I know this is a very divisive debate, where I think people are either lovers or haters, but to this day, I’ve never been able to move past Eloquence as a voice on all the screenreaders I use.
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I know this is a very divisive debate, where I think people are either lovers or haters, but to this day, I’ve never been able to move past Eloquence as a voice on all the screenreaders I use. Even though many consider it old-fashioned and outdated, since there are much more natural-sounding voices, I could never part with it.
Of course, I started using it with JAWS, and since I’ve been using NVDA, it’s been my default there as well. As soon as Apple brought it to the iPhone, it naturally became my default there too. No matter the platform, its speed and responsiveness have always convinced me more than any other voice.
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I know this is a very divisive debate, where I think people are either lovers or haters, but to this day, I’ve never been able to move past Eloquence as a voice on all the screenreaders I use. Even though many consider it old-fashioned and outdated, since there are much more natural-sounding voices, I could never part with it.
@menelion @felixule For me it's been Eloquence since the Spring of 2013. Before that it was DECtalk, in the form of a DECtalk Express hardware speech synthesizer, which I only gave up because I was getting a new computer with no serial port, and the software versions of DECtalk which were available at that time didn't sound nearly as good as my hardware unit.
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@menelion @felixule For me it's been Eloquence since the Spring of 2013. Before that it was DECtalk, in the form of a DECtalk Express hardware speech synthesizer, which I only gave up because I was getting a new computer with no serial port, and the software versions of DECtalk which were available at that time didn't sound nearly as good as my hardware unit.
@jaybird110127 @menelion @felixule I've never understood why this is a debate. The choice of synthesizer is subjective and anyone can use whatever synthesizer they want. Although I'm curious what others use, it isn't going to effect what I choose to use.
In case anyone else is curious, my synthesizer of choice from 1988 to 1991 or so was the Echo PC. I preferred it over the DEC Talk and the Prose 2020 which I thought just weren't responsive enough.
I then switched to the Accent SA, which I used for the next five years or so. After that I had a Keynote Gold and a DEC Talk Express for short periods of time. I remember getting the DEC Talk Express specifically to work with Emacspeak.
I started using Windows around 2000 and at some point after that I switched to Eloquence. I used Eloquence until I started using Linux in 2011 when I switched to eSpeak. For a while there, I was using eSpeack everywhere I could.
When I switched back to Windows in 2014, I started using the Vocalizer voices, and they've become my go to ever since. I tell myself that my ears and I have gotten older and deserve a more pleasant sounding voice, even at the expense of responsiveness.
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@jaybird110127 @menelion @felixule I've never understood why this is a debate. The choice of synthesizer is subjective and anyone can use whatever synthesizer they want. Although I'm curious what others use, it isn't going to effect what I choose to use.
In case anyone else is curious, my synthesizer of choice from 1988 to 1991 or so was the Echo PC. I preferred it over the DEC Talk and the Prose 2020 which I thought just weren't responsive enough.
I then switched to the Accent SA, which I used for the next five years or so. After that I had a Keynote Gold and a DEC Talk Express for short periods of time. I remember getting the DEC Talk Express specifically to work with Emacspeak.
I started using Windows around 2000 and at some point after that I switched to Eloquence. I used Eloquence until I started using Linux in 2011 when I switched to eSpeak. For a while there, I was using eSpeack everywhere I could.
When I switched back to Windows in 2014, I started using the Vocalizer voices, and they've become my go to ever since. I tell myself that my ears and I have gotten older and deserve a more pleasant sounding voice, even at the expense of responsiveness.
@cj @jaybird110127 @menelion @felixule I also use the vocalizer voices to this day. I cannot stand eloquence, feels too harsh on my ears and if I use it for too long it gives me headaches. But I won't shit on someone else for their synth choices, as long as it fits into your workflow I'm not going to screw with you over it. I just can't handle it for my own uses.
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@cj @jaybird110127 @menelion @felixule I also use the vocalizer voices to this day. I cannot stand eloquence, feels too harsh on my ears and if I use it for too long it gives me headaches. But I won't shit on someone else for their synth choices, as long as it fits into your workflow I'm not going to screw with you over it. I just can't handle it for my own uses.
@Kaliah @cj @jaybird110127 @menelion @felixule As a screen reader vendor, we can attest to the passion of people for their chosen synthesizer (whichever they like). I guess it's a bit like football teams. As an outsider, you could put forward a logical argument for one or the other, but for a supporter, it's your team (or synth) forever! I know for ourselves, we try to ensure users have access to the widest possible range so they can choose what they like (including Eloquence)
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@Kaliah @cj @jaybird110127 @menelion @felixule As a screen reader vendor, we can attest to the passion of people for their chosen synthesizer (whichever they like). I guess it's a bit like football teams. As an outsider, you could put forward a logical argument for one or the other, but for a supporter, it's your team (or synth) forever! I know for ourselves, we try to ensure users have access to the widest possible range so they can choose what they like (including Eloquence)
@NVAccess @Kaliah @cj @jaybird110127 @menelion @felixule I tend to switch synths, particularly when using NVDA. I generally use Vocalizer from Tiflotecnia but sometimes I'll use ESpeak and sometimes Eloquence. I no longer have only one TTS that I stick with. I also agree that subjects like this shouldn't even be debated, along with preferred screen reader and OS. People should use what works the best for them. If something works well for you, then it works well for you and that's what you should use. If it doesn't, find whatever does work. Once you do this and you know what works well for you, just remember that someone else's preferences may differ from your own but those preferences are what works well for them. There. The war should now be over.
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@NVAccess @Kaliah @cj @jaybird110127 @menelion @felixule I tend to switch synths, particularly when using NVDA. I generally use Vocalizer from Tiflotecnia but sometimes I'll use ESpeak and sometimes Eloquence. I no longer have only one TTS that I stick with. I also agree that subjects like this shouldn't even be debated, along with preferred screen reader and OS. People should use what works the best for them. If something works well for you, then it works well for you and that's what you should use. If it doesn't, find whatever does work. Once you do this and you know what works well for you, just remember that someone else's preferences may differ from your own but those preferences are what works well for them. There. The war should now be over.
@DavidGoldfield @NVAccess @cj @jaybird110127 @menelion @felixule Absolutely, I agree. It's very stupid that that's even a debated topic. Just let people use what works well for them. That should be the end of it.
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@DavidGoldfield @NVAccess @cj @jaybird110127 @menelion @felixule Absolutely, I agree. It's very stupid that that's even a debated topic. Just let people use what works well for them. That should be the end of it.
@Kaliah @DavidGoldfield @NVAccess @cj @jaybird110127 @menelion @felixule Yeah but DecTalk, specifically version 2.5 revision 3, played through the internal speakers of a Nintendo Wii controller, is objectively the best speech synthesizer because the developers of DecTalk and Nintendo knew what they were doing. /s
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@Kaliah @DavidGoldfield @NVAccess @cj @jaybird110127 @menelion @felixule Yeah but DecTalk, specifically version 2.5 revision 3, played through the internal speakers of a Nintendo Wii controller, is objectively the best speech synthesizer because the developers of DecTalk and Nintendo knew what they were doing. /s
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@DavidGoldfield @Kaliah @NVAccess @cj @jaybird110127 @menelion @felixule Oh no, I was joking.
