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Source: Roblox Creator Hub · CC BY 4.0 · View source · Code samples: MIT Imported 2026-10-03. Formatting adapted for this site.

SoundService

Inherits from: Instance → Object

A service that determines various aspects of how the audio engine works. Most of its properties affect how Sounds play in the experience, while others affect the behavior of instances in the advanced audio system such as AudioPlayers and AudioEmitters.

SoundService is also often used to store SoundGroups, although this is not mandatory for groups to work.

Inherits from: Instance

Memory category: Instances

Tags: NotCreatable, Service

Code samples: View on Creator Hub (SoundService-Reverb-System).

Properties

Name	Type / Returns	Description
SoundService.AcousticSimulationEnabled	boolean	Determines whether acoustic simulation is enabled globally in the advanced audio system.
SoundService.AmbientReverb	ReverbType	The ambient sound environment preset applied to all `Sounds`.
SoundService.CharacterSoundsUseNewApi	RolloutState	Determines whether the default character sounds will use instances in the advanced audio system vs. `Sounds`.
SoundService.DefaultListenerLocation	ListenerLocation	Determines where (if anywhere) to place an `AudioListener` by default.
SoundService.DistanceFactor	float	The number of studs to be considered a meter by `SoundService` when simulating the Doppler effect for `Sounds`.
SoundService.DopplerScale	float	Degree to which the pitch of a `Sound` varies due to the Doppler effect.
SoundService.ListenerCFrame	CFrame	The `CFrame` that is used as the listener's position if `ListenerType` is set to `ListenerType.CFrame`.
SoundService.ListenerObject	Instance	The `Instance` whose translation or coordinate frame is used as the listener's position if `ListenerType` is set to `ListenerType.ObjectPosition` or `ListenerType.ObjectCFrame`.
SoundService.ListenerType	ListenerType	The current listener type used by 3D `Sounds` to determine where they will be heard from.
SoundService.RespectFilteringEnabled	boolean	Sets whether `Sound` playback from a client will replicate to the server.
SoundService.RolloffScale	float	Determines how fast the volume of a `Sound` attenuates beyond its `Sound.RollOffMinDistance`.
SoundService.VolumetricAudio	VolumetricAudio	Determines whether certain spatialized `Sounds` emit volumetrically, throughout the space of their parent object.

Inherited from Instance

Name	Type / Returns	Description
Instance.Archivable	boolean	Determines if an `Instance` and its descendants can be cloned using `Instance:Clone()`, and can be saved/published.
Instance.archivable	boolean
Instance.Capabilities	SecurityCapabilities	The set of capabilities allowed to be used for scripts inside this container.
Instance.IsInSandbox	boolean	Indicates whether the instance is inside a sandboxed container.
Instance.Name	string	A non-unique identifier of the `Instance`.
Instance.Parent	Instance	Determines the hierarchical parent of the `Instance`.
Instance.PredictionMode	PredictionMode	Reflects the client-side prediction mode applied to the instance under server-authoritative physics.
Instance.RobloxLocked	boolean	A deprecated property that used to protect `CoreGui` objects.
Instance.Sandboxed	boolean	When enabled, the instance can only access abilities in its `Capabilities` list.
Instance.UniqueId	UniqueId	A unique identifier for the instance.

Inherited from Object

Name	Type / Returns	Description
Object.ClassName	string	A read-only string representing the class this `Object` belongs to.
Object.className	string

SoundService.AcousticSimulationEnabled

Determines at a global level whether sound from AudioEmitters and AudioListeners should automatically implement features of acoustic simulation, such as occlusion (being muffled through walls), diffraction (bending around corners), and reverberation (echoing off of walls).

If set to false, these instances will not simulate these features, regardless of their individual AcousticSimulationEnabled settings.

Field	Value
type	boolean
security	{"read":"None","write":"None"}
thread safety	ReadSafe
category	Data
serialization	{"can_load":true,"can_save":true}
capabilities	["Audio"]

SoundService.AmbientReverb

A reverb preset that should be applied to all Sounds in the experience.

Each ReverbType option for this property corresponds to a preset available in the FMOD sound engine. For example, when AmbientReverb is set to ReverbType.Hangar, Sounds will have reverb applied to simulate being in a large enclosed space.

