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Tried that on 26 beta, and the default voice sounds a lot smoother than it used it.

Running `man say` reveals that "this tool uses the Speech Synthesis manager", so I'm guessing the Apple Intelligence stuff is kicking in.

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Nothing to do with Apple Intelligence. The speech synthesiser manager (the term manager was used for OS components in Classic Mac OS) has been around since the mid 90s or so. The change you’re hearing is probably a new/modified default voice.

> Nothing to do with Apple Intelligence Sorry, the clarify - I mean in macOS beta 26, the `say` command's output matches the settings set in the System Settings -> Apple Intelligence & Siri -> Voice > Select... menu.

> speech synthesiser manager (the term manager was used for OS components in Classic Mac OS)

Especially fun to play with on the rainbow iMacs back then, too.

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