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Azure AI Speech text to speech Feb 2025 updates: New HD voices and more

GarfieldHe

Microsoft

Feb 28, 2025

By Garfield He

Our dedication to enhancing Azure AI Speech voices remains steadfast, as we continually strive to make them more expressive and engaging. We are pleased to announce an upgraded HD version of our neural text-to-speech service for selected voices. This latest iteration further enhances expressiveness by incorporating emotion detection based on the input context.

Our advanced technology employs acoustic and linguistic features to produce speech with rich, natural variations. It effectively detects emotional cues within the text and autonomously adjusts the voice's tone and style. With this enhancement, users can expect a more human-like speech pattern characterized by improved intonation, rhythm, and emotional expression.

What is new?

Public preview: updated 13 HD voices to support multilingual
Public preview: 14 new HD voices.
GA: Super-Realistic Indian Voices: Aarti & Arjun
GA: AOAI turbo voices.
GA: Embedded voice support with emotions
GA: Other quality improvements with regular updates

Voice demos

Public preview: updated 13 HD voices to support multilingual

The latest model of these voices below is updated to support multilingual and more versatile capabilities.

Voice name	Script	Audio
de-DE-Seraphina:DragonHDLatestNeural	Ich kann dir Der Alchimist von Paulo Coelho empfehlen. Es ist eine inspirierende Geschichte über einen jungen Hirten namens Santiago, der auf der Suche nach einem Schatz seine Träume verfolgt. Das Buch ist voller Weisheit und lehrt, dass der Weg oft wichtiger ist als das Ziel. Es ist eine wunderbare Lektüre für alle, die nach Motivation und Lebenssinn suchen.
en-US-Brian:DragonHDLatestNeural	Hey again, Elizabeth. Amazing! Well I’m happy to hear you liked my suggestions for 4 star hotels in Florence. Three hotels in that list are under 300 euros a night that week: the Hotel Orto, The Grand Hotel Cavour, and Hotel degli Orafi.
en-US-Davis:DragonHDLatestNeural	Oh no, I didn't mean to disappoint! How about this: If you want something quirky and fun with lots of laughs, go for Blue Man Group. If you're looking for something awe-inspiring and magical, Cirque du Soleil is your best bet. Both will make for a memorable first date, so you can't go wrong.
en-US-Ava:DragonHDLatestNeural	I'm really sorry to hear that you're feeling this way. Finding a therapist can be a great step towards feeling better.
en-US-Andrew:DragonHDLatestNeural	That's a fantastic dream! The cost of building an A-frame tiny home can vary depending on several factors.
en-US-Andrew2:DragonHDLatestNeural	You're very welcome. I'm glad I could assist you. If there's ever anything you want to learn more about, just let me know. I enjoy answering questions and sharing knowledge, and if you ever find yourself bored again, we can always play another game.
en-US-Emma:DragonHDLatestNeural	Though I’m really sorry you’re having trouble with your mother-in-law. Have you talked to your husband about the situation?"
en-US-Emma2:DragonHDLatestNeural	Oh no, I didn't mean to disappoint! How about this: If you want something quirky and fun with lots of laughs, go for Blue Man Group. If you're looking for something awe-inspiring and magical, Cirque du Soleil is your best bet. Both will make for a memorable first date, so you can't go wrong.
en-US-Steffan:DragonHDLatestNeural	I don't care what they say. I'll find a way to break the curse," declared Mia, determination shining in her eyes as she gazed at the ancient tome. "But it's too dangerous," protested Alex, worry etched on his face. "I have to try," Mia replied, her voice firm with resolve.
en-US-Aria:DragonHDLatestNeural	Hey, Seth. How's it going? What can I help you with today?
en-US-Jenny:DragonHDLatestNeural	That's a fantastic dream! The cost of building an A-frame tiny home can vary depending on several factors.
ja-JP-Masaru:DragonHDLatestNeural	最近、新しいプロジェクト任されてさ、毎日残業で忙しいけど、けっこうチームの雰囲気もいい感じで充実してるよ。そっちは最近どう？
zh-CN-Xiaochen:DragonHDLatestNeural	她给我们发了一张照片，呃，在一个满是山、山珍海味婚礼上她拿了一个巨小的饭盒在吃，反正就一个特别清淡的啊，减脂营备的餐，然后她呢当时在群里发这个是，嗯，为了求表扬，哈哈哈！

Public preview: 12 new HD voices with v1.1 support: provide more variety to HD voices offering

