diff --git a/src/app/api/tts/route.ts b/src/app/api/tts/route.ts
index 6bc87f9..db122d9 100644
--- a/src/app/api/tts/route.ts
+++ b/src/app/api/tts/route.ts
@@ -1,36 +1,60 @@
 import { NextRequest, NextResponse } from "next/server";
 
+// Chunk text into smaller pieces for faster TTS
+function chunkText(text: string, maxChars: number = 2000): string[] {
+  const chunks: string[] = [];
+  const sentences = text.split(/(?<=[.!?])\s+/);
+  let currentChunk = "";
+
+  for (const sentence of sentences) {
+    if (currentChunk.length + sentence.length > maxChars && currentChunk) {
+      chunks.push(currentChunk.trim());
+      currentChunk = sentence;
+    } else {
+      currentChunk += (currentChunk ? " " : "") + sentence;
+    }
+  }
+
+  if (currentChunk.trim()) {
+    chunks.push(currentChunk.trim());
+  }
+
+  return chunks.length > 0 ? chunks : [text];
+}
+
 // POST /api/tts - Proxy TTS requests to avoid CORS issues
 export async function POST(request: NextRequest) {
   try {
     const body = await request.json();
-    const { engine, url, text, voice, speed } = body;
+    const { engine, text, voice, speed } = body;
 
     if (!text) {
       return NextResponse.json({ error: "Text is required" }, { status: 400 });
     }
 
+    // Only process first chunk for faster response
+    const chunks = chunkText(text, 3000);
+    const firstChunk = chunks[0];
+
     let ttsUrl: string;
     let ttsBody: Record<string, unknown>;
 
     if (engine === "edge") {
-      // Use Docker container name for internal networking, fallback to provided URL
-      const edgeHost = process.env.EDGE_TTS_URL || url || "http://edge-tts:5050";
+      const edgeHost = process.env.EDGE_TTS_URL || "http://edge-tts:5050";
       ttsUrl = `${edgeHost}/v1/audio/speech`;
       ttsBody = {
         model: "tts-1",
-        input: text,
+        input: firstChunk,
         voice: voice || "en-US-AvaNeural",
         response_format: "mp3",
         speed: speed || 1.0,
       };
     } else if (engine === "kokoro") {
-      // Use Docker container name for internal networking, fallback to provided URL
-      const kokoroHost = process.env.KOKORO_TTS_URL || url || "http://kokoro-tts:8880";
+      const kokoroHost = process.env.KOKORO_TTS_URL || "http://kokoro-tts:8880";
       ttsUrl = `${kokoroHost}/v1/audio/speech`;
       ttsBody = {
         model: "kokoro",
-        input: text,
+        input: firstChunk,
         voice: voice || "af_bella",
         response_format: "mp3",
         speed: speed || 1.0,
@@ -56,12 +80,19 @@ export async function POST(request: NextRequest) {
       );
     }
 
-    const audioBuffer = await response.arrayBuffer();
+    // Stream the response
+    if (response.body) {
+      return new NextResponse(response.body, {
+        headers: {
+          "Content-Type": "audio/mpeg",
+        },
+      });
+    }
 
+    const audioBuffer = await response.arrayBuffer();
     return new NextResponse(audioBuffer, {
       headers: {
         "Content-Type": "audio/mpeg",
-        "Content-Length": audioBuffer.byteLength.toString(),
       },
     });
   } catch (error) {