Advanced transcription options

Speaker diarization, word-level timestamps, response formats, async support, and best practices.

Speaker diarization

Enable diarization to identify who is speaking when. If you know the expected speaker count, pass min_speakers and max_speakers to improve accuracy.

Python

from pathlib import Path

from together import Together

client = Together()

response = client.audio.transcriptions.create(
    file=Path("meeting.mp3"),
    model="openai/whisper-large-v3",
    response_format="verbose_json",
    diarize="true",  # Enable speaker diarization
    min_speakers=1,
    max_speakers=5,
)

# Access speaker segments
print(response.speaker_segments)

Example response with diarization:

AudioSpeakerSegment(
    id=1,
    speaker_id='SPEAKER_01',
    start=6.268,
    end=30.776,
    text=(
        "Hello. Oh, hey, Justin. How are you doing? ..."
    ),
    words=[
        AudioTranscriptionWord(
            word='Hello.',
            start=6.268,
            end=11.314,
            id=0,
            speaker_id='SPEAKER_01'
        ),
        AudioTranscriptionWord(
            word='Oh,',
            start=11.834,
            end=11.894,
            id=1,
            speaker_id='SPEAKER_01'
        ),
        AudioTranscriptionWord(
            word='hey,',
            start=11.914,
            end=11.995,
            id=2,
            speaker_id='SPEAKER_01'
        ),
        ...
    ]
)

Word-level timestamps

Get word-level timing information:

Python

from pathlib import Path

response = client.audio.transcriptions.create(
    file=Path("audio.mp3"),
    model="openai/whisper-large-v3",
    response_format="verbose_json",
    timestamp_granularities="word",
)

print(f"Text: {response.text}")
print(f"Language: {response.language}")
print(f"Duration: {response.duration}s")

## Access individual words with timestamps
if response.words:
    for word in response.words:
        print(f"'{word['word']}' [{word['start']:.2f}s - {word['end']:.2f}s]")

Example output:

Text

Text: It is certain that Jack Pumpkinhead might have had a much finer house to live in.
Language: en
Duration: 7.2562358276643995s

'It' [0.00s - 0.36s]
'is' [0.42s - 0.47s]
'certain' [0.51s - 0.74s]
'that' [0.79s - 0.86s]
'Jack' [0.90s - 1.11s]
'Pumpkinhead' [1.15s - 1.66s]
'might' [1.81s - 2.00s]
'have' [2.04s - 2.13s]
'had' [2.16s - 2.26s]
'a' [2.30s - 2.32s]
'much' [2.36s - 2.48s]
'finer' [2.54s - 2.74s]
'house' [2.78s - 2.93s]
'to' [2.96s - 3.03s]
'live' [3.07s - 3.21s]
'in.' [3.26s - 7.27s]

Response formats

JSON format (default)

Returns only the transcribed/translated text:

Python

from pathlib import Path

response = client.audio.transcriptions.create(
    file=Path("audio.mp3"),
    model="openai/whisper-large-v3",
    response_format="json",
)

print(response.text)  # "Hello, this is a test recording."

Verbose JSON format

Returns detailed information including timestamps:

Python

from pathlib import Path

response = client.audio.transcriptions.create(
    file=Path("audio.mp3"),
    model="openai/whisper-large-v3",
    response_format="verbose_json",
    timestamp_granularities="segment",
)

## Access segments with timestamps
for segment in response.segments:
    print(
        f"[{segment['start']:.2f}s - {segment['end']:.2f}s]: {segment['text']}"
    )

Example output:

Text

[0.11s - 10.85s]: Call is now being recorded. Parker Scarves, how may I help you? Online for my wife, and it turns out they shipped the wrong... Oh, I am so sorry, sir. I got it for her birthday, which is tonight, and now I'm not 100% sure what I need to do. Okay, let me see if I can help. Do you have the item number of the Parker Scarves? I don't think so. Call the New Yorker, I... Excellent. What color do...

[10.88s - 21.73s]: Blue. The one they shipped was light blue. I wanted the darker one. What's the difference? The royal blue is a bit brighter. What zip code are you located in? One nine.