Note that this only affects Sounds and not instances in the advanced audio system such as AudioPlayers and AudioEmitters. See AudioReverb for a way to apply reverb in that system.

Field	Value
type	ReverbType
security	{"read":"None","write":"None"}
thread safety	ReadSafe
category	Data
serialization	{"can_load":true,"can_save":true}
capabilities	["Audio"]

SoundService.CharacterSoundsUseNewApi

Determines which set of instances core scripts will use to create default character sounds. If set to RolloutState.Enabled, it will use instances in the advanced audio system such as AudioPlayers and AudioEmitters. If set to RolloutState.Disabled, it will use instances in the legacy sound system such as Sounds.

Field	Value
type	RolloutState
security	{"read":"None","write":"PluginSecurity"}
thread safety	ReadSafe
category	Data
serialization	{"can_load":true,"can_save":true}
capabilities	["Audio"]

SoundService.DefaultListenerLocation

Determines where to place an AudioListener by default. The AudioListener will automatically be wired to a AudioDeviceOutput and will have an empty AudioListener.InteractionGroup set.

See ListenerLocation for detailed descriptions of each option.

Field	Value
type	ListenerLocation
security	{"read":"PluginSecurity","write":"PluginSecurity"}
thread safety	ReadSafe
category	Listening
serialization	{"can_load":true,"can_save":true}
capabilities	["Audio"]

SoundService.DistanceFactor

The number of studs to be considered a meter by SoundService when simulating the Doppler effect for Sounds. This impacts any Sound parented to a BasePart or Attachment.

By default, this property is 3.33, meaning that a meter is considered 3.33 studs for the purposes of simulating the Doppler effect. The greater the DistanceFactor, the faster the listener has to travel relative to Sounds in order to experience the same Doppler shift.

It's recommended that you only change this property if the objects in your experience are scaled differently from what they represent. For example, if your character is meant to be very small (but is normal-sized in the engine), you may want to increase SoundService.DistanceFactor.

Note that this does not impact the behavior of instances in the advanced audio system, such as AudioPlayer or AudioEmitter.

Field	Value
type	float
security	{"read":"None","write":"None"}
thread safety	ReadSafe
category	Data
serialization	{"can_load":true,"can_save":true}
capabilities	["Audio"]

SoundService.DopplerScale

This property determines the degree to which the pitch of a Sound varies due to the Doppler effect. This impacts any Sound parented to a BasePart or Attachment.

The Doppler effect is a phenomenon whereby the pitch of a sound changes as the source and observer of the sound move further away or closer together, which is stronger the more quickly they are moving. Increasing SoundService.DopplerScale exaggerates the impact of this effect, whereas decreasing it minimizes it. By default, the value of this property is 1.

Note that this does not impact the behavior of instances in the advanced audio system, such as AudioPlayer or AudioEmitter.

Field	Value
type	float
security	{"read":"None","write":"None"}
thread safety	ReadSafe
category	Data
serialization	{"can_load":true,"can_save":true}
capabilities	["Audio"]

SoundService.ListenerCFrame

This property is only functional when ListenerType is set to ListenerType.CFrame. In that scenario, this property determines the world space position from which 3D Sounds are heard by the player.

Field	Value
type	CFrame
security	{"read":"None","write":"None"}
thread safety	ReadSafe
category	Listening
serialization	{"can_load":true,"can_save":true}
capabilities	["Audio"]

SoundService.ListenerObject

This property is only functional when ListenerType is set to ListenerType.ObjectPosition or ListenerType.ObjectCFrame. In that scenario, this property determines which Instance will be used to determine the position from which 3D Sounds are heard by the player. This property can only be set to Instances with a position, such as a BasePart or an Attachment. If it is set to nil, 3D Sounds will not be heard by the player.

Field	Value
type	Instance
security	{"read":"None","write":"None"}
thread safety	ReadSafe
category	Listening
serialization	{"can_load":true,"can_save":true}
capabilities	["Audio"]

SoundService.ListenerType

The listener type for any 3D Sounds in the experience, effectively the point from which 3D Sound audio in the experience is heard by the player. For Sounds parented to a BasePart or Attachment, the listener influences the volume and left/right balance of a playing sound. By default, this listener is set to Workspace.CurrentCamera.

