{"slug":"roblox-audio-2","title":"roblox-audio","summary":"Build or debug Roblox music, spatial audio, effects, text-to-speech, and speech-to-text. Use for audio graphs, asset permissions, playback problems, or migration from Sound.","platform":"Claude","tags":[],"authorName":"LLM Mart","authorSlug":"llm-mart","score":0,"source":"github","price":null,"verified":false,"createdAt":"2026-10-18T17:23:55.820036Z","repo":{"url":"https://github.com/nonlooped/roblox-suite","stars":22,"forks":0,"license":"MIT","updatedAt":"2026-10-17T23:48:49Z"},"bodyHtml":"
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name: roblox-audio\ndescription: \"Build or debug Roblox music, spatial audio, effects, text-to-speech, and speech-to-text. Use for audio graphs, asset permissions, playback problems, or migration from Sound.\"\nlast_reviewed: 2026-08-18

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roblox-audio

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Official sources:

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Roblox recommends audio objects over Sound, SoundGroup, and SoundEffect. New work should use the graph; legacy code can keep using Sound where the graph offers no advantage.

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Cross-reference:

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The two systems

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Modern audio graph (recommended for new work)

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Modular instances that mirror real-world audio devices. Each object produces, consumes, modifies, or carries an audio stream. You wire them together with Wire instances (SourceInstance → TargetInstance).

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ObjectRoleReal-world analog
AudioPlayerProduces a stream from an audio asset IDA audio file player
AudioEmitterEmits a stream into the 3D environment (parent position = emission point)A speaker in the world
AudioListenerPicks up streams from the environment (parent = camera or character)A microphone in the world
AudioDeviceOutputPlays a stream to the player's physical speaker/headphonesThe player's hardware output
AudioDeviceInputCaptures audio from the player's physical microphoneThe player's hardware mic
AudioTextToSpeechConverts text to audio with an artificial voiceA TTS engine
AudioSpeechToTextConverts spoken audio to textA transcription engine
WireCarries a stream from SourceInstance to TargetInstanceAn audio cable
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Effects (all \"modify\" category): AudioEqualizer, AudioCompressor, AudioReverb, AudioChorus, AudioDistortion, AudioEcho, AudioFlanger, AudioPitchShifter, AudioTremolo, AudioFader, AudioAnalyzer. See references/audio-effects.md.

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Legacy Sound system (still works, discouraged)

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Sound parented to a BasePart or Attachment emits from that position with built-in Doppler and distance rolloff (RollOffMode, RollOffMaxDistance, RollOffMinDistance, EmitterSize). A \"global\" Sound (not parented to a part/attachment) plays at constant volume everywhere. SoundGroup controls group volume and effects; SoundEffect subclasses (EqualizerSoundEffect, ReverbSoundEffect, etc.) apply per-group effects. SoundService exposes global properties (AmbientReverb, DistanceFactor, DopplerScale, RespectFilteringEnabled) that affect Sound playback.

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SoundService.AmbientReverb and the Doppler/distance properties affect only legacy Sound, not the audio graph. The graph has its own effect objects and per-emitter DistanceAttenuation curves.

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Decision tree: which system?

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See references/audio-graph-vs-sound.md for a side-by-side property map and migration notes.

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2D audio (non-directional)

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Same volume everywhere. Requires: AudioPlayer → Wire → AudioDeviceOutput, all parented under SoundService.

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--!strict\nlocal SoundService = game:GetService(\"SoundService\")\n\nlocal player = Instance.new(\"AudioPlayer\")\nplayer.AssetId = \"rbxassetid://YOUR_AUDIO_ID\"\nplayer.Looping = true\nplayer.Volume = 1\nplayer.Parent = SoundService\n\nlocal output = Instance.new(\"AudioDeviceOutput\")\noutput.Parent = SoundService\n\nlocal wire = Instance.new(\"Wire\")\nwire.SourceInstance = player\nwire.TargetInstance = output\nwire.Parent = SoundService\n\nplayer:Play()\n
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3D audio (positional)

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Volume changes with the listener's distance to the emitter. Requires six objects: AudioPlayer → Wire → AudioEmitter (parented to the 3D part), and AudioListener → Wire → AudioDeviceOutput (under SoundService). Set SoundService.ListenerLocation to Character or Camera (the engine auto-creates the AudioDeviceOutput under SoundService at runtime when you do).

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--!strict\nlocal SoundService = game:GetService(\"SoundService\")\nSoundService.ListenerLocation = Enum.ListenerLocation.Camera -- or Character\n\n-- On the 3D part that should emit audio:\nlocal part = workspace:WaitForChild(\"NoisyPart\")\nlocal player = Instance.new(\"AudioPlayer\")\nplayer.AssetId = \"rbxassetid://YOUR_AUDIO_ID\"\nplayer.Looping = true\nplayer.Parent = part\n\nlocal emitter = Instance.new(\"AudioEmitter\")\n-- Custom curve: DistanceAttenuation is a NumberSequence (x = distance studs, y = volume 0..1).\n-- This curve is only used when DistanceAttenuationMode == Custom (the default).\nemitter.DistanceAttenuation = NumberSequence.new({\n    NumberSequenceKeypoint.new(0, 1),    -- full volume at 0 studs\n    NumberSequenceKeypoint.new(50, 0.5), -- half volume at 50 studs\n    NumberSequenceKeypoint.new(70, 0),   -- silent at 70 studs\n})\n-- Preset alternative (no custom curve needed):\n-- emitter.DistanceAttenuationMode = Enum.DistanceAttenuationMode.Inverse\n-- emitter.DistanceAttenuationBounds = NumberRange.new(4, 10000) -- [min,max] for the preset rolloff\nemitter.Parent = part\n\nlocal wire = Instance.new(\"Wire\")\nwire.SourceInstance = player\nwire.TargetInstance = emitter\nwire.Parent = part\n\nplayer:Play()\n
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The emitter's parent position determines where audio emits from. AudioEmitter ignores its own orientation; rotate the parent part/attachment to steer emission.

