diff --git a/src/tts/engine.ts b/src/tts/engine.ts
index e865eb1..f7db023 100644
--- a/src/tts/engine.ts
+++ b/src/tts/engine.ts
@@ -199,14 +199,86 @@ export function parseWavHeader(wav: Buffer): WavHeader {
   };
 }
 
+/** ffmpeg's `atempo` filter accepts a factor in [0.5, 2.0] per instance and
+ *  errors outside it, so a larger change has to be split across several
+ *  instances whose product is the requested speed. */
+const ATEMPO_MIN = 0.5;
+const ATEMPO_MAX = 2;
+
+/** Widest range the chain will honour, i.e. two `atempo` stages either way.
+ *  Past this the voice stops being intelligible, so a request that far out is
+ *  far more likely a typo than an intent. */
+const SPEED_MIN = ATEMPO_MIN * ATEMPO_MIN;
+const SPEED_MAX = ATEMPO_MAX * ATEMPO_MAX;
+
+/**
+ * Normalise a requested `speed` before it reaches the atempo chain.
+ *
+ * Throws on values the chain cannot converge on: it divides by the stage
+ * factor each pass, so `0`, a negative, or `Infinity` would loop forever —
+ * a hang mid-TTS with no output and no error. `NaN` escapes both loops and
+ * emits a literal `atempo=NaN`, which makes ffmpeg exit non-zero inside
+ * `execFileSync`. Both are misconfiguration, so they fail loudly.
+ *
+ * Merely extreme values are clamped rather than rejected — the intent is
+ * legible even when the number is silly.
+ */
+function guardSpeed(speed: number): number {
+  if (!Number.isFinite(speed) || speed <= 0) {
+    throw new Error(`TTS speed must be a positive finite number, got ${speed}`);
+  }
+  const capped = Math.min(SPEED_MAX, Math.max(SPEED_MIN, speed));
+  if (capped !== speed) {
+    console.warn(`Warning: TTS speed ${speed} clamped to ${capped}`);
+  }
+  return capped;
+}
+
+/** Trim floating-point noise so the filter string stays readable and ffmpeg
+ *  never sees something like `atempo=1.7999999999999998`. */
+function fmt(n: number): string {
+  return String(Number(n.toFixed(6)));
+}
+
+/**
+ * Build the ffmpeg args that change playback rate to `speed`.
+ *
+ * `atempo` rather than `asetrate`: it resamples in the time domain, so the
+ * voice speeds up without shifting pitch. Returns an empty array at 1x so the
+ * default path spawns ffmpeg with no filter at all.
+ */
+export function buildAtempoChain(speed: number): string[] {
+  if (speed === 1) return [];
+  speed = guardSpeed(speed);
+
+  const stages: number[] = [];
+  let remaining = speed;
+  while (remaining > ATEMPO_MAX) {
+    stages.push(ATEMPO_MAX);
+    remaining /= ATEMPO_MAX;
+  }
+  while (remaining < ATEMPO_MIN) {
+    stages.push(ATEMPO_MIN);
+    remaining /= ATEMPO_MIN;
+  }
+  stages.push(remaining);
+
+  return ['-filter:a', stages.map(s => `atempo=${fmt(s)}`).join(',')];
+}
+
 /**
  * Convert arbitrary audio (MP3, OGG, PCM, etc.) to Argo's WAV format
  * (mono, Float32, 24kHz) using ffmpeg.
+ *
+ * `speed` is applied here because engines that render server-side (ElevenLabs,
+ * Gemini) have no native rate control — this conversion is the only place the
+ * rate can change. Engines with their own speed parameter must not use it.
  */
-export function convertToWav(audioBuffer: Buffer): Buffer {
+export function convertToWav(audioBuffer: Buffer, speed = 1): Buffer {
   const { execFileSync } = childProcess;
   const result = execFileSync('ffmpeg', [
     '-i', 'pipe:0',
+    ...buildAtempoChain(speed),
     '-f', 'wav',
     '-acodec', 'pcm_f32le',
     '-ac', '1',
diff --git a/src/tts/engines/elevenlabs.ts b/src/tts/engines/elevenlabs.ts
index c4f36c1..2887b96 100644
--- a/src/tts/engines/elevenlabs.ts
+++ b/src/tts/engines/elevenlabs.ts
@@ -69,8 +69,9 @@ export class ElevenLabsEngine implements TTSEngine {
     }
     const mp3Buffer = Buffer.concat(chunks);
 
-    // Convert MP3 to Argo WAV format
+    // Convert MP3 to Argo WAV format. ElevenLabs has no speed parameter, so
+    // the rate change rides along with the conversion.
     const { convertToWav } = await import('../engine.js');
-    return convertToWav(mp3Buffer);
+    return convertToWav(mp3Buffer, options.speed ?? 1);
   }
 }
diff --git a/src/tts/engines/gemini.ts b/src/tts/engines/gemini.ts
index 730835a..05ae400 100644
--- a/src/tts/engines/gemini.ts
+++ b/src/tts/engines/gemini.ts
@@ -70,8 +70,9 @@ export class GeminiEngine implements TTSEngine {
 
     const audioBuffer = Buffer.from(audioPart.inlineData.data, 'base64');
 
