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Harry Potter - the full-cast Audible edition

256 replies

TheNeighboursComplain · 04/11/2025 09:38

Has anyone started this yet? The first book was just released today.

I'm only a couple of chapters in, and I really want to love it, but I'm not blown away so far. The narrator is good; I do like her voice - it's a nice and soothing voice. I really like the cast voices, but their voices are too quiet and sometimes quite tinny sounding. The sound effects can be really distracting, and too loud - it's quite hard to hear the cast voices over them. I'm hoping it improves!

OP posts:
medievalpenny · 04/11/2025 20:25

It is tempting and I have listened to the preview but not sure I can justify £70 to get new versions of audiobooks I already have - or having to wait 7 months to listen to them all.

From the preview it seemed like background noises of some kind were continuous. Not sure the balancing was quite right as Mr Dursley's one bit of speech in the preview was so quiet I could barely hear it compared to the narrator, but that could have been the device I played it on.

Andtheworldwentwhite · 04/11/2025 19:34

It isn’t the original text from the books. I have checked. So some parts are really new which is lovely. Like a new part of the book I have never read.

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TheNeighboursComplain · 04/11/2025 13:09

As far as I know, it's the original text, unabridged.

I really like the sound effects when they're being used for things like the bricks at the Leaky Cauldron moving to reveal Diagon Alley, and the noises in the pub. It's more the general 'shuffling around' background noises I'm not getting on board with. However, I'm another couple of chapters in, and I'm getting more used to it, and am loving the cast and the narrator.

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Andtheworldwentwhite · 04/11/2025 11:33

I’m listening and like it. She has re written it ( I suppose it was j k Rowling ) so the narration doesn’t follow the books? Or am I remembering the books wrong? I could be. Anyway I’m enjoying it.

I think people are so used to what we have had for so long it may take a while especially when the new series comes out with different characters

Original poster
TheNeighboursComplain · 04/11/2025 09:57

It's very different to the Stephen Fry version - in no way comparable really.

I think it would be brilliant if not for the sound effects, because the cast really are great. There are lots of sounds such as Hagrid sitting down, or the sounds of the Dursleys just generally moving around their house, which just sound like random thumping noises - like someone has accidentally knocked the microphone while recording, or people forgot to leave the studio. I wish they hadn't added those.

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lizardwithsocks · 04/11/2025 09:50

I'm glad you've posted! I was looking forward to listening to the full cast edition.

I was wondering whether they would be, in any way comparable, to Stephen Fry!

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