> For the full page index, fetch https://echonova.ai/llms.txt # Voice settings Every control in the Text to Speech settings panel, with its label, range, default and what it changes. This page is the lookup table for the **Options** panel on the right of the Text to Speech page, and for the **Tags** row and the **Generate** button under the writing area. The panel holds the voice, the three controls **Speed**, **Guidance** and **Quality**, and **Reset to defaults**. Every value here is what the panel accepts; a generation always uses the values shown at the moment you click **Generate**. ## Selected voice | Control | What it shows or does | | ------------------ | ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ | | **Voice** | The voice's name and its dialect. | | **Change voice** | Opens the **Choose a voice** dialog with the **Explore** and **My Saved Voices** tabs, search, the **Type** menu, the dialect chips and **Recently used**. Click a voice, then **Select**. | | **Choose a voice** | Shown in place of the name when no voice is selected. | Under the writing area, the **Dialect** chips, the round voice buttons and **All voices** pick a voice the same way. A voice fixes the language and the dialect. There is no separate language or dialect control; pick a different voice to change either. ## Options | Label | Control | Range | Default | What it changes | | ------------ | ------------ | --------------------------- | ------- | ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | | **Speed** | Slider | 0.5 to 2.0 in steps of 0.05 | 1.0 | The reading pace, as a multiple of the voice's normal pace. 1.0 is normal; lower is slower, higher is faster. | | **Guidance** | Slider | 1.0 to 5.0 in steps of 0.1 | 2.0 | How closely the voice follows the text. Keep the default unless you are comparing outputs in your own listening tests. | | **Quality** | Five buttons | 16, 32, 48, 64 or 128 | 48 | How many synthesis steps are run. More steps are slower and cleaner. Only these five values exist. | **Speed** shows its value to two decimal places with a multiplication sign, for example `1.00×`. **Guidance** shows one decimal place, for example `2.0`. The value you see is the value sent. **Reset to defaults**, at the top of the panel, puts **Speed**, **Guidance** and **Quality** back to their defaults and leaves the selected voice as it is. ## Tags The **Tags** row, under the writing area, holds five buttons. Each one drops a cue in square brackets into the text, for the voice to act out at that point. The cue appears as a small removable chip. | Button | Text added | | ------------------ | ---------------- | | **[laugh]** | `[laugh]` | | **[cough]** | `[cough]` | | **[clear throat]** | `[clear throat]` | | **[sigh]** | `[sigh]` | | **[chuckle]** | `[chuckle]` | A cue lands at the cursor, or at the end of the text when the cursor is not in the writing area. Click the chip's minus to remove it, or type the same cue by hand anywhere in the text. Cues count toward the 5,000-character limit and are charged like any other characters. ## Generate button | Part | What it shows | | ----------------- | -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | | **Generate** | Starts a generation. | | **Generating...** | Replaces the label, with a spinner, while a generation runs. | | `about N credits` | An approximate estimate before generation and the returned cost afterward. It is not your balance. | The button is unavailable while the writing area holds only whitespace, while the voice list is loading, and while a generation runs. ## Call it well Change one setting at a time and listen to a short sentence after each change, because every generation is charged. **Recommended** - Generate one sentence at the defaults, then move **Speed** only, then listen again. Touch **Guidance** and **Quality** last, one at a time. **Less effective** - Move all three controls before the first generation and try to hear which one did what. ## Worked example You want a slower, steadier read of a news paragraph. 1. Click the **Fusha** chip and click a voice. 2. Drag **Speed** from `1.00×` to `0.50×`. Leave **Guidance** at `2.0` and **Quality** at `48`. 3. Click **Generate** and listen. 4. To compare, click **Reset to defaults**: **Speed** returns to `1.00×`, the voice stays, and a second click on **Generate** gives you the normal pace for the same charge. ## FAQ ### Do the settings persist between visits? No. Each visit starts with **Guidance** `2.0`, **Speed** `1.0` and **Quality** `48`, and the default voice. ### Can I type a value the slider does not offer, such as speed 1.3? Not in the portal; the speed slider moves in steps of 0.05. Over the API, `speed` and `cfg` accept any number inside their ranges. See [Text to Speech voices and options](/docs/developers/tts-voices-and-options). ### Do the settings change the price? No. The charge depends on the characters in the text only. A cue from **Tags** adds characters, so it adds to the charge. ### Where do I choose the language? Through the voice. Pick an English voice for English and an Arabic voice for Arabic; the dialect comes with the voice as well. ### Which setting should I try first? **Speed**. Keep **Guidance** and **Quality** at their defaults until you are comparing outputs on purpose. ## Related - [Generate speech](/docs/playground/generate-speech): the steps around these controls - [Add diacritics](/docs/playground/add-diacritics): the **Tashkeel** switch that appears for Arabic voices - [Limits and credits](/docs/playground/tts-limits-and-credits): what a generation costs - [Text to Speech voices and options](/docs/developers/tts-voices-and-options): the same options over the API