speakup in ubuntu

[Michael Weaver]

I seem to have Speakup in Ubuntu running but it does seem to take a
lot of work as I have to switch consoles after quitting Orca, type my
username and password after changing to a text console, typing sudo
modprobe speakup_sftsyn and having to reconfirm my passwrord again
before I get speech.
Is there a quicker way?
Also I have noticed the speech is very low in Speakup compared with
Orca even though they both use the same software synth.
How do I adjust the level?
I tried Caps Lock 2 as I am using a laptop but although the volume
says 9 for my setting, the speech is still quiet.