diff --git a/services/discord-gateway/src/modules/command-handler/commandHandler.ts b/services/discord-gateway/src/modules/command-handler/commandHandler.ts
index a1af7b0..bd64330 100644
--- a/services/discord-gateway/src/modules/command-handler/commandHandler.ts
+++ b/services/discord-gateway/src/modules/command-handler/commandHandler.ts
@@ -53,11 +53,13 @@ const MEDIA_STATUS_KEY = "media:status";
 
 export class CommandHandler {
   private redisSub: Redis;
+  private redisPub: Redis;
   private client: Client | null = null;
   private voiceController: VoiceController | null = null;
 
   constructor() {
     this.redisSub = new Redis(config.REDIS_URL);
+    this.redisPub = new Redis(config.REDIS_URL);
 
     this.redisSub.on("error", (err) => {
       logger.error({ error: err }, "Redis subscriber connection error");
@@ -99,7 +101,7 @@ export class CommandHandler {
   }
 
   async close(): Promise<void> {
-    await this.redisSub.quit();
+    await Promise.allSettled([this.redisSub.quit(), this.redisPub.quit()]);
   }
 
   // ---- Command dispatch ----
@@ -395,19 +397,14 @@ export class CommandHandler {
   }
 
   /**
-   * Fire-and-forget SET on a separate Redis connection so we never block the
-   * subscriber loop.
+   * Fire-and-forget SET using the persistent Redis publisher connection.
    */
   private setKey(key: string, value: string): void {
-    const redis = new Redis(config.REDIS_URL);
-    redis
+    this.redisPub
       .set(key, value)
       .catch((err: unknown) => {
         const msg = err instanceof Error ? err.message : String(err);
         logger.warn({ key, error: msg }, "Failed to update Redis status key");
-      })
-      .finally(() => {
-        void redis.quit();
       });
   }
 }
diff --git a/services/discord-gateway/src/modules/voice-recording/recorder.ts b/services/discord-gateway/src/modules/voice-recording/recorder.ts
index 687edf8..8436c50 100644
--- a/services/discord-gateway/src/modules/voice-recording/recorder.ts
+++ b/services/discord-gateway/src/modules/voice-recording/recorder.ts
@@ -15,7 +15,6 @@ import type { Client, VoiceChannel } from "discord.js-selfbot-v13";
 import { config } from "../../shared/config/config.js";
 import type { PcmBroadcaster } from "../message-capture/types.js";
 import { PacketFilter } from "./packetFilter.js";
-import { subscribeToAudioStream } from "./recorder/audioStream.js";
 import { OpusDecoder } from "./recorder/decoder.js";
 import {
   collectUserMetadata,
@@ -92,9 +91,9 @@ export async function startRecording(
           config.VOICE_CONNECTION_TIMEOUT_MS,
         ),
       {
-        retries: 0,
-        minTimeout: 0,
-        maxTimeout: 0,
+        retries: 3,
+        minTimeout: 1000,
+        maxTimeout: 5000,
       },
     );
     logger.info("Connected to voice channel. Recording started");
@@ -237,29 +236,29 @@ export async function startRecording(
         logger.error({ userId, error: msg }, "File write error");
       });
 
-      // Feed Opus packets one-by-one
-      subscribeToAudioStream(receiver, userId, {
-        onPacket: (chunk) => {
-          if (chunk.length < 8) return;
-          segmentManager.rotateIfNeeded(oggPacketStream);
-          if (!broadcaster.broadcastPcmToWeb) return;
-          decoder.rotateIfNeeded();
-          decoder.write(chunk);
-        },
-        onEnd: () => {
-          segmentManager.close(oggPacketStream);
-          decoder.destroy();
-          broadcaster.updateActiveUser?.(userId, {
-            username: userMetadata.username,
-            avatar: userMetadata.avatarUrl,
-            speaking: false,
-          });
-        },
-        onError: (error) => {
-          segmentManager.close(oggPacketStream);
-          decoder.destroy();
-          logger.error({ userId, error: error.message }, "Audio stream error");
-        },
+      // Attach event handlers directly to the existing audioStream (no double subscription)
+      audioStream.on("data", (chunk: Buffer) => {
+        if (chunk.length < 8) return;
+        segmentManager.rotateIfNeeded(oggPacketStream);
+        if (!broadcaster.broadcastPcmToWeb) return;
+        decoder.rotateIfNeeded();
+        decoder.write(chunk);
+      });
+
+      audioStream.on("end", () => {
+        segmentManager.close(oggPacketStream);
+        decoder.destroy();
+        broadcaster.updateActiveUser?.(userId, {
+          username: userMetadata.username,
+          avatar: userMetadata.avatarUrl,
+          speaking: false,
+        });
+      });
+
+      audioStream.on("error", (error: Error) => {
+        segmentManager.close(oggPacketStream);
+        decoder.destroy();
+        logger.error({ userId, error: error.message }, "Audio stream error");
       });
 
       packetFilterForOgg.on("error", (err) => {
diff --git a/services/discord-gateway/src/shared/config/config.ts b/services/discord-gateway/src/shared/config/config.ts
index 029667b..6527b8c 100644
--- a/services/discord-gateway/src/shared/config/config.ts
+++ b/services/discord-gateway/src/shared/config/config.ts
@@ -21,7 +21,7 @@ const configSchema = z
     RECORDINGS_DIR: z.string().default("./recordings"),
     RECORDING_SEGMENT_MS: z.coerce.number().positive().default(5000),
     DECODER_ROTATE_MS: z.coerce.number().positive().default(5000),
-    DECODER_COOLDOWN_MS: z.coerce.number().positive().default(0),
+    DECODER_COOLDOWN_MS: z.coerce.number().positive().default(30000),
     WEBSERVER_PORT: z.coerce.number().positive().default(3000),
     VOICE_CONNECTION_TIMEOUT_MS: z.coerce.number().positive().default(15000),
     RECONNECT_TIMEOUT_MS: z.coerce.number().positive().default(5000),