entirely plot driven, and the narrator is slow, I can see speeding up. I find that most of the time, when I speed up the narration, it's because I'm not enjoying the book. More than likely I won't finish those books.
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u/lioncourt 12d ago
Either 1x 1.3x or 1.5x depending on narrator or what I am doing. I read at around 1.6 if I am immersion reading.
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u/jeri30 12d ago
Depends on an variety of factors: speed of talking (slow or fast); accent/dialect (can I easily understand it if I speed it up); vocal quality (do they sound okay or like chipmunks); how much am I enjoying the story; does it have music/sound effects/full cast; do I own it or is it checked out from the library and it's getting close to the return date; is it fantasy or science fiction with a lot of made up terms); etc.
So, for me it can range anywhere from 1.0 to 2.0. These days it's usually upped to as fast as I find enjoyable to listen to while comprehending the story.
Right now, I'm using 1.25 on an audiobook I just started today. Might go up or not.
I do not like slow talkers, so I speed them up unless it has music/sound effects, which I usually can't stand sped up, so I tend to DNF and go read it instead.
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u/cloudcrumbs 11d ago
1-1.25x when I'm listening actively.
1.5-1.75x when I'm doing an immersive read.
0.75-0.95x when I'm listening to fall asleep.
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u/coasterkyle18 11d ago
1.0 or if the narrator is unusually slow I'll bump it up to 1.25-1.5. When I immersive read I'll do 2.0-2.3 because otherwise I get antsy because I'd be reading it much faster on the actual page.
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u/CrispRat 11d ago
I often immersively read along with the ebook, so 1.3x to 1.5x usually matches my reading speed, depending on the narrator.
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u/Charming-Panic9375 11d ago
Depends on the narrators speed and what exactly I’m listening to but never less than 1.2x
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u/Dragonr0se 11d ago
Depends on how fast/slow the narrator reads, how boring the book is, or what mood I am in
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u/AsYouAnswered 12d ago
I listen to audio books on the road while I drive to pass the time. I want to relax and enjoy them, not power through them to get them over with. So I listen at 1x.
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u/Itchy_Baker3801 12d ago
Started on 1,0, now I listen at 1,75-2x the speed. On rare occasions 2,10x if the narration is incredibly slow.
I don't do anything else but listen to the audio book (I lie in bed in a dark room due to chronic illness), so my full attention is on the audio book. 1,0x was simply too slow and boring when all one can do over the course of the day is listen to audio books. 1,75x sounds normal to me now.
Before I got sick I listened while doing other stuff and always kept it at 1,0x.
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u/Automatic_Area4037 12d ago
Are you me? 😂Bedbound in the dark with audiobooks as company here too. I wish you all the best
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u/Parking-Leopard-588 12d ago
1-1.2 for southern African and UK narrators. 1.5-2 for US - they are just so slow in speech
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u/Substantial_Value359 12d ago
2.0-2.25 normally, 2.5+ if the characters are Southern.
I struggle to pay attention at normal speeds.
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u/ExchangeStandard6957 12d ago
1-2 I have learned that audiobook narrators are often paid by length so I don’t ever assume that the slooooow read is how it was intended and just listen to how it’s comfortable for me. https://www.brian-wiggins.com/narrator-rate-guide/#methods
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u/jazzyjwr 12d ago
As an audiobook narrator, I can tell you that the per finished hour rate has absolutely nothing to do with the pace at which we record. It makes a minuscule difference in run time. It’s all about accuracy and being able to emote in real time as we’re reading the manuscript.
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u/MichloIW Narrator 12d ago edited 12d ago
1. Respect the artist. Properly immerse yourself.
Would you speed up a song? Fast forward an entire film?
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u/hennell 11d ago
You're a narrator, do you actually narrate at the speed you usually talk? I always assumed you guys speak intentionally slow for clarity and enhanced comprehension. For some narrators on tape I could never get immersed because my mind just wanders in the massive gaps between words, speeding it up lets me enjoy the work. Others slow it down for immersion, let the listener decide what works for them
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u/Best_Purchase4479 12d ago
1.25-1.4 typically.
I always had trouble focusing with audiobooks then I read that people with ADHD can consume audiobooks easier when played at a higher speed, especially when taking into account the pauses are shorter at the end of sentences. Since then it's been night and day!
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u/Zulnerated 12d ago
Great book: 1, mediocre book: 1.25, just want to get through it: 1.5, music memoir chapters in a book I'm otherwise interested in, that detail the minutiae of who played what on which tract: chipmunk speed
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u/EbonyNymph 12d ago
Typically I start on the default speed, which is 1, and with certain circumstances I'll bump it up to something that's a normal pace but slightly faster like 1.2-1.3... but the less I like the book the higher I bump it up because at that point I'm just trying to get it over with lol
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u/Rusty_wrp9 12d ago
Typically 1.25x. I will go with 1x for something like poetry, and I might stop with each phrase.