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Distance model: AudioEmitter.DistanceAttenuationMode selects the rolloff formula (Custom by default; uses your DistanceAttenuation curve; other presets use DistanceAttenuationBounds which defaults to [4, 10000] and ignore the custom curve). GetDistanceAttenuation() always returns the custom curve even when a preset is active. Don't assume it reflects the audible rolloff unless Mode == Custom. SetDistanceAttenuation(curve) only affects playback when Mode == Custom. Angle attenuation is set via SetAngleAttenuation({[angle]=volume}) (0–180° → 0–1); use for directional sources (e.g. avatar voice projects forward).

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Acoustic simulation (occlusion/diffraction/reverb): Enable SoundService.AcousticSimulationEnabled and AcousticSimulationEnabled on both the emitter and listener. The current reference no longer exposes the separate per-instance OcclusionEnabled, DiffractionEnabled, and ReverbEnabled toggles; do not generate calls to them. Use emitter:GetAudibilityFor(listener) or listener:GetAudibilityFor(emitter) for combined distance and angle attenuation (0–1).

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Listener location

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SoundService.ListenerLocation (a ListenerLocation enum) controls where the AudioListener is auto-created:

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When set to Character or Camera, the engine auto-creates an AudioDeviceOutput under SoundService at runtime. The AudioListener picks up audio from AudioEmitters based on distance and the emitter's DistanceAttenuation curve.

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Triggering audio from scripts

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local audio = script.Parent :: AudioPlayer\nsomeEvent:Connect(function()\n    audio:Play()\nend)\n
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AudioPlayer:Play(atTime?), :Stop(atTime?). When atTime is supplied the action is scheduled against SoundService:GetMixerTime() for sample-accurate, framerate-independent timing (rhythm games / beat sync). :Cancel(actionId) cancels a future-scheduled Play/Stop (returns true if cancelled). :Pause(), :SeekTime(...), :GetWaveform(timeRange) (samples volume without playing; useful for waveform visualization vs live AudioAnalyzer). AudioPlayer.TimeVolume is tweenable. See references/audio-effects.md for tweening volume and effect parameters.

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Preloading audio

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Preload prominent audio assets before they're needed (loading screen, round start) to avoid first-play hitches on lower-end devices:

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--!strict\nlocal ContentProvider = game:GetService(\"ContentProvider\")\nlocal audioPlayer = workspace:WaitForChild(\"MusicPlayer\") :: AudioPlayer\nContentProvider:PreloadAsync({ audioPlayer })\n
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For the legacy Sound system, preload the Sound instance the same way.

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Performance limits

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Profile audio with the MicroProfiler (audio appears under worker threads) and the Developer Console Memory tab.

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Script context (client vs server)

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Audio asset permissions

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Text-to-speech (TTS)

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AudioTextToSpeech converts text (≤300 chars per request) to audio with an artificial voice. The available VoiceId values are 1–11 (English variants), 101–102 (Spanish), 201–202 (German), 301–302 (Italian), 401–402 (French), 501–502 (Mandarin Chinese), 601–602 (Hindi), 701–702 (Japanese), 801–802 (Arabic), 901–902 (Korean), and 1001–1002 (Portuguese); odd IDs are male and even IDs are female for the locale-specific pairs. Wire it like an AudioPlayer: for 2D, AudioTextToSpeech → Wire → AudioDeviceOutput; for 3D, AudioTextToSpeech → Wire → AudioEmitter (plus the listener→output wire). Set Text, VoiceId, Volume on the AudioTextToSpeech. :WaitForSpeechReady() yields until AssetFetchStatus is Success (or Failure). All text must comply with Roblox Community Standards and Terms of Use.

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Audio analysis: AudioAnalyzer window is controlled by AudioWindowSize. Small (lowest latency, low frequency resolution), Medium (balanced), Large (highest resolution, more latency).

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Use cases: accessibility (reading UI text aloud), NPC voiceover without recorded audio, dynamic announcements.

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Speech-to-text (STT)

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AudioSpeechToText converts speech captured by AudioDeviceInput into text. Requires VoiceChatService.UseAudioApi = Enabled. Wire: AudioDeviceInput → Wire → AudioSpeechToText. Set audioDeviceInput.Player = Players.LocalPlayer at runtime to target the local player's mic. Roblox auto-detects the spoken language (17 supported: Arabic, Chinese Simplified/Traditional, English, French, German, Indonesian, Italian, Japanese, Korean, Polish, Portuguese, Spanish, Russian, Turkish, Thai, Vietnamese).

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To use STT without broadcasting voice to other players, disable VoiceChatService.EnableDefaultVoice. All audio for AudioSpeechToText must comply with Community Standards and Terms of Use.

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Best practices

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Common mistakes

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Scripts

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How to proceed

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  1. Pick the system: graph for new/complex work, Sound for simple/legacy.
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  2. Lay out your buses (music, SFX, VO) and route through AudioFader or SoundGroup.
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  3. Place 3D emitters on the parts that should make sound; set DistanceAttenuation per emitter.
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  4. Add effects where they add value (reverb in caves, muffling underwater, ducking).
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  5. Preload, then trigger from events (animation markers, UI, gameplay).
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  6. Profile concurrent voices and effect cost on the lowest target device.
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  7. Verify asset permissions for any third-party audio.
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Reference index

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Acoustic API references: https://create.roblox.com/docs/reference/engine/classes/AudioEmitter and https://create.roblox.com/docs/reference/engine/classes/AudioListener.

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