diff --git a/src/components/insights/coach-panel/__tests__/read-aloud-voice.test.ts b/src/components/insights/coach-panel/__tests__/read-aloud-voice.test.ts
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..210083104
--- /dev/null
+++ b/src/components/insights/coach-panel/__tests__/read-aloud-voice.test.ts
@@ -0,0 +1,60 @@
+import { describe, it, expect } from "vitest";
+
+import { pickSpeechVoice, scoreSpeechVoice } from "../message-thread";
+
+type V = { name: string; lang: string; localService?: boolean };
+
+const asVoices = (vs: V[]) => vs as unknown as SpeechSynthesisVoice[];
+
+describe("scoreSpeechVoice", () => {
+  it("rejects voices that do not match the target language", () => {
+    expect(scoreSpeechVoice({ name: "Samantha", lang: "en-US" }, "de-DE")).toBe(
+      -Infinity,
+    );
+  });
+
+  it("ranks an enhanced/premium voice above a legacy compact one", () => {
+    const enhanced = scoreSpeechVoice(
+      { name: "Samantha (Enhanced)", lang: "en-US" },
+      "en-US",
+    );
+    const compact = scoreSpeechVoice(
+      { name: "Albert", lang: "en-US" },
+      "en-US",
+    );
+    expect(enhanced).toBeGreaterThan(compact);
+    expect(compact).toBeLessThan(0);
+  });
+
+  it("rewards an exact lang-region match over a bare language match", () => {
+    const region = scoreSpeechVoice({ name: "Google", lang: "de-DE" }, "de-DE");
+    const bare = scoreSpeechVoice({ name: "Google", lang: "de-AT" }, "de-DE");
+    expect(region).toBeGreaterThan(bare);
+  });
+});
+
+describe("pickSpeechVoice", () => {
+  it("returns the best-scoring voice for the locale", () => {
+    const chosen = pickSpeechVoice(
+      asVoices([
+        { name: "Anna", lang: "de-DE", localService: true },
+        { name: "Google Deutsch", lang: "de-DE" },
+        { name: "Samantha", lang: "en-US" },
+      ]),
+      "de-DE",
+    );
+    expect(chosen?.name).toBe("Google Deutsch");
+  });
+
+  it("returns null when nothing beats a legacy default", () => {
+    const chosen = pickSpeechVoice(
+      asVoices([{ name: "Albert", lang: "en-US" }]),
+      "en-US",
+    );
+    expect(chosen).toBeNull();
+  });
+
+  it("returns null on an empty voice list (graceful fallback)", () => {
+    expect(pickSpeechVoice(asVoices([]), "en-US")).toBeNull();
+  });
+});
diff --git a/src/components/insights/coach-panel/message-thread.tsx b/src/components/insights/coach-panel/message-thread.tsx
index b9cbd0be3..63f624e33 100644
--- a/src/components/insights/coach-panel/message-thread.tsx
+++ b/src/components/insights/coach-panel/message-thread.tsx
@@ -383,12 +383,87 @@ function useSpeechSynthesisSupported(): boolean {
   );
 }
 
