When watching a movie or a TV show, spoken dialogue can sometimes get lost amidst other sounds in a busy scene. Turning up the volume may help, but it may annoy others nearby. If you are listening on a Roku® audio device such as a Roku Streambar®, Roku Streambar SE, Roku Streambar Pro, Roku Smart Soundbar, Roku wireless speakers, or Roku TV Wireless Soundbar, a feature called speech clarity can help you better hear critical dialogue without needing to adjust the volume. Speech clarity works by boosting dialogue separately from background content without increasing the overall loudness of the scene.
Before you use speech clarity
To begin using speech clarity, make sure your Roku audio device has been set up successfully. For help, refer to the appropriate article below:
Enable speech clarity during playback
When streaming a movie, TV show, music, or Bluetooth® audio; or when watching content from an external device connected to your Roku TV (e.g., Blu-ray™ player, cable set-top box, game console), you can enable speech clarity from the Options menu as described below.
- Begin streaming content, or, to adjust sound settings for a device connected to your Roku TV, switch the active input to this external device.
- Note: If you have a Roku Streambar, Roku Streambar Pro, or Roku Smart Soundbar and you are watching content from an external device connected to your TV, you cannot adjust sound settings during playback. You can, however, adjust sound settings from the Settings menu using instructions in the next section.
- Press Star
on your Roku remote - Select Sound settings
- Use the directional pad to switch Speech clarity to the desired setting. The directional pad is plus-shaped and is in the center of your Roku remote.
- Off: Speech clarity is not engaged, and dialogue is unmodified
- Low: Dialogue is slightly louder than the rest of the scene
- High: Dialogue is noticeably louder than the rest of the scene
- Note: In some streaming channels, Star is assigned a different function meaning it will not open the options menu as described above. In these cases, you can open a different app, such as The Roku Channel, and follow the steps above. Once the volume mode is switched, the setting will remain when you return to the original app.
Enable speech clarity from the Settings menu
Whether you are streaming content on your Roku audio device or using an external device (e.g., Blu-ray player, cable set-top box, game console), you can adjust sound settings at any time using the instructions below. If you are using an external device with a Roku Streambar, Roku Streambar Pro, or Roku Smart Soundbar, switch your TV to the input where your Roku audio device is connected before you begin.
- Press Home
on your Roku remote - Scroll and select Settings
- Select Audio
- Select Speech clarity and choose the desired setting
- Off: Speech clarity is not engaged, and dialogue is unmodified
- Low: Dialogue is slightly louder than the rest of the scene
- High: Dialogue is noticeably louder than the rest of the scene
- Note: Not all sound settings are available on this menu. Use the Star button method described above with your remote or the free Roku mobile app for best experience.
Last updated at 3/3/2026 1:34:16 AM
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