The Stress rise (sr) option indicates the nominal height, in Hz, of a local pitch rise and fall on each stressed syllable. This rise-fall is added to any hat rise or fall that is also present. For example, Paul has the sr option set to 32 Hz, resulting in an f0 rise-fall gesture of 32 Hz over a span of about 150 ms, which is located on the first and succeeding stressed syllables. However, DECtalk Software rules reduce the actual height of successive stress rises and falls in each clause and cause the last stress pulse to occur early so that there is time for the hat fall during the vowel.
If the sr option is set too low, the speech sounds monotone within long phrases. Great changes to the hr and sr options from their default values for each speaker are not necessary or desirable, except in unusual circumstances.