Audible and listening speed

[Kathleen]

I listen to my Audible books with the app on my Samsung smartphone. At the moment I’m listening to three books, each at a different speed. It is irritating to have to change the speed each time I switch to a different book.

When I use the Smart Audiobook app, it remembers the speed I want for each specific book. I really like the convenience of not changing the speed several times a day.

Also, with the Audible app, I have to use a sliding scale to set the speed. Sometimes it is hard to get the scale set exactly as I want it. I’d rather choose the speed from a list, as with the Smart Audiobook App.

Why do I change the speed for most books? When I listen with my husband in the car, he prefers a normal speed. When I listen alone, some books are just to slow for my normal speed of 1.25. When I’m listening to something like a Great Course, I chose a slightly slower speed.

[Trio]

I change speeds in my audiobooks too Kathleen, and it is irritating to have to switch between books when I've got more than one going.

For me, I might switch speeds simply due to the narrator's style (or if the book is dull).

I haven't tried the Smart Audiobook, I have a Samsung too. I'll give it a look, thanks for the heads-up.

[Jeanie]

When I listen using my Echo device it remembers my last listening speed for each individual book... very handy. The down side is that the maximum speed is 1.5X or 150%.

[Audiblelovers.com]

I tried to listen to audible on echo but I have to admit listening to audiobook the classical way like on radio I don’t like at all.

I need headphones. With headphones 🎧 listening with speed is also no issue.

[Scott S.]

Trio wrote: "I change speeds in my audiobooks too Kathleen, and it is irritating to have to switch between books when I've got more than one going.

For me, I might switch speeds simply due to the narrator's st..."

Yes, give it a try! It's the greatest. Backs up a second or two after pausing so you can get back in the groove.

[Julesy]

The Smart Audiobook App is the greatest and love the wide selection of play speeds. My only wish list is that it had a car mode like the Audible app. When driving it's easy to see that big button on the Audible app to make it go back 30 seconds. I would like the same with the Smart Audiobook App because sometimes I hit the long reverse instead of the short reverse.

[Joanne Farley]

I always adjust the speed up to at lease 1.75 I find them way to slow otherwise.

[Grumpus, Hearing aide]

Joanne wrote: "I always adjust the speed up to at lease 1.75 I find them way to slow otherwise."

I'm with you Joanne...listening at "normal" speed now sounds very artificial and abnormal. I think Audible did something with the speeds are over the last year or so. The chipmunk effect is gone. It sounds to me that the pauses are simply less long while the narration is essentially the same. Or, for me, is this the new normal?