A paired comparison procedure was employed to determine the listening-rate preferences of 100 adult subjects. The recording of a standard prose passage was time altered by means of a speech compressor to yield nine reading rates: 100, 125, 150, 175, 200, 225, 250, 275, and 300 wpm. A total of four master tapes were constructed, one for each of the four different orders employed for presentation of the readings. Each tape consisted of 36 pairs [n(n−1)/2], with each of the nine reading rates appearing eight times on the tape. Each of the four master tapes was played to a different group of 25 subjects for their listening-rate preference evaluations. Results of their evaluations indicate that (1) all but one of the nine rank orders of preferred listening rates were identical for all four subject groups; and (2) the most preferred listening rate for all groups was 175 wpm, and the least preferred rate was 100 wpm. Implications of these findings for future research are discussed.