+/**
+ * v1.22 — score a synthesis voice for a target language. Higher is better;
+ * a negative score marks a legacy/compact voice we would rather skip. Pure
+ * (no browser globals) so the ranking contract is unit-testable. Exported
+ * for the read-aloud voice-selection test.
+ *
+ * The default OS voice is often a legacy "compact" engine (Anna, Albert,
+ * Zarvox, eSpeak) that reads robotically. We prefer, in order: an Apple
+ * enhanced/premium or Siri voice, a Microsoft "Natural"/"Online" (Edge)
+ * voice, a "Google …" (Chrome) voice, and a small set of known-good names
+ * (Samantha). An exact lang-REGION match (de-DE/en-US) outweighs a bare
+ * language match. `localService` only breaks a tie. Known-bad names are
+ * penalised so they never win over a neutral remote voice.
+ */
+export function scoreSpeechVoice(
+  voice: { name: string; lang: string; localService?: boolean },
+  lang: string,
+): number {
+  const base = lang.split("-")[0].toLowerCase();
+  const vlang = voice.lang.toLowerCase().replace("_", "-");
+  if (!vlang.startsWith(base)) return -Infinity;
+  const name = voice.name.toLowerCase();
+  let score = 0;
+
+  // Exact lang-REGION match (de-DE, en-US) over a bare language match.
+  if (lang.includes("-") && vlang === lang.toLowerCase()) score += 40;
+
+  // High-quality engines.
+  if (/\b(enhanced|premium)\b/.test(name)) score += 60;
+  if (name.includes("siri")) score += 55;
+  if (name.includes("natural") || name.includes("online")) score += 50;
+  if (name.startsWith("google")) score += 35;
+  if (name.includes("samantha")) score += 30;
+
+  // Known-bad legacy / compact engines.
+  if (name.includes("compact")) score -= 80;
+  if (/\b(albert|zarvox|espeak|anna|fred|ralph|bahh|trinoids)\b/.test(name)) {
+    score -= 100;
+  }
+
+  // Tie-breaker only: a local voice has no network latency.
+  if (voice.localService) score += 1;
+
+  return score;
+}
+
+/**
+ * v1.22 — pick the best-scoring installed voice for `lang`, or null when
+ * none beats a legacy/compact default (graceful fallback to the browser
+ * default). Pure helper, exported for the ranking test.
+ */
+export function pickSpeechVoice(
+  voices: SpeechSynthesisVoice[],
+  lang: string,
+): SpeechSynthesisVoice | null {
+  let best: SpeechSynthesisVoice | null = null;
+  let bestScore = 0; // require a positive score to override the default
+  for (const v of voices) {
+    const s = scoreSpeechVoice(v, lang);
+    if (s > bestScore) {
+      bestScore = s;
+      best = v;
+    }
+  }
+  return best;
+}
+
 /**
  * v1.22 (W5) — read the assistant prose aloud via the browser's
  * `SpeechSynthesis`. Client-only, no dependency, no egress, CSP-clean. A
  * single in-flight utterance: a new `speak` cancels any prior one; `toggle`
- * stops while speaking. The utterance language follows the active UI locale
- * so the browser picks the closest installed voice (best-effort by OS).
+ * stops while speaking.
+ *
+ * v1.22 — natural-voice selection. The browser default is frequently a
+ * legacy/compact engine that reads robotically; instead of only stamping
+ * `utterance.lang` we enumerate `getVoices()`, rank the candidates for the
+ * locale (`pickSpeechVoice`), and assign the winner. The voice list is async
+ * (empty on the first call, and on iOS Safari it can stay empty until the
+ * first user-gesture speak), so we subscribe to `voiceschanged` and also
+ * re-read it lazily on the first toggle. The chosen voice is cached per
+ * locale in a ref so the ranking runs once.
  */
 function useReadAloud(): {
   supported: boolean;
@@ -397,6 +472,25 @@ function useReadAloud(): {
 } {
   const supported = useSpeechSynthesisSupported();
   const [speaking, setSpeaking] = useState(false);
+  // Cache the resolved voice per locale so the ranking runs once.
+  const voiceByLocaleRef = useRef<Map<string, SpeechSynthesisVoice | null>>(
+    new Map(),
+  );
+
+  // Pre-warm the voice list + keep it fresh: the list arrives asynchronously
+  // and `voiceschanged` fires when the OS finishes loading installed voices.
+  useEffect(() => {
+    if (!supported) return;
+    const synth = window.speechSynthesis;
+    const refresh = () => {
+      // A late-arriving list can surface a better voice than an early read;
+      // clear the cache so the next toggle re-ranks against the full set.
+      voiceByLocaleRef.current.clear();
+    };
+    synth.getVoices();
+    synth.addEventListener?.("voiceschanged", refresh);
+    return () => synth.removeEventListener?.("voiceschanged", refresh);
+  }, [supported]);
 
   // Stop any in-flight utterance if the bubble unmounts (thread reset, nav).
   useEffect(() => {
@@ -407,6 +501,21 @@ function useReadAloud(): {
     };
   }, []);
 
+  const resolveVoice = useCallback(
+    (synth: SpeechSynthesis, lang: string): SpeechSynthesisVoice | null => {
+      const cached = voiceByLocaleRef.current.get(lang);
+      if (cached !== undefined) return cached;
+      const voices = synth.getVoices();
+      // An empty list (first call / iOS pre-gesture) is not cached so a later
+      // toggle re-ranks once the OS has populated the voices.
+      if (voices.length === 0) return null;
+      const chosen = pickSpeechVoice(voices, lang);
+      voiceByLocaleRef.current.set(lang, chosen);
+      return chosen;
+    },
+    [],
+  );
+
   const toggle = useCallback(
     (text: string, lang: string) => {
       if (!supported) return;
@@ -420,13 +529,22 @@ function useReadAloud(): {
       if (!trimmed) return;
       synth.cancel();
       const utterance = new SpeechSynthesisUtterance(trimmed);
-      utterance.lang = lang;
+      const voice = resolveVoice(synth, lang);
+      if (voice) {
+        utterance.voice = voice;
+        utterance.lang = voice.lang;
+      } else {
+        utterance.lang = lang;
+      }
+      // A natural cadence: default rate, neutral pitch.
+      utterance.rate = 1.0;
+      utterance.pitch = 1.0;
       utterance.onend = () => setSpeaking(false);
       utterance.onerror = () => setSpeaking(false);
       setSpeaking(true);
       synth.speak(utterance);
     },
-    [supported, speaking],
+    [supported, speaking, resolveVoice],
   );
 
   return { supported, speaking, toggle };