Voice name	Script	Audio
de-DE-Florian:DragonHDLatestNeural	Mein Lieblingsmusikgenre ist Jazz. Ich liebe die Improvisation und die Vielfalt der Klänge, die Jazz bietet. Die Energie und Emotionen, die durch die Musik transportiert werden, sind einfach einzigartig. Besonders faszinierend finde ich die Kombination aus traditionellen und modernen Elementen, die Jazz so zeitlos und spannend macht.
en-US-Adam:DragonHDLatestNeural	That's a fantastic dream! The cost of building an A-frame tiny home can vary depending on several factors.
en-US-Phoebe:DragonHDLatestNeural	I'm really sorry to hear that you're feeling this way. Finding a therapist can be a great step towards feeling better.
en-US-Serena:DragonHDLatestNeural	I’ll escalate this issue to our technical team right away. They’ll contact you within 24 hours with a solution. I won’t stop until this is fixed.
en-US-Alloy:DragonHDLatestNeural	...and that’s when I realized how much living abroad teaches you outside the classroom. Oh, and if you’re just joining us, welcome! We’ve been talking about studying abroad, and I was just sharing this one story—my first week in Spain, I thought I had the language down, but when I tried ordering lunch, I panicked and ended up with callos, which are tripe. Not what I expected! But those little missteps really helped me get more comfortable with the language and culture. Anyway, stick around, because next I’ll be sharing some tips for adjusting to life abroad!
en-US-Nova:DragonHDLatestNeural	Imagine waking up to the sound of gentle waves and the warm Italian sun kissing your skin. At Bella Vista Resort, your dream holiday awaits! Nestled along the stunning Amalfi Coast, our luxurious beachfront resort offers everything you need for the perfect getaway. Indulge in spacious, elegantly designed rooms with breathtaking sea views, relax by our infinity pool, or savor authentic Italian cuisine at our on-site restaurant. Explore picturesque villages, soak up the sun on pristine sandy beaches, or enjoy thrilling water sports—there’s something for everyone! Join us for unforgettable sunsets and memories that will last a lifetime. Book your stay at Bella Vista Resort today and experience the ultimate sunny beach holiday in Italy!
es-ES-Ximena:DragonHDLatestNeural	Las luces del carnaval brillaban contra el cielo nocturno, atrayendo a los visitantes. Jake y Emma estaban muy emocionados. “¡Vamos a la rueda de la fortuna, Emma!” “Está bien, pero solo si me ganas un premio.” Pasaron la tarde montando montañas rusas y disfrutando de algodón de azúcar.
es-ES-Tristan:DragonHDLatestNeural	“A visitar a mis abuelos en el campo. ¿Y tú?” “Regreso a casa con mi familia.” El resto del viaje, compartieron historias y risas mientras el tren avanzaba."
fr-FR-Vivienne:DragonHDLatestNeural	En entrant dans le vieux manoir, Antoine ressentit un frisson le long de son dos. "On devrait vraiment faire demi-tour", dit Clara, les yeux écarquillés. "Mais j’ai entendu parler de trésors cachés ici", répondit Antoine, déterminé. Juste à ce moment-là, une porte claqua derrière eux. "On y va !" s’écria Clara, effrayée.
fr-FR-Remy:DragonHDLatestNeural	En explorant une grotte mystérieuse, Léo et Mia découvrirent des cristaux lumineux. "C’est magnifique !", s’écria Mia, éblouie. "Regarde, il y a un passage là-bas", dit Léo, pointant du doigt. En s’enfonçant dans la grotte, ils rencontrèrent un dragon endormi. "Nous devons être prudents", murmura Léo, réalisant l’aventure qui les attendait.
ja-JP-Nanami:DragonHDLatestNeural	えっと、プロジェクトの進捗ですが、予定通り進んでいます。まあ、いくつか問題もありましたが、既に対処済みです。順調に進めています。
zh-CN-Yunfan:DragonHDLatestNeural	每个人都可以在日常生活中采取一些简单的环保行动。我开始减少一次性塑料的使用，进行垃圾分类，并尽量节约能源。这些小措施虽然看似微不足道，但积累起来对环境的保护却能产生积极影响。我相信，关注环保不仅是为了现在的生活，也为未来的子孙着想。你们在环保方面有什么实用的建议吗？

GA: Super-Realistic Indian Voices: Aarti & Arjun

Aarti (female) and Arjun (male) are natural, conversational voices designed for the Indian market, offering a soft, soothing, and empathetic tone in both Hindi and English. Trained with professional voice artists and advanced SOTA modeling techniques, they excel in handling speech imperfections like pauses and interjections. Their realistic expressions and human-like intonation make them ideal for applications such as customer support, digital assistants, e-learning, and entertainment, ensuring dynamic, engaging, and clear communication in real-time interactions.

