MiniMax Speech 2.8 HD is a high-definition text-to-speech (TTS) model developed by MiniMax, optimized for studio-grade audio synthesis and broadcast-ready voice generation. It is built on an autoregressive Transformer architecture integrated with a Flow-VAE decoder. Unlike traditional TTS systems that rely on mel-spectrogram vocoders, this model operates within a learned latent space, allowing for more natural cadence, precise intonation, and realistic tonal nuances.
The model is distinguished by its extensive support for expressive features, including emotion control and the integration of natural interjections. Users can specify emotional tones such as happy, sad, angry, fearful, or calm, and the model adjusts its prosody and pacing accordingly. Additionally, it supports over 20 non-verbal human sounds—such as (laughs), (sighs), (coughs), and (gasps)—which can be embedded directly into input text for more lifelike and immersive delivery.
Speech 2.8 HD supports over 40 languages and offers more than 17 professionally designed voice presets ranging across different ages and styles. It is capable of zero-shot voice cloning, requiring as little as five seconds of reference audio to replicate a specific timbre. The model provides granular control over output parameters, including speed (0.5x to 2.0x), pitch, volume, and various professional audio specifications such as sample rates up to 44,100 Hz and multiple bitrates.
Performance and Best Practices
In blind human preference evaluations, Speech 2.8 HD has achieved top rankings on industry benchmarks, including the Artificial Analysis Speech Arena and the Hugging Face TTS Arena. To achieve optimal results, it is recommended to write out numbers and dates in words rather than digits (e.g., "March fifteenth" instead of "3/15") and use proper punctuation to help the model manage natural breathing and rhythm. The model can process long-form content, supporting up to 10,000 characters per request.