diff --git a/README.md b/README.md
index ec570e7..c4e2fc7 100755
--- a/README.md
+++ b/README.md
@@ -147,6 +147,14 @@ And some experimental sampling flags you can use too (your mileage will ***defin
 * train and release a ***good*** model.
 * clean up the README, and document, document, document onto the wiki.
 * extend to multiple languages ([VALL-E X](https://arxiv.org/abs/2303.03926)) and addditional tasks ([SpeechX](https://arxiv.org/abs/2308.06873)).
+* improve throughput:
+  - properly utilize RetNet's recurrent forward / chunkwise forward passes
+  - utilize an approach similar to [FasterDecoding/Medusa](https://github.com/FasterDecoding/Medusa/) with additional heads for decoding N+1, N+2, N+3 AR tokens
+    + this requires a properly trained AR, however.
+* work around issues with extending context past what's trained (despite RetNet's retention allegedly being able to defeat this):
+  - "sliding" AR input, such as have the context a fixed length.
+    + may require additional training to be aware of this, might not.
+    + may require some phoneme/codec alignment, might not.
 
 ## Notices and Citations
 
diff --git a/vall_e/config.py b/vall_e/config.py
index 058cf24..60e05d4 100755
--- a/vall_e/config.py
+++ b/vall_e/config.py
@@ -156,17 +156,18 @@ class Dataset:
 
 @dataclass()
 class Model:
-	name: str = ""
-	version: int = 1
-	size: str | float | dict = "full"
-	resp_levels: int = 1
-	prom_levels: int = 8
+	name: str = "" # vanity name for the model
+	version: int = 1 # 1 = old with MultiEmbedding, 2 = new with AudioEmbedding
+	size: str | dict = "full" # preset string or explicitly defined dimensionality
+	resp_levels: int = 1 # RVQ-bin levels this model targets for outputs
+	prom_levels: int = 8 # RVQ-bin levels this model accepts as an input prompt
 	tasks: int = 0 # ["tts", "ns", "sr", "tse", "cse", "nse"] and leaves two more for anything else I want (like "svc")
 	langs: int = 0 # defined languages
-	arch_type: str = "retnet"
-	training: bool = True
-	interleave: bool = False
-	frozen_params: list[str] = field(default_factory=lambda: [])
+	arch_type: str = "retnet" # or "transformer""
+	training: bool = True # unneeded now
+	interleave: bool = False # use an interleaved AR rather than a split AR + NAR (experimental, worse performance and results)
+	p_ar_level: float | str = "auto" # determines odds of selecting the AR (level 0) when training, "auto" for default behavior
+	frozen_params: list[str] = field(default_factory=lambda: []) # frozen parameters that are not updated when training
 
 	@property
 	def full_name(self):
diff --git a/vall_e/data.py b/vall_e/data.py
index 9e36c51..ea9a3a1 100755
--- a/vall_e/data.py
+++ b/vall_e/data.py
@@ -291,8 +291,8 @@ class Dataset(_Dataset):
 
 		# shuffle it up a bit
 		prom_length = 0
-		#trim_length = random.randint(75 * 3, 75 * 9) # [3 seconds, 9 seconds]
-		trim_length =  int(cfg.dataset.prompt_duration * 75) + random.randint(-75, 75)
+		trim_length = random.randint(75 * 3, 75 * 9) # [3 seconds, 9 seconds]
+		#trim_length =  int(cfg.dataset.prompt_duration * 75) + random.randint(-75, 75)
 
 		for _ in range(cfg.dataset.max_prompts):
 			path = random.choice(choices)
diff --git a/vall_e/models/ar_nar.py b/vall_e/models/ar_nar.py
index f146934..53a3793 100644
--- a/vall_e/models/ar_nar.py
+++ b/vall_e/models/ar_nar.py
@@ -106,7 +106,11 @@ class AR_NAR(Base):
 
 			# is training
 			if n_levels == self.n_resp_levels:
-				quant_levels = torch.randint(0, self.n_resp_levels, (batch_size,)) # randomly select a target RVQ-bin level (0 being AR, 1+ being NAR)
+				if cfg.models.ar_nar.p_ar_level == "auto":
+					quant_levels = torch.randint(0, self.n_resp_levels, (batch_size,)) # randomly select a target RVQ-bin level (0 being AR, 1+ being NAR)
+				else:
+					quant_levels = torch.Tensor([ [ 0 if random.random() < cfg.models.ar_nar.p_ar_level else random.randint(1, self.n_resp_levels) ] for _ in range(batch_size) ])
+
 				targ_list = [r[..., l] for r, l in zip(resps_list, quant_levels)] # ensures we only have 1 RVQ-bin (our target)
 				resps_list = [r if l == 0 else r[..., :l] for r, l in zip(resps_list, quant_levels)] # yes I can just do min(1, l)
 				quant_levels.to(device=device)