Voice	Domain	Script	Sample
en-IN-AartiNeural	Conversational	Hmm, I’m not sure what to make for dinner tonight. I want to try something new, but I’m not sure what. Oh no, I hope I don’t end up making something that tastes terrible. Maybe I should look up some recipes online.
en-IN-AartiNeural	Neutral	In the depths of the ocean, a curious mermaid named Leela explored a forgotten shipwreck. Amongst treasures, she found a mysterious locket. When she opened it, a holographic image of a distant world appeared.
en-IN-AartiNeural	Call center	Ugh, that's really unfortunate. But don't worry, I'm here to help you block your VodaTel number right away. Can you please verify your identity by providing some personal details, like your full name, and maybe the last transaction or recharge you did? This will ensure we can proceed quickly and securely.
en-IN-ArjunNeural	Conversational	Raju, listen carefully. For question five, write the formula I told you yesterday. For question six, focus on the main point only—don’t write extra. Remember the example we practiced. And for the last question, mention the key date. Keep it simple, no need for long explanations.
en-IN-ArjunNeural	Neutral	Cooking is an art that brings people together. I love experimenting with new recipes, especially traditional Indian dishes like biryani and samosas. The aroma of masaale, the joy of sharing a homemade meal, and the satisfaction of a well-cooked dish are truly amazing.
en-IN-ArjunNeural	Call center	Mr. Patel, your order (No. 789456123) included 3 paint brushes: Fine Tip Brush (Size 0), Flat Brush (Size 4), and Round Brush (Size 6). Please confirm if the damage is on the Round Brush or the Flat Brush handle. We’ll arrange a replacement as soon as the verification is done.
hi-IN-AartiNeural	Conversational	मुझे समझ नहीं आ रहा है की आज रात खाने में क्या बनाया जाए। मैं कुछ नया, ट्राई करना चाहती हूं, लेकिन मुझे पता नहीं है कि क्या। शायद मुझे कुछ रेसिपी ऑनलाइन देखनी चाहिए।
hi-IN-AartiNeural	Neutral	सुदर्शन क्रिया आपको अपने हृदय और अंतर्ज्ञान के माध्यम से ब्रह्मांड का ज्ञान और मार्गदर्शन प्राप्त करने की अनुमति देती है। श्वास लें और छोड़ें। आइए अब अपना ध्यान अपने हृदय पर केंद्रित करें।
hi-IN-AartiNeural	Call center	ज़रूर, एक मिनट, मैं अभी टाइमिंग्स की जानकारी देती हूं... हांजी, मिल गयी! तो, सालारजंग संग्रहालय रविवार को सुबह 9 बजे खुलता है। इसका मतलब है कि आपके पास सभी चीज़ो को देखने और वास्तव में इतिहास को समझने के लिए पर्याप्त समय होगा। कोई और जानकारी चाहिए?
hi-IN-ArjunNeural	Conversational	हम्म, सेमिनार सुबह 10 बजे शुरू होगा। साढ़े नौ तक पहुंचना चाहिए। क्या तुमने एजेंडा प्रिंट कर लिया? चलो बढ़िया। और हाँ, अपनी नोटबुक मत भूलना। सारे डॉक्युमेंट्स भी तैयार रखना। चलो फिर कल मिलते हैं!
hi-IN-ArjunNeural	Neutral	मैं मानसिक स्वास्थ्य के महत्व पर विचार कर रहा था। जिस तरह हम अपने शरीर का ख्याल रखते हैं, उसी तरह अपने दिमाग का भी ख्याल रखना बेहद जरूरी है। नियमित ब्रेक, ध्यान और प्रियजनों से बात करने से मदद मिल सकती है।
hi-IN-ArjunNeural	Call center	हेलो सर! आपका "ऐक्टिव फिटनेस ट्रैकर" जो 5 नवंबर 2024 को डेलिवर हुआ था, रिप्लेसमेंट के लिए योग्य है। आपकी शिकायत ID FT90987 पर दर्ज है। नया प्रोडक्ट 25 नवंबर 2024 तक डेलिवर होगा। अधिक जानकारी के लिए हमें 1800-000-123 पर कॉल करें।

GA: AOAI turbo voices

Turbo version of AOAI voices, which have the same persona and support SSML like other Azure voices, now is available to all Speech regions.

