MiniMax Speech 2.8 HD is a high-definition text-to-speech model that combines voice selection with expressive sound tags. It treats narration like a performance, not a robotic read-aloud.

Why creators choose MiniMax Speech 2.8 HD

Speech 2.8 HD delivers studio-quality narration by combining naturalness, emotional delivery, and sound tags without separate tracks. The ability to add laughs, sighs, and other non-speech sounds inline makes it stand out for character work and narrative-driven projects.

Select an existing voice

This route does not accept audio reference inputs. Select one voice ID for a generation; generate separate character lines with different voices if needed.

Sound tags for performance

Mark up your script with tags like (laughs), (whispers), (angry), or (breathes). The model generates those sounds as part of the narration, not as separate stems you stitch together. A character can laugh, then speak (both from one generation).

Studio-grade naturalness

The model prioritizes sounding human. Inflection, breathing, and timing feel intentional rather than synthetic. That matters for character work, where a flat voice breaks immersion.

32-language support with code-switching

Switch languages mid-script without regenerating. A sentence in English, a word in French, back to English. The voice adapts to each language and stays consistent across the switch.

How to use MiniMax Speech 2.8 HD in Craze

1. Write your script. Add voice direction through sound tags like (warmly) or (shocked) and non-speech sounds like (door slams).
2. Select an existing voice ID or use the available preset voice.
3. Name MiniMax Speech 2.8 HD in chat or select it in the Models panel.
4. Craze generates the full narration with sounds and emotion in one pass and drops it into your project.
5. Trim, shift timing, or regenerate a line that needs a different take.

MiniMax Speech 2.8 HD pricing

Pricing starts at $0.106 per 1,000 characters and varies with script length. This route has no separate price axis for voice selection, sound tags, or language. Use the calculator to estimate cost.

Who MiniMax Speech 2.8 HD is for

Character voice work and dialogue

Games, animations, and short films often need multiple distinct voices. Select a voice for each character's generation and assemble the lines in your project.

Expressive narration with ambience

Tutorial videos, audiobooks, and branded content benefit from laughter, gasps, and emotional inflection. MiniMax lets you write (laughs nervously) and have that sound emerge naturally from the narration.

Multilingual scripts and global brands

If your script spans languages, MiniMax handles code-switching in one pass. A global brand narrator can deliver copy in English, Spanish, and Mandarin without three separate generations.

MiniMax Speech 2.8 HD vs Other Models

Seed Speech from ByteDance prioritizes cost-effective narration with optional voice selection. MiniMax Speech 2.8 HD offers integrated sound tags and 32-language support in a single generation.

For expressive English narration with steerable prompts, Gemini 3.1 Flash TTS gives you directorial control through inline tags. Seed Audio 1.0 accepts audio or image references for speech. For emotion-tagged narration across 16 languages, Qwen Audio 3.0 TTS is another option.

Sound Tags and Expression Guide

MiniMax Speech 2.8 HD supports emotion tags like (angry), (happy), (sad), (surprised), and (nervous), plus non-speech sounds such as (laughs), (sighs), (whispers), (coughs), and (breaths). You can stack tags for nuance: write "I can't believe it" marked as (shocked, breathless) for a more specific emotional read. The model maintains consistency across tags within the same generation, so a character who sounds angry early will sound like the same person when they're surprised later, not a completely different voice.

On Craze, each sound tag generation takes 5-20 seconds depending on script length. If your script is very long with many sound tags, break it into sections for faster iteration. Test a short section first to dial in the tone before committing to a full-length generation. MiniMax includes preset emotional profiles you can apply to a whole voice to shift the baseline mood before adding inline tags.

Voice Cloning Workflow

This route accepts no voice sample. To use an existing voice, provide its voice ID; a separate voice-profile workflow is needed to create one from a recording. Generate each voice separately for a multi-character scene.

Regenerating the same script with the same selected voice may produce a different take; review each result for delivery and consistency.

Multilingual Sound Tags

When you switch languages mid-script with MiniMax, the sound tags adapt to the language context. A (laughs) tag in English sounds the same as in Spanish or Mandarin, but the voice's language-specific accent and timing shift automatically. This is valuable for global brand work where you want one voice across markets but need localized narration.

Limitations on Craze

MiniMax Speech 2.8 HD accepts up to 4,000 characters of text per request on Craze. For longer scripts, split the text and combine the results in your timeline. The model uses punctuation to infer pacing and emphasis, so add commas and periods to control the reading pace.

Voice cloning is not an input mode for this Craze TTS route. It accepts a voice ID but no reference audio.