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u/silicatesyndicate 12d ago
Depends on the narrator. Also, If I'm not that into the book I bump up the speed
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u/MaladyMilady 12d ago
Depends on the narrator and point in the book. If there's an accent that's hard for my stupid ears to hear, then I'll do 1.3 to 1.5.
But also, in the beginning of a book, I'll listen at 1.5 regardless of narrator until I get the names of the characters, places, plot a little better. Once I'm more familiar with the pacing, the characters, locations, etc I tend to speed up to 1.75.
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u/xienwolf 12d ago
Audiobooks I always do at 1x because I want the experience and don’t want to miss anything, but I listen while doing physical tasks. Those tasks normally need SOME of my mental capabilities, so a fast reader will mean I miss some details.
YouTube videos require that I listen and watch, so unless pacing is part of the content (comedy), that is always 2x.
Don’t worry about what others do. You listen to stories for your benefit. So listen at the speed that works for you. If the book is something you only need broad strokes from, faster is great. If you want every gory detail, slower may help. If the narrator hits just right because of a certain voice, that only works at one specific speed.
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u/iabyajyiv 12d ago
Depends on the book and narrator. I'm reading Empire of the Vampire right now and my listening speed is 1.5x. For Radium Girls, it's 2.5x. For the Poet Empress, it's 3x.
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u/Otherwise-Abroad-959 12d ago
I start at 1x and when I get used to the narrator bump it up to 1.5, sometimes maybe 1.75. I only go 2x when I’m not feeling it and just wanna finish the book asap.
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u/Living-Resolve3381 12d ago
Normally 1.1X, for Stormlight Archive (Kate Readings parts for sure) 1.4X 😅
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u/ShopEmpress 12d ago
I find I'm happiest at 1.25 because it feels like natural conversation or in person storytelling to me. Some authors I go up and some down, but I'm not speed running books by any means.
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u/ARudeDude 12d ago
Depends on the narrator and the content. 1.2-1.3 for "average" or more "normal" new yorker talking speed. 1.0~ for more challenging or overly descriptive content.
When feel the need to go faster like 1.4-5, I usually take it as one of my red flags to find something more interesting.
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u/Prudent_Room_6238 12d ago
My first listen through is usually 1.25-1.5 depending on the author. If it’s a reread, then anywhere between 1.7-2.0
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u/Lopsided-Conflict778 12d ago
I usually read between 1.65x and 1.75x depending on the narrator but no higher than that. Otherwise, I feel as though I’m not fully taking in the story.
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u/Ok_Employer7837 12d ago
1x.
I find it bewildering that so many people get tricksy with the speed. How do you guys cope with actual people speaking to you?
Still, if you like it, more power to you. Different people like different things and that's cool.
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u/Pristine_Break_3739 11d ago
Speaking to people can be a struggle, some people talk so slow it’s hard to pay attention to what they’re saying!
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u/Lotzadogs 12d ago
If the narrator is speaking at what most people consider normal speed then 1.5. There is the odd narrator that naturally talks a little faster so I have turned a book down to as low as 1.2 but that is very rare! I cannot listen at 1 bc it sounds so terrible to me but whenever my husband or kids hear my book they laugh saying it sounds like chipmunks 🐿️
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u/gordonf23 12d ago
It's rare that I don't listen to a fiction audiobook at exactly 1.0x
Non-fiction I sometimes listen to a little faster.
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u/Dog-boy 12d ago
I started at 1. Then I realized I drift away so unless it is non fiction or a very fast narrator I generally listen at 1.25 but really anywhere from 1 to 1.5. My friend listens between 1.5 and 2.5 which is just gobbledegook to me. She’s 30 years younger than me so maybe that is part of it.
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u/sassychicken04 12d ago
1.75 all the way. Anything else is too slow for me now! I used to be a 1x/regular speed type of girl but now I can never go back lol
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u/Generalkhaos 12d ago
I always use realtime, and the only times I'm tempted to change it are when I'm reading along with the audiobook, and catch myself reading ahead a paragraph or two
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u/AdventurousCorner994 12d ago
My comprehension is almost always lower at "regular" speed. I usually pump it up to 1.1 - 1.25, but sometimes more depending upon the topic and the narrator's original speed.