Voice name

AlloyTurboMultilingualNeural

EchoTurboMultilingualNeural

FableTurboMultilingualNeural

NovaTurboMultilingualNeural

OnyxTurboMultilingualNeural

ShimmerTurboMultilingualNeural

GA: Other quality improvements

Quality improvement for those voices below with latest recipe

Locale	Voice Name	Gender
ar-EG	ShakirNeural	Male
bg-BG	KalinaNeural	Female
ca-ES	EnricNeural	Male
ca-ES	JoanaNeural	Female
da-DK	JeppeNeural	Male
el-GR	NestorasNeural	Male
en-IE	EmilyNeural	Female
fi-FI	HarriNeural	Male
fi-FI	SelmaNeural	Female
fr-CH	FabriceNeural	Female
fr-CH	ArianeNeural	Female
he-IL	HilaNeural	Female
he-IL	AvriNeural	Male
hr-HR	GabrijelaNeural	Female
id-ID	ArdiNeural	Male
ms-MY	YasminNeural	Female
nb-NO	PernilleNeural	Female
nb-NO	FinnNeural	Male
nl-NL	MaartenNeural	Male
pt-PT	RaquelNeural	Female
ro-RO	AlinaNeural	Female
ro-RO	EmilNeural	Male
ru-RU	SvetlanaNeural	Female
sv-SE	MattiasNeural	Male
sv-SE	SofieNeural	Female
vi-VN	HoaiMyNeural	Female
vi-VN	NamMinhNeural	Male
zh-HK	HiuMaanNeural	Female
zh-HK	WanLungNeural	Male

GA: Embedded voice support with emotions

Besides the general style, now embedded JennyNeural can support 14 other styles below: angry, assistant, cheerful, chat, customerservice, excited, friendly, hopeful, newscast, sad, shouting, terrified, unfriendly, whispering.

Get started

In our ongoing quest to enhance multilingual capabilities in text-to-speech (TTS) technology, our goal is bringing the best voices to our product, our voices are designed to be incredibly adaptive, seamlessly switching languages based on the text input. They deliver natural-sounding speech with precise pronunciation and prosody, making them invaluable for applications such as language learning, travel guidance, and international business communication.

Microsoft offers over 500 neural voices covering more than 140 languages and locales. These TTS voices can quickly add read-aloud functionality for a more accessible app design or give a voice to chatbots, providing a richer conversational experience for users. Additionally, with the Custom Neural Voice capability, businesses can easily create a unique brand voice.

With these advancements, we continue to push the boundaries of what is possible in TTS technology, ensuring that our users have access to the most versatile and high-quality voices available.

For more information

Try our demo to listen to existing neural voices
Add Text-to-Speech to your apps today
Apply for access to Custom Neural Voice
Join Discord to collaborate and share feedback
Contact us ttsvoicefeedback@microsoft.com

Updated Mar 06, 2025

Version 4.0

azure ai services

azure ai speech

GarfieldHe

Microsoft

Joined September 23, 2020

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VC_1
Copper Contributor
Mar 04, 2025
Hi GarfieldHe
Now I'm even more worried than before. There was no mention about this upgrade, it's the first time someone says that, so let's first make sure we all understand. The one it's listed in your post is the AndrewDragonHD, and the one I'm saying it's now bad, is the Andrew voice (not the multilingual, and not the Dragon, ok?). So now please, clarify this: did you (or one of your colleagues) change the Andrew voice? There was nothing wrong with the voice, so I don't think a bug needed to be fixed. If you did not deliberately change the voice, then it means the last update completely ruined it. Sorry, but I'm very upset cause I literally can't continue recording with the voice as it is now, and I paid for lots of characters already, and I want to finish my project. If there's a way I can send you a sample, so you can compare now (bad) vs before (good), that would be great. I don't use discord, so tell me if there's another way to do it. Or maybe you didn't try the Andrew voice yet, and testing it you soon realise it sounds different. That's basically the main issue I have: the voice used to be super sharp and clean, and now it's so different (worse), but it's also less accurate. Last but not least, I'm not opposed to having more versions of Andrew, but as it is now, the voice was replaced. In short, I'm asking you to bring back the previous Andrew version asap. I don't care if you fix what in my view it's a big problem, or if we have the possibility to use both the current and the previous versions, but I would really apprecciate if you take this issue seriously, cause it's so frustrating after more than a week. Thanks in advance.
- GarfieldHe
  Microsoft
  Mar 05, 2025
  Hi VC_1, totally understand your situation, please be aware that we are constantly monitor the voice performance through different use cases and will provide update and bugs fix through time to bring the better result, and any configuration change, will introduce a new model variation. If the fix is creating new issue, we will also look into it and adjust asap, your details information is very critical for us to understand the issue on your end and compare with our observations.
  
