Post by @DavidGoldfield@allovertheplace.ca

2026-07-16 18:15 UTC

@NightDrake@dragonscave.space @EJGilbert@dragonscave.space @bmoore123@tweesecake.social @mcourcel@allovertheplace.ca @mewproj@fwoof.space Eloquence has some definite advantages. It is not only responsive but it is very easy to understand at very high speeds .. and I do mean very high speeds, since the voice does not degrade in quality. There is also a certain consistency in the more robotic voices that you don't get even with more human-sounding voices. I use Vocalizer Tom with JAWS. For me, it's certainly clear but sometimes it occasionally inserts extra consonants that just are not present in the text, whereas some of the older, more robotic voices just don't do this.

Replies (2)

@prism@infosec.exchange 2026-07-16 18:25

@DavidGoldfield@allovertheplace.ca @NightDrake@dragonscave.space @EJGilbert@dragonscave.space @bmoore123@tweesecake.social @mcourcel@allovertheplace.ca @mewproj@fwoof.space The thing I can't abide with "new" voices (E.G sample-based TTS) is how it handles punctuation. Periods, commas, semicolons, dashes and exclamations all have the same inflection. espeak/eloq/dectalk varry the pitch or take just a little bit longer or shorter for each which helps me a lot to determine the intent of something. It also puts different stresses sometimes depending on the capitalization. I, for instance, sounds different from i, for espeak. But not with, say, vocalizer. This is also why I avoid piper voices.

Open ##3865255
@NightDrake@dragonscave.space 2026-07-16 19:00

@DavidGoldfield@allovertheplace.ca I have noticed that is a thing with consonants and Eloquence. But you are also right about the fact that it does do really well with super high speeds. I do use it sometimes. But if I'm going to read for pleasure or something that's long I might go with one of the higher quality voices. I like Tom as well. @EJGilbert@dragonscave.space @bmoore123@tweesecake.social @mcourcel@allovertheplace.ca @mewproj@fwoof.space

Open ##4519500