[22.04s - 32.62s]: Karen's Boutique, Termall. Is that close? I'm in my office. Okay, um, what is your name, sir? Charlie. Charlie Johnson. Is that J-O-H-N-S-O-N? And Mr. Johnson, do you have the Parker scarf in light blue with you now? I do. They shipped it to my office. It came in not that long ago. What I will do is make arrangements with Karen's Boutique for...

[32.62s - 41.03s]: you to Parker Scarf at no additional cost. And in addition, I was able to look up your order in our system, and I'm going to send out a special gift to you to make up for the inconvenience. Thank you. You're welcome. And thank you for calling Parker Scarf, and I hope your wife enjoys her birthday gift. Thank you. You're very welcome. Goodbye.

[43.50s - 44.20s]: you

Advanced features

Temperature control

Adjust randomness in the output (0.0 = deterministic, 1.0 = creative):

Python

from pathlib import Path

response = client.audio.transcriptions.create(
    file=Path("audio.mp3"),
    model="openai/whisper-large-v3",
    temperature=0.0,  # Most deterministic
)

print(f"Text: {response.text}")

Async support

All transcription and translation operations support async/await:

Async transcription

Python

import asyncio
from pathlib import Path

from together import AsyncTogether


async def transcribe_audio():
    client = AsyncTogether()

    response = await client.audio.transcriptions.create(
        file=Path("audio.mp3"),
        model="openai/whisper-large-v3",
        language="en",
    )

    return response.text


## Run async function
result = asyncio.run(transcribe_audio())
print(result)

Async translation

Python

from pathlib import Path


async def translate_audio():
    client = AsyncTogether()

    response = await client.audio.translations.create(
        file=Path("foreign_audio.mp3"),
        model="openai/whisper-large-v3",
    )

    return response.text


result = asyncio.run(translate_audio())
print(result)

Concurrent processing

Process multiple audio files concurrently:

Python

import asyncio
from pathlib import Path

from together import AsyncTogether


async def process_multiple_files():
    client = AsyncTogether()

    files = [Path("audio1.mp3"), Path("audio2.mp3"), Path("audio3.mp3")]

    tasks = [
        client.audio.transcriptions.create(
            file=file,
            model="openai/whisper-large-v3",
        )
        for file in files
    ]

    responses = await asyncio.gather(*tasks)

    for i, response in enumerate(responses):
        print(f"File {files[i]}: {response.text}")


asyncio.run(process_multiple_files())

Best practices

Choose the right method

• Batch transcription: Best for pre-recorded audio files, podcasts, or any non-real-time use case.
• Real-time streaming: Best for live conversations, voice assistants, or applications requiring immediate feedback.

Audio quality tips

• Use high-quality audio files for better transcription accuracy.
• Minimize background noise.
• Ensure clear speech with good volume levels.
• Use appropriate sample rates (16kHz or higher recommended).
• For WebSocket streaming, use PCM format: pcm_s16le_16000.
• Direct uploads are capped at 500 MB and 4 hours of audio per request; see Limits.
• For long audio files (over 4 hours), split into ≤ 4 h chunks before submitting.
• Use streaming for real-time applications when available.

Diarization best practices

• Works best with clear audio and distinct speakers.
• Speakers are labeled as SPEAKER_00, SPEAKER_01, etc.
• Use with verbose_json format to get segment-level speaker information.

Errors and troubleshooting

Response	Meaning	Recommended action
400 audio_too_long	Audio duration exceeds the 4 hour cap.	Split the file into ≤ 4 h segments and submit separately.
400 file_too_large	A URL-fetched audio download exceeded the 1 GB server-side cap.	Compress the source, or split into smaller files.
400 unsupported_format	The audio container or codec could not be decoded.	Re-encode to a supported format. Run ffprobe on the file to confirm it is valid audio.
400 invalid_params	Request parameters failed validation.	Check the API reference.
413 Payload Too Large	A direct upload exceeded the 500 MB edge limit.	Submit the file via an HTTPS URL on the file field instead, or split the file. The 413 response is plain HTML, not JSON.
429	Rate limit exceeded.	See serverless rate limits.
500 processing_failed	Internal decode failure after the file was accepted.	Verify the file is valid audio with ffprobe. If it is, contact support with the response id.

Next steps

• See the API reference for detailed parameter documentation.
• Learn about text-to-speech for the reverse operation.
• Check out the real-time audio transcription app guide.