  If possible, please send an email with information below to this ttsvoicefeedback@microsoft.com
  
  Input SSML
  
  Audio samples before and now
  
  Issue description
  
  Expected result
  
  Your Azure subscriptionID
  
  I have talked with the team who monitor this email to pay attention on your feedback, you can note that you have mentioned this bug to me on Blog post.
  
  Hope this could help!
  
  Garfield
  - VC_1
    Copper Contributor
    Mar 05, 2025
    Hi GarfieldHe,
    
    I've been busy, but I will text them asap. Once again, sorry to bother you with long responses, I aprecciate your patience and the fact you really wanted to help. Thank you so much.
- GarfieldHe
  Microsoft
  Mar 04, 2025
  Hi VC_1 , sorry for the situation! We understand that the voice change which impact the on-going project would be very frustrating. According to my conversation with the voice owner, we got a report about high frequency noise from other customers, and this bug fix is addressing that issue, please notice that all activities may create change between model version, and all fix before deployment, we will run testing with different cases to compare the model, we only deploy the new version if there is gain from the testing score. For the update note, only big features or new release by recipe updates will be mentioned.
  
  Would you mind creating an ICM ticket through Azure portal support Support + troubleshooting - Microsoft Azure? Once you have the ticket ID, please share it to me here, I will ask our support team to take care the case and communicate with you through the channel to collect more information. It is unfortunate that the fix caused unexpected inconvenience to you, we would like to try our best to understand more and provide follow up solution to solve the situation! Sincerely, thanks for your understanding!
  - VC_1
    Copper Contributor
    Mar 04, 2025
    Thanks for the reply GarfieldHe, but what you're describing doesn't make sense to me. The Andrew voice I mentioned was affected by a similar problem in August 2024 (it was changed), and after several weeks, finally someone decided to bring the voice back (and me and others were very happy), so only the multilingual was changed (no problem). Since then and until the last update, there was absolutely nothing wrong with the voice, and if some users were really experiencing this issue, it's impossible it took more than 6 months to fix it. And btw, I get that if the problem was real, even if only affected a few people must be fixed, but not changing the voice. I tried to create a ticket numerous times, but Azure is asking me to pay 29 dollars a month, and I don't think that's fair cause I already paid for characters, and put a lot of time and effort recording. I tried to explain the problem creating a different kind of ticket, but I was told it's a technical issue, so the worker closed it and once again, reminded me that I have to pay 29 dollars a month. So I hope you understand why I don't want to create the ticket, but I 'posted an idea', 'created a community post', and 'sent feedback'. You are literally my last hope to fix this, and again, sorry if it looks like I don't trust you... I'm just frustrated and I don't understand some things. So far, you're the one who cared the most. If you want to help me, please tell someone to bring the previous version back, and I'd like to remark that I have no problem if it coexists with the current one (even though I think it's really bad). I get what you say about the testing scores, but honestly, I think that's probably a misleading indicator. I don't think there's a better test than actually working with the voices, and trust me, I have recorded a lot with the previous Andrew voice, and tried everything with the current one...it's not even close to that level. Please, let me know if you can do something and if you think someone will fix it.
VC_1
Copper Contributor
Mar 03, 2025
I guess the update you announce here is the one that came out more than a week ago. I have said this in a community post, and also other people complaint about the same: text to speech is now worse. Maybe not the voices you mention here, but defenitely others like the normal Andrew voice (not the multilingual), which is the one I've been using. The voice used to be sharp, clean, and accuarate, and now it's really bad, and the same happened to other voices. I still have to try tonight and see if someone fixed it, but so far the voice is has been bad for over a week now. Nobody says if Azure engineers are trying to fix the problem, and it's really annoying...so please, restore the voices that have been changed asap.
- GarfieldHe
  Microsoft
  Mar 04, 2025
  hi VC_1 , thank for your feedback, we did upgrade the Andrew model recently because of a bug fix, from our test, there is no regression show, may I ask if you could share me more details about your observation? Or join our Discord channel to discuss directly with our engineer team? Thanks!