SAPI 5 Eloquence does not speak the first character in German

[guenterhanke]

Steps to reproduce:

• install the SAPI 5 variant of Code Factories Eloquence, the one for SAPI 5 and not the one with NVDA addon
• in NVDA select the voice
  Code Factory ETI Eloquence Deutsch

Actual behavior:

• • let Eloquence speak the sentense
    für viele Leute ist schluss
    you will hear
    ür viele leute ist schluss
    and when you use CTRL+arrow right you'll hear
    iele
    instead of
    viele.
    So the first character is missing.

It only happens with some characters like f, v and so on but not with the S or SCH of Schluss or the L of Leute.

Expected behavior:

Eloquence should speak
für
viele
without the first character missing

NVDA logs, crash dumps and other attachments:

System configuration

NVDA installed/portable/running from source:

Installed and not portable

NVDA version:

2025-1 Beta 2
it was also with Beta 1
but not with older versions.

Windows version:

Windows 11 24H2
on a Toshiba Notebook.

Name and version of other software in use when reproducing the issue:

ETI Eloquence from Code Factory
Version 1.11.0

Other information about your system:

I am using a headset connected directly with a cable.

Other questions

Does the issue still occur after restarting your computer?

yes.

Have you tried any other versions of NVDA? If so, please report their behaviors.

With the older versions like 2024-4 it is not happening.

If NVDA add-ons are disabled, is your problem still occurring?

It is also happening without add ons.

Does the issue still occur after you run the COM Registration Fixing Tool in NVDA's tools menu?

yes.

additional

i tried the following settings, no change
NVDA, options, setting in TAB Audio
the last setting
time till the sound is reduces
I tried with 0 to 30 but nothing changes.

[gexgd0419]

Hi, could you check whether this is still happening with "Trim leading silence in speech audio" disabled in advanced settings?

[guenterhanke]

Hi, could you check whether this is still happening with "Trim leading silence in speech audio" disabled in advanced settings?

If disabled it solves the problem.

Checking this option again and the problem comes back.

So thank you for the quick solution.
Guenter

[seanbudd]

@gexgd0419 - do you have any leads on fixing this?
@guenterhanke - is this still an issue on the latest beta?

[guenterhanke]

Hi,
i have upgraded to 2025-1 Beta 4.
I checked the setting in advanced you mentioned and the problem is there again.
I unchecked the setting and the problem is gone.

It is in the SAPI 5 Eloquence of Code Factory in the German voice.

Guenter

[SaschaCowley]

@gexgd0419 do you plan to address this? It sounds like the trimming threshold needs to come down a little.

[gexgd0419]

The current threshold is 1/1024 or 0.0009765625, or about -60dB.

While I agree that making the threshold configurable may be better, it's also possible that this is a problem caused by the Windows audio system, or other audio components. See PR #17699 for a similar problem.

I'm working on a new add-on that can record the system audio output and the audio data sent to WavePlayer, so I can get more info about the problem from the user.

@guenterhanke Does changing the volume setting of the voice makes any difference? If the voice is at the maximum volume, does it becomes better?