Research
Speed reading with audio: does it work?
Short answer: sometimes, and mostly as a focus aid. Pairing speech with an RSVP stream (Audio Sync on BriskRead) gives your eyes and ears the same words at the same pace. The evidence for it is suggestive, not settled.
The problem with visual-only flash
At high WPM, it is easy to “see” words without encoding them. You finish the article and cannot restate the argument. That is a focus problem, not a moral failing, and research on pure RSVP is clear that cranking speed alone does not magically raise comprehension.
Acklin and Papesh (2017) found modern flash-style speed-reading apps did not produce better comprehension versus normal reading when speed was pushed hard; static text still won on comprehension, and faster RSVP hurt verbatim memory.American Journal of Psychology · DOI
Rayner and colleagues’ review of speed reading likewise stresses that extreme speed claims conflict with how reading and comprehension actually work.Psychological Science in the Public Interest · DOI
Why audio might help: dual-channel learning
Cognitive load and multimedia learning research treats people as having partly separate visual/pictorial and auditory/verbal channels (Mayer’s dual-channel assumption). Presenting the same verbal stream through vision and hearing at a controlled pace is different from stacking unrelated video and narration.
One experimental comparison of visual-only, audio-only, and dual-channel presentation of reading material reported stronger comprehension when both channels carried the content, rather than either channel alone.Visual vs audio vs dual-channel comparison
That is the design idea behind Audio Sync: not “read 1000 WPM forever,” but two aligned signals so attention may drop less often while you still keep Focus/Page modes for dense text. None of the sources above tests Audio Sync itself, so treat it as something to try on your own text, not a proven boost.
What dual-channel means in BriskRead
- Eyes track the RSVP (or related) visual presentation
- Ears hear the same stretch of text at a matched pace
- When one channel drifts, the other may pull attention back
- You stay near a sustainable WPM (we default around 350), not extreme demo speeds
When to use Audio Sync
- Medium difficulty nonfiction
- Long sessions where pure visual flash fatigues you
- Commuting-style focus while still looking at the screen
Turn it off for quiet libraries, or when the device voice is poor, since quality depends on system voices in Chrome or Edge. You can also use PDF to speech or check speaking duration in the words to minutes calculator.
How to try it in one minute
- Open briskread.com
- Click Hear a sample (or paste your own text)
- Confirm Audio Sync: On in the reader controls
- Adjust WPM until speech and flash feel locked
If you are comparing speed reading websites, check whether speech can be synced to the visual stream. It is one feature to weigh next to import options, privacy, and how easily you can slow down on dense text.
FAQ
What is Audio Sync in speed reading?
Audio Sync pairs visual RSVP word flashing with spoken text-to-speech so your eyes and ears track the exact same word stream at the same pace.
Does listening while reading improve comprehension?
Dual-channel multimedia learning research suggests aligned visual and auditory verbal streams can help maintain attention on medium-difficulty text, though extreme speeds still reduce comprehension.
Which browsers have the best free voices for Audio Sync?
Microsoft Edge and Google Chrome on desktop expose natural system and neural read-aloud voices through the standard Web Speech API at no cost.