diff --git a/src/Sendspin.SDK/Audio/TimedAudioBuffer.cs b/src/Sendspin.SDK/Audio/TimedAudioBuffer.cs
index 5c37c44..e8b129c 100644
--- a/src/Sendspin.SDK/Audio/TimedAudioBuffer.cs
+++ b/src/Sendspin.SDK/Audio/TimedAudioBuffer.cs
@@ -194,7 +194,7 @@ public double SmoothedSyncErrorMicroseconds
     /// </summary>
     /// <param name="format">Audio format for samples.</param>
     /// <param name="clockSync">Clock synchronizer for timestamp conversion.</param>
-    /// <param name="bufferCapacityMs">Maximum buffer capacity in milliseconds. Should be large enough to absorb the server's initial burst (typically 30s).</param>
+    /// <param name="bufferCapacityMs">Maximum buffer capacity in milliseconds. Should be large enough to absorb the server's initial burst. Compact codecs like OPUS can burst 40-60+ seconds; 120s recommended.</param>
     /// <param name="syncOptions">Optional sync correction options. Uses <see cref="SyncCorrectionOptions.Default"/> if not provided.</param>
     /// <param name="logger">Optional logger for diagnostics (uses NullLogger if not provided).</param>
     public TimedAudioBuffer(
@@ -241,14 +241,35 @@ public void Write(ReadOnlySpan<float> samples, long serverTimestamp)
             // Convert server timestamp to local playback time
             var localPlaybackTime = _clockSync.ServerToClientTime(serverTimestamp);
 
-            // Check for overrun - drop oldest if needed
+            // Check for overrun
             if (_count + samples.Length > _buffer.Length)
             {
+                _overrunCount++;
+
+                if (!_playbackStarted)
+                {
+                    // Before playback starts, discard INCOMING audio to preserve the stream's
+                    // starting position. The server's initial burst can far exceed buffer capacity
+                    // (especially for compact codecs like OPUS), and dropping the oldest audio
+                    // would destroy the beginning of the stream — causing the player to start
+                    // from the wrong position (potentially tens of seconds into the song).
+                    if (_overrunCount <= 3 || _overrunCount % 500 == 0)
+                    {
+                        _logger.LogDebug(
+                            "[Buffer] Pre-playback overrun #{Count}: discarding incoming {ChunkMs:F1}ms to preserve stream start (buffer full at {CapacityMs}ms)",
+                            _overrunCount,
+                            samples.Length / (double)_samplesPerMs,
+                            _buffer.Length / (double)_samplesPerMs);
+                    }
+
+                    return; // Discard incoming chunk — do NOT drop oldest
+                }
+
+                // During playback, drop oldest to make room (normal overrun behavior)
                 var toDrop = (_count + samples.Length) - _buffer.Length;
                 DropOldestSamples(toDrop);
-                _overrunCount++;
-                _logger.LogWarning(
-                    "[Buffer] Overrun #{Count}: dropped {DroppedMs:F1}ms of audio to make room (buffer full at {CapacityMs}ms)",
+                _logger.LogDebug(
+                    "[Buffer] Overrun #{Count}: dropped {DroppedMs:F1}ms of oldest audio (buffer full at {CapacityMs}ms)",
                     _overrunCount,
                     toDrop / (double)_samplesPerMs,
                     _buffer.Length / (double)_samplesPerMs);
@@ -315,6 +336,18 @@ public int Read(Span<float> buffer, long currentLocalTime)
                     return 0;
                 }
 
+                // If scheduled time is significantly in the past, skip forward to near-current audio.
+                if (timeUntilStart < -_syncOptions.ScheduledStartGraceWindowMicroseconds)
+                {
+                    SkipStaleAudio(currentLocalTime);
+                }
+
+                _logger.LogInformation(
+                    "[Buffer] Playback starting (Read): timeUntilStart={TimeUntilStart:F1}ms, " +
+                    "buffered={BufferedMs:F0}ms, segments={Segments}, scheduledStart={Scheduled}",
+                    timeUntilStart / 1000.0, _count / (double)_samplesPerMs,
+                    _segments.Count, _scheduledStartLocalTime);
+
                 // Scheduled time arrived - start playback!
                 _playbackStarted = true;
                 _waitingForScheduledStart = false;
@@ -470,6 +503,18 @@ public int ReadRaw(Span<float> buffer, long currentLocalTime)
                     return 0;
                 }
 
