Audio has been around since, I suppose, the spoken language. The difference now is distribution and availability. Audiobooks, podcasts, smart phones, voice controlled home speaker systems, connected cars, and who knows what will come next.
I’m not going to pretend to be a lifelong audiophile who knows the ins and outs of dB, wavelength, pop filters, and certainly not...
Maybe it's a personal preference but I'm into the atmosphere. [ https://youtu.be/IInkT6n-NiM ]
This is where things can get exciting with your book as a podcast as opposed to (or in addition to) an audiobook.