diff --git a/libs/ardour/port.cc b/libs/ardour/port.cc
index 9543233710..7a8abcf092 100644
--- a/libs/ardour/port.cc
+++ b/libs/ardour/port.cc
@@ -645,7 +645,7 @@ Port::set_state (const XMLNode& node, int)
 /*static*/ void
 Port::set_speed_ratio (double s) {
 	/* see VMResampler::set_rratio() for min/max range */
-	_speed_ratio = std::min ((double) Config->get_max_transport_speed(), std::max (0.5, fabs (s)));
+	_speed_ratio = std::min ((double) Config->get_max_transport_speed(), std::max (0.02, fabs (s)));
 }
 
 /*static*/ void