diff --git a/public/js/app.js b/public/js/app.js
index 24f1f4b..b2db828 100644
--- a/public/js/app.js
+++ b/public/js/app.js
@@ -142,17 +142,41 @@ function speakText(elementId) {
   if (!el) return;
   var text = (el.innerText || el.textContent).trim();
   if (!text) { showToast('Nothing to read', 'error'); return; }
-  if (!('speechSynthesis' in window)) { showToast('TTS not supported', 'error'); return; }
-  window.speechSynthesis.cancel();
-  var utter = new SpeechSynthesisUtterance(text);
-  utter.rate = 0.9;
-  utter.onend = function() { stopReading(); };
-  utter.onerror = function() { stopReading(); };
+
   currentlyReadingId = elementId;
   var btn = findReadButton(elementId);
   if (btn) { btn.classList.add('btn-reading'); btn.innerHTML = '<i class="fas fa-stop"></i> Stop'; }
-  window.speechSynthesis.speak(utter);
-  showToast('Reading — click Stop to end', 'info');
+
+  // Try ElevenLabs backend first
+  var token = window.AUTH_TOKEN || localStorage.getItem('ped_scribe_token') || '';
+  fetch('/api/text-to-speech', {
+    method: 'POST',
+    headers: { 'Content-Type': 'application/json', 'Authorization': 'Bearer ' + token },
+    body: JSON.stringify({ text: text })
+  })
+  .then(function(r) {
+    if (!r.ok) throw new Error('not configured');
+    return r.blob();
+  })
+  .then(function(blob) {
+    var url = URL.createObjectURL(blob);
+    currentAudio = new Audio(url);
+    currentAudio.onended = function() { URL.revokeObjectURL(url); stopReading(); };
+    currentAudio.onerror = function() { URL.revokeObjectURL(url); stopReading(); };
+    currentAudio.play();
+    showToast('Reading — click Stop to end', 'info');
+  })
+  .catch(function() {
+    // Fallback to native speech synthesis
+    if (!('speechSynthesis' in window)) { stopReading(); showToast('TTS not supported', 'error'); return; }
+    window.speechSynthesis.cancel();
+    var utter = new SpeechSynthesisUtterance(text);
+    utter.rate = 0.9;
+    utter.onend = function() { stopReading(); };
+    utter.onerror = function() { stopReading(); };
+    window.speechSynthesis.speak(utter);
+    showToast('Reading — click Stop to end', 'info');
+  });
 }
 
 function stopReading() {
diff --git a/src/routes/tts.js b/src/routes/tts.js
index 4249e81..20cf60b 100644
--- a/src/routes/tts.js
+++ b/src/routes/tts.js
@@ -8,9 +8,9 @@ router.post('/text-to-speech', authMiddleware, async (req, res) => {
     if (!process.env.ELEVENLABS_API_KEY) return res.status(400).json({ error: 'Not configured' });
     const response = await axios({
       method: 'POST',
-      url: 'https://api.elevenlabs.io/v1/text-to-speech/21m00Tcm4TlvDq8ikWAM',
+      url: 'https://api.elevenlabs.io/v1/text-to-speech/pNInz6obpgDQGcFmaJgB',
       headers: { 'xi-api-key': process.env.ELEVENLABS_API_KEY, 'Content-Type': 'application/json' },
-      data: { text: req.body.text.substring(0, 5000), model_id: 'eleven_monolingual_v1', voice_settings: { stability: 0.5, similarity_boost: 0.75 } },
+      data: { text: req.body.text.substring(0, 5000), model_id: 'eleven_turbo_v2_5', voice_settings: { stability: 0.5, similarity_boost: 0.75 } },
       responseType: 'arraybuffer'
     });
     res.set('Content-Type', 'audio/mpeg');