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Audiobook Speed Calculator

Created by Luna Maldonado Fontes
Reviewed by Anna Szczepanek, PhD and Rijk de Wet
Last updated: Jun 08, 2023


If you want to improve your audiobook listening experience, say hello to our audiobook speed calculator! Whether you want to speed up or slow down the narration, our playback speed calculator provides accurate time estimates.

This is the perfect tool to explore the relationship between audiobook length, playback speed, and time spent listening. With this audiobook time calculator, you can find out the optimal playback speed necessary to achieve your desired listening time. Moreover, you can also explore how much time you will save (or gain) by changing the playback speed.

Get ready to dive into the world of efficient and immersive listening with our user-friendly audiobook calculator. Let's make the most of your audiobook experience!

Why would I need to calculate the audiobook time?

Regular physical books cannot be customized. The book you get is all you have, and the speed at which you read it will depend solely on your own reading speed. Audiobooks, on the other hand, can be customized. More to the point, the rate at which they are played can be swiftly changed according to your needs.

Therefore, the ability to calculate the audiobook time plays a vital role in unlocking a myriad of possibilities — we can:

  • Discover how long it will take to listen to an audiobook based on different playback speeds. This knowledge lets us plan our time effectively and choose books that fit our schedules.

  • Identify the optimal playback speed that allows us to enjoy an audiobook within a specific timeframe. Whether we have a limited window or a set deadline, knowing the right playback speed ensures we can savor the entire story within our available time.

  • Determine the appropriate audiobook length to match our required playback speed and available free time. By understanding the relationship between playback speed and audiobook length, we can choose audiobooks that align with our time constraints and speed preferences.

Calculating audiobook time: some practical examples.

Let's consider some practical examples to illustrate the functionality of the audiobook calculator:

Scenario 1: Complex physics book

Imagine you're listening to a complex physics book and would like to listen to it at a slower pace to enhance comprehension. Soon you will go on holiday and want to find out whether you can listen to the entire book during this period. Considering you will have approximately 30 hours dedicated to listening, you can find out whether you will manage to listen to the whole book in two ways:

  • Locking the audiobook length, setting the total listening time to 30 hours, and checking if the playback speed becomes 0.5 or lower.

  • Setting the playback speed to 0.5 and verifying if the total listening time is 30 hours or less.

You may even combine it with the reading time calculator to find out how to best split your 30 hours of dedicated listening.

Scenario 2: Limited free time

Suppose you have only 30 minutes of free time per day and wish to know how the playback speed affects the number of audiobooks you can listen to in a month. Using the audiobook calculator, set the playback speed to your desired value and observe the time it will take to listen to the entire book. You can then input this data into the audiobooks calculator to determine the number of audiobooks you can enjoy in a month or a year.

Scenario 3: Time constraints

While selecting a new audiobook, you realize you face some constraints: you can only allocate 6 hours for listening to the entire book, and your maximum playback speed is two. You can use the audiobook speed calculator to input your playback speed and total listening time. The audiobook speed calculator will then calculate the audiobook length that meets your requirements. This way, you can pick an audiobook that is just about the correct length for you.

By applying these practical examples and utilizing the audiobook speed calculator, you can make well-informed decisions about the playback speed and effectively manage your time to enjoy a fulfilling audiobook experience.

How does the audiobook speed calculator work?

The audiobook calculator operates on two fundamental formulas to provide you with essential information about your listening experience. Let's delve into how this calculator works and its underlying reasoning.

Total listening time

The total listening time is calculated by dividing the audiobook length by the chosen playback speed. The formula is as follows:

Total listening time=Audiobook lengthPlayback speed\scriptsize \text{Total listening time} = \frac{\text{Audiobook length}}{\text{Playback speed}}

For instance, if you have an audiobook with a calculated audiobook length of 10 hours and you choose a playback speed of 1.5x, the 1.5x speed calculation would be as follows:

Total listening time=10h1.56.67h\scriptsize \text{Total listening time} = \frac{10 \text{h}}{1.5} \approx 6.67 \text{h}

This means that by listening to the audiobook at 1.5x speed, you can complete it in approximately 6 hours and 40 minutes.

Listening time saved

The listening time saved represents the difference between the audiobook's original length and the total listening time achieved by adjusting the playback speed. The formula is as follows:

Listening  time saved = Audiobook length       Total listening time\scriptsize \begin{split} \textrm{Listening \ } \\ \textrm{time saved} \end{split} \ = \ \begin{split} \textrm{Audiobook length \ \ \ \ \ \ } \\ - \: \textrm{Total listening time\!\!\!\!} \end{split}

Continuing with the previous example, where the audiobook length is 10 hours and the total listening time at a calculated 1.5x speed is 6.67 hours, the calculation would be as follows:

Listening  time saved =10h6.67h=3.33h\scriptsize \begin{split} \textrm{Listening \ } \\ \textrm{time saved} \end{split} \ = 10\text{h} - 6.67 \text{h} = 3.33 \text{h}

Hence, listening to the audiobook at 1.5x speed saves approximately 3 hours and 20 minutes of listening time.

How can I calculate the playback speed?

Calculating the playback speed using the audiobook calculator is a straightforward process that allows you to explore different scenarios and observe the resulting values. Here's a guide on how you can calculate the playback speed effectively:

  1. Fill in the known data:

    Start by entering the values you know into the appropriate fields. These may include the audiobook length, total listening time, or listening time saved. By inputting these values, you establish a baseline for the calculations.

  2. Observe value changes in your audiobook calculator:

    Once you've filled in the known data, the audiobook calculator dynamically updates the other values based on the given inputs. Take a moment to observe how these values change as you adjust the playback speed or modify other variables. This will help you understand the relationship between the playback speed and the resulting listening time.

  3. Explore different scenarios:

    One of the strengths of the audiobook calculator is its flexibility. You can experiment with various scenarios to gain a deeper understanding of how the playback speed affects the overall listening experience. For example, you can lock certain variables to observe how others change in response. This interactive exploration allows you to tailor the playback speed to suit your preferences and time constraints.

Remember that you can prevent variables from changing values by clicking the grey area to the right of the variable and choosing "lock". This feature lets you focus on specific calculations without affecting the locked values.

The calculator also comes with preset values representing an average audiobook, but these can be customized according to your specific audiobook's length and your desired listening experience. Feel free to adjust these preset values at any time to align them with your preferences.

Other possibilities

Did you get excited about the prospect of listening to different audiobooks but still don't know where to start? Then check out this reading challenge. There, you can create and customize reading challenges while receiving valuable book recommendations to enhance your reading journey. Take the leap and embark on a fulfilling adventure through the world of literature.

Luna Maldonado Fontes
Audiobook
Audiobook length
hrs
min
Playback speed
Listening time
Total listening time
hrs
min
Listening time saved
hrs
min
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