-    // Convert to Argo WAV format
+    // Convert to Argo WAV format. Gemini has no speed parameter, so the rate
+    // change rides along with the conversion.
     const { convertToWav } = await import('../engine.js');
-    return convertToWav(audioBuffer);
+    return convertToWav(audioBuffer, options.speed ?? 1);
   }
 }
diff --git a/tests/tts/speed.test.ts b/tests/tts/speed.test.ts
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..8b7fbc6
--- /dev/null
+++ b/tests/tts/speed.test.ts
@@ -0,0 +1,121 @@
+import { describe, it, expect, vi, beforeEach } from 'vitest';
+import { buildAtempoChain, convertToWav } from '../../src/tts/engine.js';
+import { execFileSync } from 'node:child_process';
+
+// `engine.ts` reads `execFileSync` off the namespace at call time, so the whole
+// module has to be replaced — an ESM namespace object cannot be spied on.
+vi.mock('node:child_process', async importOriginal => ({
+  ...(await importOriginal<typeof import('node:child_process')>()),
+  execFileSync: vi.fn(() => Buffer.from('fake-wav')),
+}));
+
+/**
+ * Regression coverage for #38: `TTSEngineOptions.speed` was silently dropped by
+ * every engine that renders audio server-side and post-converts with ffmpeg
+ * (ElevenLabs, Gemini). Those engines have no native speed control, so the rate
+ * change has to happen during the WAV conversion.
+ *
+ * `atempo` is the right filter rather than `asetrate`: it resamples in the time
+ * domain, so speeding up does not raise the pitch. Its cost is a hard 0.5–2.0
+ * clamp per instance, which is why anything outside that range must be split
+ * across several chained instances whose product is the requested speed.
+ */
+describe('buildAtempoChain', () => {
+  /** Multiply the `atempo=N` values out of a chain back into one speed. */
+  function effectiveSpeed(args: string[]): number {
+    const filter = args[args.indexOf('-filter:a') + 1];
+    return filter
+      .split(',')
+      .map(stage => Number(stage.replace('atempo=', '')))
+      .reduce((a, b) => a * b, 1);
+  }
+
+  it('emits no filter at all for unchanged speed', () => {
+    expect(buildAtempoChain(1)).toEqual([]);
+  });
+
+  it('emits a single stage for a speed-up inside atempo range', () => {
+    expect(buildAtempoChain(1.5)).toEqual(['-filter:a', 'atempo=1.5']);
+  });
+
+  it('emits a single stage for a slow-down inside atempo range', () => {
+    expect(buildAtempoChain(0.75)).toEqual(['-filter:a', 'atempo=0.75']);
+  });
+
+  it('chains stages for a speed-up above the 2.0 per-instance ceiling', () => {
+    const args = buildAtempoChain(3);
+    expect(effectiveSpeed(args)).toBeCloseTo(3, 5);
+  });
+
+  it('chains stages for a slow-down below the 0.5 per-instance floor', () => {
+    const args = buildAtempoChain(0.25);
+    expect(effectiveSpeed(args)).toBeCloseTo(0.25, 5);
+  });
+
+  it('keeps every individual stage within ffmpeg\'s 0.5-2.0 limit', () => {
+    for (const speed of [0.25, 0.3, 0.5, 0.9, 1.1, 2, 3, 4]) {
+      const args = buildAtempoChain(speed);
+      const stages = args[1].split(',').map(s => Number(s.replace('atempo=', '')));
+      for (const stage of stages) {
+        expect(stage).toBeGreaterThanOrEqual(0.5);
+        expect(stage).toBeLessThanOrEqual(2);
+      }
+    }
+  });
+});
+
+describe('buildAtempoChain input guard', () => {
+  // The chain divides by each stage factor until the remainder lands in range,
+  // so these values never converge and would hang TTS rather than fail it.
+  it.each([0, -1, NaN, Infinity])('rejects %p instead of looping forever', speed => {
+    expect(() => buildAtempoChain(speed)).toThrow(/positive finite number/);
+  });
+
+  it('names the offending value in the error', () => {
+    expect(() => buildAtempoChain(0)).toThrow('TTS speed must be a positive finite number, got 0');
+  });
+
+  it('caps an absurd speed-up at 4x and warns', () => {
+    const warn = vi.spyOn(console, 'warn').mockImplementation(() => {});
+    const args = buildAtempoChain(100);
+    expect(args).toEqual(['-filter:a', 'atempo=2,atempo=2']);
+    expect(warn).toHaveBeenCalledWith(expect.stringContaining('clamped to 4'));
+    warn.mockRestore();
+  });
+
+  it('caps an absurd slow-down at 0.25x and warns', () => {
+    const warn = vi.spyOn(console, 'warn').mockImplementation(() => {});
+    const args = buildAtempoChain(0.01);
+    expect(args).toEqual(['-filter:a', 'atempo=0.5,atempo=0.5']);
+    expect(warn).toHaveBeenCalledWith(expect.stringContaining('clamped to 0.25'));
+    warn.mockRestore();
+  });
+
+  it('leaves an in-range speed untouched and stays quiet', () => {
+    const warn = vi.spyOn(console, 'warn').mockImplementation(() => {});
+    expect(buildAtempoChain(1.5)).toEqual(['-filter:a', 'atempo=1.5']);
+    expect(warn).not.toHaveBeenCalled();
+    warn.mockRestore();
+  });
+});
+
+describe('convertToWav speed', () => {
+  const execSpy = vi.mocked(execFileSync);
+
+  beforeEach(() => {
+    execSpy.mockClear();
+  });
+
+  it('passes no audio filter when speed is left at the default', () => {
+    convertToWav(Buffer.from('audio'));
+    const args = execSpy.mock.calls[0][1] as string[];
+    expect(args).not.toContain('-filter:a');
+  });
+
+  it('passes the atempo chain to ffmpeg when a speed is requested', () => {
+    convertToWav(Buffer.from('audio'), 1.25);
+    const args = execSpy.mock.calls[0][1] as string[];
+    expect(args).toContain('-filter:a');
+    expect(args[args.indexOf('-filter:a') + 1]).toBe('atempo=1.25');
+  });
+});