+                // Skip stale audio if scheduled time is in the past
+                if (timeUntilStart < -_syncOptions.ScheduledStartGraceWindowMicroseconds)
+                {
+                    SkipStaleAudio(currentLocalTime);
+                }
+
+                _logger.LogInformation(
+                    "[Buffer] Playback starting: timeUntilStart={TimeUntilStart:F1}ms, " +
+                    "buffered={BufferedMs:F0}ms, segments={Segments}, scheduledStart={Scheduled}",
+                    timeUntilStart / 1000.0, _count / (double)_samplesPerMs,
+                    _segments.Count, _scheduledStartLocalTime);
+
                 _playbackStarted = true;
                 _waitingForScheduledStart = false;
                 _playbackStartLocalTime = currentLocalTime - CalibratedStartupLatencyMicroseconds;
@@ -866,6 +911,58 @@ private int PeekSamplesFromBufferAtOffset(Span<float> destination, int count, in
         return peeked;
     }
 
+    /// <summary>
+    /// Skips forward through the buffer to discard stale audio whose playback time has already passed.
+    /// Called when playback starts and the buffer contains audio with timestamps in the past.
+    /// Without this, a large buffer holding a server burst would start playing from audio that's
+    /// 20+ seconds old, causing massive sync offset vs other players (even though sync error reads 0).
+    /// Must be called under lock.
+    /// </summary>
+    /// <param name="currentLocalTime">Current local time in microseconds.</param>
+    /// <returns>Number of samples skipped.</returns>
+    private int SkipStaleAudio(long currentLocalTime)
+    {
+        var totalSkipped = 0;
+
+        // Skip segments whose playback time is in the past, but keep at least
+        // the target buffer depth worth of audio so we have something to play
+        while (_segments.Count > 1 && _count > _samplesPerMs * (int)TargetBufferMilliseconds)
+        {
+            var segment = _segments.Peek();
+
+            // Stop skipping once we reach audio that's near-current or in the future.
+            // Use the grace window as tolerance (default 10ms).
+            if (segment.LocalPlaybackTime >= currentLocalTime - _syncOptions.ScheduledStartGraceWindowMicroseconds)
+                break;
+
+            // This segment is stale — skip it
+            var toSkip = Math.Min(segment.SampleCount, _count);
+            _readPos = (_readPos + toSkip) % _buffer.Length;
+            _count -= toSkip;
+            _droppedSamples += toSkip;
+            totalSkipped += toSkip;
+            ConsumeSegments(toSkip);
+        }
+
+        if (totalSkipped > 0)
+        {
+            var skippedMs = totalSkipped / (double)_samplesPerMs;
+            _logger.LogInformation(
+                "[Buffer] Skipped {SkippedMs:F0}ms of stale audio on playback start (buffer had audio from the past)",
+                skippedMs);
+
+            // Re-anchor scheduled start to the new first segment
+            if (_segments.Count > 0)
+            {
+                var newFirst = _segments.Peek();
+                _scheduledStartLocalTime = newFirst.LocalPlaybackTime;
+                _nextExpectedPlaybackTime = newFirst.LocalPlaybackTime;
+            }
+        }
+
+        return totalSkipped;
+    }
+
     /// <summary>
     /// Drops the oldest samples to make room for new data.
     /// Must be called under lock.
diff --git a/src/Sendspin.SDK/Client/ClientCapabilities.cs b/src/Sendspin.SDK/Client/ClientCapabilities.cs
index 601732d..5f14e58 100644
--- a/src/Sendspin.SDK/Client/ClientCapabilities.cs
+++ b/src/Sendspin.SDK/Client/ClientCapabilities.cs
@@ -42,7 +42,9 @@ public sealed class ClientCapabilities
     };
 
     /// <summary>
-    /// Audio buffer capacity in bytes (32MB like reference implementation).
+    /// Audio buffer capacity in compressed bytes. The server uses this to limit how much
+    /// audio it sends ahead. Should be derived from your PCM buffer duration and the
+    /// highest-bitrate codec you support. Default is 32MB (reference implementation fallback).
     /// </summary>
     public int BufferCapacity { get; set; } = 32_000_000;
 
diff --git a/src/SendspinClient/App.xaml.cs b/src/SendspinClient/App.xaml.cs
index 50e593d..c79f1c6 100644
--- a/src/SendspinClient/App.xaml.cs
+++ b/src/SendspinClient/App.xaml.cs
@@ -210,6 +210,24 @@ private void ConfigureServices(IServiceCollection services)
 
