diff --git a/src-tauri/src/audio_toolkit/vad/smoothed.rs b/src-tauri/src/audio_toolkit/vad/smoothed.rs
index cd3c608..50ef19a 100644
--- a/src-tauri/src/audio_toolkit/vad/smoothed.rs
+++ b/src-tauri/src/audio_toolkit/vad/smoothed.rs
@@ -6,9 +6,11 @@ pub struct SmoothedVad {
     inner_vad: Box<dyn VoiceActivityDetector>,
     prefill_frames: usize,
     hangover_frames: usize,
+    onset_frames: usize,
 
     frame_buffer: VecDeque<Vec<f32>>,
     hangover_counter: usize,
+    onset_counter: usize,
     in_speech: bool,
 
     temp_out: Vec<f32>,
@@ -19,13 +21,16 @@ impl SmoothedVad {
         inner_vad: Box<dyn VoiceActivityDetector>,
         prefill_frames: usize,
         hangover_frames: usize,
+        onset_frames: usize,
     ) -> Self {
         Self {
             inner_vad,
             prefill_frames,
             hangover_frames,
+            onset_frames,
             frame_buffer: VecDeque::new(),
             hangover_counter: 0,
+            onset_counter: 0,
             in_speech: false,
             temp_out: Vec::new(),
         }
@@ -42,19 +47,28 @@ impl VoiceActivityDetector for SmoothedVad {
 
         // 2. Delegate to the wrapped boolean VAD
         let is_voice = self.inner_vad.is_voice(frame)?;
+        // println!("Is Voice: {}", is_voice);
 
         match (self.in_speech, is_voice) {
-            // Start of Speech
+            // Potential start of speech - need to accumulate onset frames
             (false, true) => {
-                self.in_speech = true;
-                self.hangover_counter = self.hangover_frames;
+                self.onset_counter += 1;
+                if self.onset_counter >= self.onset_frames {
+                    // We have enough consecutive voice frames to trigger speech
+                    self.in_speech = true;
+                    self.hangover_counter = self.hangover_frames;
+                    self.onset_counter = 0; // Reset for next time
 
-                // Collect prefill + current frame
-                self.temp_out.clear();
-                for buf in &self.frame_buffer {
-                    self.temp_out.extend(buf);
+                    // Collect prefill + current frame
+                    self.temp_out.clear();
+                    for buf in &self.frame_buffer {
+                        self.temp_out.extend(buf);
+                    }
+                    Ok(VadFrame::Speech(&self.temp_out))
+                } else {
+                    // Not enough frames yet, still silence
+                    Ok(VadFrame::Noise)
                 }
-                Ok(VadFrame::Speech(&self.temp_out))
             }
 
             // Ongoing Speech
@@ -63,7 +77,7 @@ impl VoiceActivityDetector for SmoothedVad {
                 Ok(VadFrame::Speech(frame))
             }
 
-            // End of Speech
+            // End of Speech or interruption during onset phase
             (true, false) => {
                 if self.hangover_counter > 0 {
                     self.hangover_counter -= 1;
@@ -74,14 +88,18 @@ impl VoiceActivityDetector for SmoothedVad {
                 }
             }
 
-            // Silence
-            (false, false) => Ok(VadFrame::Noise),
+            // Silence or broken onset sequence
+            (false, false) => {
+                self.onset_counter = 0; // Reset onset counter on silence
+                Ok(VadFrame::Noise)
+            }
         }
     }
 
     fn reset(&mut self) {
         self.frame_buffer.clear();
         self.hangover_counter = 0;
+        self.onset_counter = 0;
         self.in_speech = false;
         self.temp_out.clear();
     }
diff --git a/src-tauri/src/managers/audio.rs b/src-tauri/src/managers/audio.rs
index 3b12ae4..e5c8994 100644
--- a/src-tauri/src/managers/audio.rs
+++ b/src-tauri/src/managers/audio.rs
@@ -24,9 +24,9 @@ pub enum MicrophoneMode {
 /* ──────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────── */
 
 fn create_audio_recorder(vad_path: &str) -> Result<AudioRecorder, anyhow::Error> {
-    let silero = SileroVad::new(vad_path, 0.5)
+    let silero = SileroVad::new(vad_path, 0.3)
         .map_err(|e| anyhow::anyhow!("Failed to create SileroVad: {}", e))?;
-    let smoothed_vad = SmoothedVad::new(Box::new(silero), 15, 15);
+    let smoothed_vad = SmoothedVad::new(Box::new(silero), 15, 15, 2);
     let recorder = AudioRecorder::new()
         .map_err(|e| anyhow::anyhow!("Failed to create AudioRecorder: {}", e))?
         .with_vad(Box::new(smoothed_vad));
@@ -246,7 +246,8 @@ impl AudioRecordingManager {
 
                 // Pad if very short
                 let s_len = samples.len();
-                if s_len < WHISPER_SAMPLE_RATE && s_len > 1000 {
+                // println!("Got {} samples", { s_len });
+                if s_len < WHISPER_SAMPLE_RATE && s_len > 0 {
                     let mut padded = samples;
                     padded.resize(WHISPER_SAMPLE_RATE * 5 / 4, 0.0);
                     Some(padded)