Note that this does not affect the listener location when using the advanced audio system; see AudioListener for a way to set the listener location within that system.

This property may not yet be enabled for all creators. Until full rollout, use SoundService:GetListener() and SoundService:SetListener() instead.

Field	Value
type	ListenerType
security	{"read":"None","write":"None"}
thread safety	ReadSafe
category	Listening
serialization	{"can_load":true,"can_save":true}
capabilities	["Audio"]

SoundService.RespectFilteringEnabled

This property determines whether Sound playback is replicated from the client to the server, and therefore from the server. In other words, when a LocalScript calls Play() and this property is true, the sound will only play on the respective client. If this property is false, other clients will also hear the sound.

Default is true, meaning filtering is enabled.

Field	Value
type	boolean
security	{"read":"None","write":"None"}
thread safety	ReadSafe
category	Data
serialization	{"can_load":true,"can_save":true}
capabilities	["Audio"]

SoundService.RolloffScale

Determines how fast the volume of a spatialized Sound attenuates. This impacts any Sound parented to a BasePart or Attachment.

A higher RolloffScale means the volume of a Sound will attenuate more rapidly as the distance between the listener and the Sound grows. More precisely, the volume of the Sound will still start attenuating at a distance equal to Sound.RollOffMinDistance, but the attenuation curve will be steeper or more gradual based on the value of RolloffScale. Note that the Sound will still be inaudible past its the Sound.RollOffMaxDistance regardless of the value of SoundService.RolloffScale.

Note that this property does not affect the behavior of instances in the advanced audio system, such as AudioEmitter. See AudioEmitter:SetDistanceAttenuation for a way to apply custom attenuation in that system.

Field	Value
type	float
security	{"read":"None","write":"None"}
thread safety	ReadSafe
category	Data
serialization	{"can_load":true,"can_save":true}
capabilities	["Audio"]

SoundService.VolumetricAudio

Determines whether any Sounds parented to a Part emit volumetrically. If set to VolumetricAudio.Enabled, the Sound will simulate being emitted from every point in the interior of the Part. If set to VolumetricAudio.Disabled, the Sound will only emit from a single point in the center of the Part.

Note that this does not impact Sounds parented to other objects, such as Attachments or MeshParts. This also does not impact the behavior of instances in the advanced audio system such as AudioEmitter.

Field	Value
type	VolumetricAudio
tags	["NotScriptable"]
security	{"read":"None","write":"None"}
thread safety	ReadSafe
category	Data
serialization	{"can_load":true,"can_save":true}
capabilities	["Audio"]

Methods

Name	Type / Returns	Description
SoundService:GetListener	Tuple	Returns the current listener type used by `Sounds`, as well as what that listener is currently set to.
SoundService:GetMixerTime	double	Returns the number of seconds since the audio engine began mixing.
SoundService:OpenAttenuationCurveEditor	()	Opens the attenuation curve editor in Studio for the provided `AudioEmitter` or `AudioListener` instances.
SoundService:OpenDirectionalCurveEditor	()	Opens the directional curve editor in Studio for the provided `AudioEmitter` or `AudioListener` instances.
SoundService:PlayLocalSound	()	Plays a copy of a `Sound` locally, such that it will only be heard by the client calling this method.
SoundService:SetListener	()	Sets the listener used by `Sounds`.