         Log.Information("Player volume: {Volume}%, Muted: {Muted}", playerVolume, playerMuted);
 
+        // Read buffer capacity early — needed for both ClientCapabilities and AudioPipeline
+        const int minBufferCapacityMs = 60000; // 60s minimum — OPUS bursts can exceed 40s
+        var configuredCapacityMs = _configuration!.GetValue<int>("Audio:Buffer:CapacityMs", 120000);
+        var bufferCapacityMs = Math.Max(configuredCapacityMs, minBufferCapacityMs);
+
+        // Derive compressed-byte buffer capacity from our PCM buffer duration.
+        // The server uses this to limit how much audio it sends ahead.
+        // Use worst-case bitrate (PCM uncompressed) so no codec can overflow our buffer.
+        var maxBytesPerSecond = audioFormats
+            .Select(f => f.Codec == "opus" && f.Bitrate > 0
+                ? f.Bitrate * 1000 / 8  // OPUS: use declared bitrate (kbps → bytes/sec)
+                : f.SampleRate * f.Channels * Math.Max(f.BitDepth ?? 16, 16) / 8)  // PCM/FLAC: raw sample rate
+            .Max();
+        var bufferCapacityBytes = (int)((long)bufferCapacityMs * maxBytesPerSecond / 1000);
+        Log.Information(
+            "Buffer: {CapacityMs}ms PCM → {CapacityMB:F1}MB advertised to server (worst-case {MaxKbps}kbps)",
+            bufferCapacityMs, bufferCapacityBytes / 1024.0 / 1024.0, maxBytesPerSecond * 8 / 1000);
+
         services.AddSingleton(new ClientCapabilities
         {
             ClientId = clientId,
@@ -219,7 +237,8 @@ private void ConfigureServices(IServiceCollection services)
             SoftwareVersion = appVersion,
             AudioFormats = audioFormats,
             InitialVolume = playerVolume,
-            InitialMuted = playerMuted
+            InitialMuted = playerMuted,
+            BufferCapacity = bufferCapacityBytes
         });
 
         // Clock synchronization for multi-room audio sync
@@ -284,12 +303,14 @@ private void ConfigureServices(IServiceCollection services)
             var decoderFactory = sp.GetRequiredService<IAudioDecoderFactory>();
             var clockSync = sp.GetRequiredService<IClockSynchronizer>();
 
-            // Read buffer configuration
-            // Capacity must hold the full server burst without overflowing.
-            // We advertise 32MB BufferCapacity (compressed bytes) — for FLAC with ~4:1
-            // compression, that decodes to 30+ seconds of audio. Default 30s matches this.
+            // Buffer capacity (bufferCapacityMs) was computed earlier for ClientCapabilities
             var bufferTargetMs = _configuration!.GetValue<double>("Audio:Buffer:TargetMs", 250);
-            var bufferCapacityMs = _configuration!.GetValue<int>("Audio:Buffer:CapacityMs", 30000);
+            if (configuredCapacityMs < minBufferCapacityMs)
+            {
+                logger.LogWarning(
+                    "Buffer capacity {ConfiguredMs}ms is below minimum {MinMs}ms (stale user config?), using {ActualMs}ms",
+                    configuredCapacityMs, minBufferCapacityMs, bufferCapacityMs);
+            }
 
             // Read clock sync wait configuration
             var waitForConvergence = _configuration!.GetValue<bool>("Audio:ClockSync:WaitForConvergence", true);
diff --git a/src/SendspinClient/appsettings.json b/src/SendspinClient/appsettings.json
index 06acc4b..a314b4c 100644
--- a/src/SendspinClient/appsettings.json
+++ b/src/SendspinClient/appsettings.json
@@ -18,7 +18,7 @@
     "StaticDelayMs": 200,
     "Buffer": {
       "TargetMs": 250,
-      "CapacityMs": 30000
+      "CapacityMs": 120000
     },
     "ClockSync": {
       "ForgetFactor": 1.001,