MiniMax Speech 2.8 HD

Convert text to natural-sounding speech with broadcast-quality audio. This high-definition text-to-speech model ranked first on the Artificial Analysis Speech Arena and Hugging Face TTS Arena, outperforming models from OpenAI and ElevenLabs in blind user evaluations.

MiniMax Speech 2.8 HD delivers studio-grade voice synthesis with expressive emotion control, 17+ preset voices, and support for 32 languages. The model uses an autoregressive Transformer architecture with a Flow-VAE decoder to produce richer, more detailed audio than traditional voice synthesis approaches.

What makes this different

Ranked first globally

Speech 2.8 HD topped both major text-to-speech benchmarks based on blind human preference tests. Users consistently rated its output as more natural and pleasant than competing models.

Expressive interjections

Add natural human sounds directly in your text. Write (laughs), (sighs), (coughs), or (gasps) and the model will render them naturally in the speech output. The model recognizes over 20 interjections including (humming), (whistles), (sneezes), and (applause).

Emotion control

Set the emotional tone to match your content. Choose from happy, calm, sad, angry, fearful, disgusted, or surprised to adjust how the speech sounds. The model changes prosody, pacing, and emphasis to convey the selected emotion.

17+ preset voices

Select from professionally designed voices spanning different genders, ages, and speaking styles. Options include authoritative voices like Deep_Voice_Man and Imposing_Manner for professional content, friendly options like Lively_Girl and Casual_Guy for approachable messaging, and specialized characters like Young_Knight and Abbess for creative projects.

Voice cloning

Use your own custom voice by training a voice model with MiniMax’s voice cloning feature. The model only needs 5 seconds of reference audio to clone a voice, though longer samples improve accuracy.

32 language support

Generate speech in 32 languages including English, Chinese, Spanish, French, German, Japanese, Korean, Arabic, Russian, Portuguese, and more. The model maintains quality across different languages and handles complex tonal structures.

When to use this

Audiobook production

Transform manuscripts into professionally narrated audiobooks without booking studio time or hiring voice talent. The model maintains emotional consistency across long texts and handles multi-character dialogue with distinct voices.

Video voiceovers

Generate polished voiceovers for YouTube videos, explainer content, advertisements, and corporate presentations. Match the voice to your brand personality by selecting the appropriate preset voice.

Podcast production

Create consistent, high-quality audio content without the constraints of recording schedules or equipment setup. The broadcast-ready quality works for professional podcast production.

Accessibility applications

Convert written content to natural-sounding audio for visually impaired users. The clarity and natural pacing make extended listening sessions comfortable.

Game and application development

Add character voices, tutorial narration, and interface audio feedback to interactive experiences. The variety of voice presets provides distinct personalities for different characters without requiring multiple voice actors.

Model details

The model processes text inputs up to 10,000 characters and generates audio in multiple formats including MP3, WAV, FLAC, and PCM. You can configure sample rates from 8,000 to 44,100 Hz and bitrates from 32,000 to 256,000 bits per second for different quality and file size requirements.

Fine-grained controls let you adjust speech speed from 0.5x to 2x, pitch from -12 to +12 semitones, and volume from 0 to 10. The model supports both mono and stereo output channels.

Insert custom pauses in your text using the marker format <#x#>, where x is the pause duration in seconds. Valid range is 0.01 to 99.99 seconds with up to two decimal places. Place pause markers between speakable text segments.

Tips for better results

Write out numbers and dates in words rather than digits for more natural pronunciation. For example, write “March fifteenth, twenty twenty-four” instead of “3/15/2024”.

Use proper punctuation to help the model breathe naturally and maintain appropriate rhythm. Short sentences generally produce smoother delivery than very long ones.

For dialogue or character voices, use different voice IDs and emotion settings to create distinct personalities. Adjust speed and pitch settings to further differentiate characters.

Choose Speech 2.8 HD for final production and polished deliverables. For faster processing or draft versions, consider using Speech 2.8 Turbo which offers similar quality with optimized speed.

You can try this model on the Replicate Playground at replicate.com/playground