Inherited from Instance

Name	Type / Returns	Description
Instance:AddTag	()	Applies a tag to the instance.
Instance:children	Instances	Returns an array of the object's children.
Instance:ClearAllChildren	()	This method destroys all of an instance's children.
Instance:Clone	Instance	Create a copy of an instance and all its descendants, ignoring instances that are not `Archivable`.
Instance:clone	Instance
Instance:Destroy	()	Sets the `Instance.Parent` property to `nil`, locks the `Instance.Parent` property, disconnects all connections, and calls `Destroy()` on all children.
Instance:destroy	()
Instance:FindFirstAncestor	Instance?	Returns the first ancestor of the `Instance` whose `Instance.Name` is equal to the given name.
Instance:FindFirstAncestorOfClass	Instance?	Returns the first ancestor of the `Instance` whose `Object.ClassName` is equal to the given className.
Instance:FindFirstAncestorWhichIsA	Instance?	Returns the first ancestor of the `Instance` for whom `Object:IsA()` returns true for the given className.
Instance:FindFirstChild	Instance?	Returns the first child of the `Instance` found with the given name.
Instance:findFirstChild	Instance
Instance:FindFirstChildOfClass	Instance?	Returns the first child of the `Instance` whose `ClassName` is equal to the given class name.
Instance:FindFirstChildWhichIsA	Instance?	Returns the first child of the `Instance` for whom `Object:IsA()` returns true for the given className.
Instance:FindFirstDescendant	Instance?	Returns the first descendant found with the given `Instance.Name`.
Instance:GetActor	Actor?	Returns the `Actor` associated with the Instance, if any.
Instance:GetAttribute	Variant	Returns the value which has been assigned to the given attribute name.
Instance:GetAttributeChangedSignal	RBXScriptSignal	Returns an event that fires when the given attribute changes.
Instance:GetAttributes	Dictionary	Returns a dictionary of the instance's attributes.
Instance:GetChildren	Instances	Returns an array containing all of the instance's children.
Instance:getChildren	Instances
Instance:GetDebugId	string	Returns a coded string of the debug ID used internally by Roblox.
Instance:GetDescendants	Instances	Returns an array containing all of the descendants of the instance.
Instance:GetFullName	string	Returns a string describing the instance's ancestry.
Instance:GetStyled	Variant	Returns the styled or explicitly modified value of the specified property, or else the default property value if it hasn't been styled/modified.
Instance:GetStyledPropertyChangedSignal	RBXScriptSignal	Returns an event that fires when the given style property changes on the instance.
Instance:GetTags	Array	Gets an array of all tags applied to the instance.
Instance:HasTag	boolean	Check whether the instance has a given tag.
Instance:IsAncestorOf	boolean	Returns true if an `Instance` is an ancestor of the given descendant.
Instance:IsDescendantOf	boolean	Returns `true` if an `Instance` is a descendant of the given ancestor.
Instance:isDescendantOf	boolean
Instance:IsPropertyModified	boolean	Returns `true` if the value stored in the specified property is not equal to the code-instantiated default.
Instance:QueryDescendants	Instances	Returns an array containing all descendants of the instance that match the `selector` string.
Instance:Remove	()	Sets the object's `Parent` to `nil`, and does the same for all its descendants.
Instance:remove	()
Instance:RemoveTag	()	Removes a tag from the instance.
Instance:ResetPropertyToDefault	()	Resets a property to its default value.
Instance:SetAttribute	()	Sets the attribute with the given name to the given value.
Instance:WaitForChild	Instance	Returns the child of the `Instance` with the given name. If the child does not exist, it will yield the current thread until it does.

Inherited from Object

Name	Type / Returns	Description
Object:GetPropertyChangedSignal	RBXScriptSignal	Get an event that fires when a given property of the object changes.
Object:IsA	boolean	Returns true if an object's class matches or inherits from a given class.
Object:isA	boolean

SoundService:GetListener

Returns the current listener type used by Sounds and what object or position that listener is currently set to. This is the point from which Sound audio in the experience is heard by the player. By default, the listener is set to Workspace.CurrentCamera. The listener can be changed using SetListener().

Note that this does not affect the listener location when using the advanced audio system. See AudioListener for a way to set the listener location in that system.

Returns

Type Description

Tuple

A table containing two results. The first result is the listener's ListenerType and the second result is dependent on that type:

Listener Type	Description
`Enum.ListenerType.Camera`	Does not return a listener object as `Class.Workspace.CurrentCamera\|CurrentCamera` is always used.
`Enum.ListenerType.CFrame`	Returns the `Datatype.CFrame` used in `Class.SoundService:SetListener()\|SetListener()`.
`Enum.ListenerType.ObjectPosition`	Returns the `Class.BasePart` used in `Class.SoundService:SetListener()\|SetListener()`.
`Enum.ListenerType.ObjectCFrame`	Returns the `Class.BasePart` used in `Class.SoundService:SetListener()\|SetListener()`.

