SAM TTS - Microsoft SAM Text to Speech

Inspiration

We were inspired by the iconic Microsoft SAM voice that many remember fondly from the Windows XP era. The distinctive robotic tone of Microsoft SAM captured the imagination of an entire generation. We wanted to bring that nostalgic voice back to life — but this time, entirely inside modern web browsers, without requiring any downloads or installations.

What it does

SAM TTS recreates the authentic Microsoft SAM voice experience directly in the browser. Users can type any text, adjust voice parameters such as pitch, speed, mouth, and throat, and instantly hear the classic SAM Text to Speech output. Users can also download generated speech as WAV files for use in their own creative projects.

How I built it

We built SAM TTS using a lightweight JavaScript implementation that mimics the original phoneme-based synthesis of Microsoft SAM. The project uses vanilla JavaScript, Web Audio API for sound playback, and a responsive frontend built with Next.js, React, TailwindCSS, and Shadcn/UI components. Hosting is managed through Vercel for fast and global access.

Challenges I ran into

Recreating the exact sound characteristics of the original Microsoft SAM voice was a major technical challenge. We had to carefully study the original phoneme synthesis rules to ensure the output matched the nostalgic memory users had. Tuning the mouth and throat parameters to achieve a balance between authenticity and usability also took extensive testing.

Accomplishments that I'm proud of

We successfully recreated a fully functional Microsoft SAM Text to Speech experience entirely in the browser, with no external dependencies. We also introduced customizable voice settings and voice presets to allow users to have fun creating new character voices while staying true to the original SAM sound.

What I learned

We deepened our understanding of early speech synthesis technology and phoneme-based TTS systems. Additionally, we learned how small adjustments to mouth and throat parameters could drastically change the emotional tone and quality of synthetic speech, making the tool not just nostalgic but also creatively versatile.