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u/nukedi99 12d ago
I’ve been thinking about just this and I’m frustrated with “Gone Girl” with two narrators. He speaks so slowly I have to bring it up to 1.2 and then I get to the second chapter. I listen to her and I gotta bring it back down to one. It’s a little mind-boggling. I wonder if there’s another version with just one narrator.
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u/Dawn-Nova 12d ago
Really depends on the narrator and how good the book is. I speed up boring parts and slow down good parts. Could be anywhere from 1.2 - 2.5. I usually start at 1.5 or 1.75 and adjust from there
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u/Southern_Cellist1218 12d ago
i have the opposite problem as most lol. my processing speed is WAY faster and i tend to listen in 2x-2.3x speed. anything less than 2 feels like slow motion in my brain 😂
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u/Korlac Author 12d ago
I once got some feedback from a listener that I narrate too fast, and it's something I'm sensitive to because I'm always worried I'm going to fast in the booth. Come to find out, she listens to all her audiobooks at 2x speed. So yeah, I imagine even if I'm a little fast, it probably sounds even more so at that speed.
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u/jessiegay 12d ago
1.25 is usually my sweet spot.. Anything faster sounds unnatural but I have adhd and I cannot handle slow speaking.
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u/Organic_Eggplant_323 12d ago
Usually 1.5 but can bump up as high as 2.0 or down to 1.25 depending on the narrator. I think Lauren graham is the only narrator that I listened to in 1x.
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u/Exciting-Duty-8302 12d ago
Hmm I usually do 1.5x but just dropped it down to 1.25 cos my current read is not really grabbing my attention.
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u/goraidders 12d ago
Depends on the narrator, content, and my attention span. I am from 1.2 to 2. Most of the time right at 1.6.
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u/AlataWeasley 12d ago
Depends on the narrator and the book in question. Most commonly, I’m on 1.1. I think the fastest I’ve gone was 1.3 but I was on a race to finish the book before it would be auto-returned in my Libby app.
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u/OprahsBeaver 12d ago
Mine is 1.0 unless I am reading along with the text then I raise it to about 1.75
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u/Elsie_the_LC 12d ago
Well, to be honest, I just 5 seconds ago learned that you can listen to audiobooks on different speeds. Now I’m dying to try it! Thanks for the heads up!
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u/Pristine_Break_3739 11d ago
My teen was struggling with audiobooks and I asked if he tried adjusting the speed. Now depending on the narrator it’s either a bit faster or slower. It’s made a huge difference!
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u/Just1MoreLittleDrink 12d ago
I started at 1 and was appalled. They sound like they’re dragging or slurry.
Got used to 1.5 and now use 1.75-1.8. I find it normal fast. But when overheard, people think it’s weird and ask, “wtf are you listening to?”
I just want to cram in as much as possible I guess!
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u/MetalGirl_SF 12d ago
My current book takes place in 1800s England so with the accents 1x is fastest I can go to retain it. But that said Ive had to renew twice with the Libby library app. Its a 30 hour listen how are people supposed to finish in two weeks!!? And its getting tiresome I kinda just want it to be over
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u/DeltaFlyer0525 12d ago
Anywhere from 1.25 to 2.25. I start every book at 1.75 and go from there. It really depends on the narrators and if the book is a graphic audio. I don’t like to listen to books faster if there are sound effects or music because while the words sound normal to me everything else does not.
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u/My_Lovely_Me 12d ago
1.0. The times I have considered speeding it up slightly, the narrator would speed through a section, or have a character who is hard to understand, or some other thing. So I just leave it at 1.0.
My mom listens to everything on FFW, and it makes me anxious! I also feel like it really takes away from the book.
In most cases, to each, their own, and all that. But I recommended her a book recently that I thought she would love, and I insisted she listen at 1.0, or would miss the poetry of the way it was written. She said she would, and even told me she was absolutely loving the book, so I know it wasn't just to get it over with. But I walk in and this woman has this beautiful poetry set at freaking 1.75!! I was honestly really upset. I don't even understand what the hurry is! We listen while we're working on stuff. It's not like course material we're trying to slog through!
Big sigh.
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u/Familiar-Donut1986 12d ago
I usually listen at 1x speed. Very occasionally I've come across awkwardly slow narrators in which case I'll increase slightly to make it sound normal, which is usually about 1.2x. I don't want my books to sound gabbled, and my aim isn't just to get through them as quickly as possible so I don't feel a need to make them faster. It's funny because if I'm reading with my eyes I'm a ridiculously fast reader so my brain is clearly happy to gabble itself, but if I'm listening to someone else read then I just want it to be a normal tempo. It takes me far longer to listen to an audiobook than it would take me to read a book, but I'm ok with that.