Field	Value
security	None
thread safety	Unsafe
capabilities	["Audio"]

SoundService:GetMixerTime

Returns the number of seconds that have elapsed since the audio engine began mixing. Because this clock is derived from the number of audio samples the mixer has processed, it is stable, sample-accurate, and monotonically increasing, which makes it suitable for scheduling audible changes at precise moments.

Use this value as the basis for the atTime argument of methods that support scheduling playback to begin or end at an exact point in the future, such as Play() and Stop(). For best results, those methods expect times derived from GetMixerTime().

Returns

Type	Description
double	The number of seconds since the audio engine began mixing. This value is stable, sample-accurate, and monotonically-increasing. It's intended to be used for scheduling audible changes at precise times.

Field	Value
security	None
thread safety	Unsafe
capabilities	["Audio"]

SoundService:OpenAttenuationCurveEditor

Opens the attenuation curve editor in Studio for the provided AudioEmitter or AudioListener instances.

Parameters

Name	Type	Default	Description
selectedCurveObjects	Instances		A list of `AudioEmitters` or `AudioListeners`.

Returns

Type	Description
()

Field	Value
security	PluginSecurity
thread safety	Unsafe
capabilities	["Audio"]

SoundService:OpenDirectionalCurveEditor

Opens the directional curve editor in Studio for the provided AudioEmitter or AudioListener instances. This method is intended for use by Studio plugins that need to programmatically surface the editor, in the same way a user would open it from the Properties window.

Parameters

Name	Type	Default	Description
selectedCurveObjects	Instances		A list of `AudioEmitters` or `AudioListeners`.

Returns

Type	Description
()

Field	Value
security	PluginSecurity
thread safety	Unsafe
capabilities	["Audio"]

SoundService:PlayLocalSound

Plays a copy of a Sound locally. The Sound will only be heard by the client calling this method, regardless of where it's parented to.

Some properties of the Sound will be carried over into the copy. These include its Sound.Volume, Sound.TimePosition, Sound.PlaybackSpeed, and any spatialization and effects that are applied to it, including through SoundGroups. Properties that do not affect the copy include Sound.Looped and SoundService.AmbientReverb.

Parameters

Name	Type	Default	Description
sound	Instance		The `Sound` to be played.

Returns

Type	Description
()

Field	Value
security	None
thread safety	Unsafe
capabilities	["Audio"]

SoundService:SetListener

Sets the listener type for any Sounds in the experience, which defines the point from which Sound audio in the experience is heard by the player. For Sounds parented to a BasePart or Attachment, the listener influences the volume and left/right balance of a playing sound. By default, this listener is set to Workspace.CurrentCamera.

Note that this does not affect the listener location when using the advanced audio system. See AudioListener for a way to set the listener location in that system.

Parameters

Name	Type	Default	Description
listenerType	ListenerType		The `ListenerType` of the listener.
listener	Tuple		Dependent on the `ListenerType`. Use a `BasePart` for `ListenerType.ObjectPosition` or `ListenerType.ObjectCFrame`, a `CFrame` for `ListenerType.CFrame`, or `nil` for `ListenerType.Camera`.

Returns

Type	Description
()

Field	Value
security	None
thread safety	Unsafe
capabilities	["Audio"]

Events

Inherited from Instance

Name	Type / Returns	Description
Instance.AncestryChanged		Fires when the `Instance.Parent` property of this object or one of its ancestors is changed.
Instance.AttributeChanged		Fires whenever an attribute is changed on the `Instance`.
Instance.ChildAdded		Fires after an object is parented to this `Instance`.
Instance.childAdded
Instance.ChildRemoved		Fires after a child is removed from this `Instance`.
Instance.DescendantAdded		Fires after a descendant is added to the `Instance`.
Instance.DescendantRemoving		Fires immediately before a descendant of the `Instance` is removed.
Instance.Destroying		Fires immediately before (or is deferred until after) the instance is destroyed via `Instance:Destroy()`.
Instance.StyledPropertiesChanged		Fires whenever any style property is changed on the instance, including when a property is set to `nil`.

Inherited from Object

Name	Type / Returns	Description
Object.Changed		Fires immediately after a property of the object changes, with some limitations.