diff --git a/docs/design/feature/async_chunk_design.md b/docs/design/feature/async_chunk_design.md
index 40b8f215a..5ae5f5967 100644
--- a/docs/design/feature/async_chunk_design.md
+++ b/docs/design/feature/async_chunk_design.md
@@ -19,7 +19,7 @@ The `async_chunk` feature enables asynchronous, chunked processing of data acros
 
 For qwen3-omni:
 - **Thinker → Talker**: Per decode step (typically chunk_size=1)
-- **Talker → Code2Wav**: Accumulated to `codec_chunk_frames` (default=25) before sending. Set `initial_codec_chunk_frames` to emit smaller chunks during the initial phase for reduced TTFA
+- **Talker → Code2Wav**: Accumulated to `codec_chunk_frames` (default=25) before sending. During the initial phase, a dynamic initial chunk size (IC) is automatically selected based on server load to reduce TTFA. Use the per-request `initial_codec_chunk_frames` API field to override.
 - **Code2Wav**: Streaming decode with code2wav chunk_size
 
 With `async_chunk`:
diff --git a/docs/serving/speech_api.md b/docs/serving/speech_api.md
index ca5f7a2ac..2f0695298 100644
--- a/docs/serving/speech_api.md
+++ b/docs/serving/speech_api.md
@@ -96,7 +96,7 @@ Content-Type: application/json
 | `language` | string | "Auto" | Language (see supported languages below) |
 | `instructions` | string | "" | Voice style/emotion instructions |
 | `max_new_tokens` | integer | 2048 | Maximum tokens to generate |
-| `initial_codec_chunk_frames` | integer | null | Initial chunk size for reduced TTFA (overrides stage config) |
+| `initial_codec_chunk_frames` | integer | null | Per-request initial chunk size override for TTFA tuning. When null, IC is computed dynamically based on server load. |
 
 **Supported languages:** Auto, Chinese, English, Japanese, Korean, German, French, Russian, Portuguese, Spanish, Italian
 
diff --git a/docs/user_guide/examples/offline_inference/qwen3_tts.md b/docs/user_guide/examples/offline_inference/qwen3_tts.md
index afadd39f4..352c076ad 100644
--- a/docs/user_guide/examples/offline_inference/qwen3_tts.md
+++ b/docs/user_guide/examples/offline_inference/qwen3_tts.md
@@ -99,7 +99,8 @@ python end2end.py --query-type CustomVoice --streaming --output-dir /tmp/out_str
 ```
 
 Each Code2Wav chunk is logged as it arrives (default 25 frames; configurable via `codec_chunk_frames`
-and `initial_codec_chunk_frames` in the stage config). The final WAV file is written once generation
+in the stage config). The initial chunk size is dynamically selected based on server load for reduced
+TTFA, and can be overridden per-request via the `initial_codec_chunk_frames` API field. The final WAV file is written once generation
 completes. This demonstrates that audio data is available progressively rather than only at the end.
 
 > **Note:** Streaming uses `AsyncOmni` internally. The non-streaming path (`Omni`) is unchanged.
diff --git a/examples/offline_inference/qwen3_tts/README.md b/examples/offline_inference/qwen3_tts/README.md
index c198f2c6e..ce2dd588e 100644
--- a/examples/offline_inference/qwen3_tts/README.md
+++ b/examples/offline_inference/qwen3_tts/README.md
@@ -96,7 +96,8 @@ python end2end.py --query-type CustomVoice --streaming --output-dir /tmp/out_str
 ```
 
 Each Code2Wav chunk is logged as it arrives (default 25 frames; configurable via `codec_chunk_frames`
-and `initial_codec_chunk_frames` in the stage config). The final WAV file is written once generation
+in the stage config). The initial chunk size is dynamically selected based on server load for reduced
+TTFA, and can be overridden per-request via the `initial_codec_chunk_frames` API field. The final WAV file is written once generation
 completes. This demonstrates that audio data is available progressively rather than only at the end.
 
 > **Note:** Streaming uses `AsyncOmni` internally. The non-streaming path (`Omni`) is unchanged.
diff --git a/examples/online_serving/qwen3_tts/README.md b/examples/online_serving/qwen3_tts/README.md
index 5088a4ca6..6984ebd42 100644
--- a/examples/online_serving/qwen3_tts/README.md
+++ b/examples/online_serving/qwen3_tts/README.md
@@ -289,7 +289,7 @@ Returns binary audio data with appropriate `Content-Type` header (e.g., `audio/w
 | `language`       | string | "Auto"        | Language (see supported languages below)                                     |
 | `instructions`   | string | ""            | Voice style/emotion instructions                                             |
 | `max_new_tokens` | int    | 2048          | Maximum tokens to generate                                                   |
-| `initial_codec_chunk_frames` | int | null | Initial chunk size for reduced TTFA (overrides stage config)                 |
+| `initial_codec_chunk_frames` | int | null | Per-request initial chunk size override for TTFA tuning. When null, IC is computed dynamically based on server load. |
 | `stream`         | bool   | false         | Stream raw PCM chunks as they are decoded (requires `response_format="pcm"`) |
 
 **Supported languages:** Auto, Chinese, English, Japanese, Korean, German, French, Russian, Portuguese, Spanish, Italian
diff --git a/tests/model_executor/stage_input_processors/test_qwen3_tts_async_chunk.py b/tests/model_executor/stage_input_processors/test_qwen3_tts_async_chunk.py
index 1b6fe2e4b..8d6d21430 100644
--- a/tests/model_executor/stage_input_processors/test_qwen3_tts_async_chunk.py
+++ b/tests/model_executor/stage_input_processors/test_qwen3_tts_async_chunk.py
@@ -7,16 +7,20 @@ from types import SimpleNamespace
 import pytest
 import torch
 
+from vllm_omni.model_executor.stage_input_processors.chunk_size_utils import (
+    compute_dynamic_initial_chunk_size,
+    max_ic_for_chunk_size,
+)
 from vllm_omni.model_executor.stage_input_processors.qwen3_tts import (
     talker2code2wav,
     talker2code2wav_async_chunk,
 )
 
-_FRAME = [1, 2, 3, 4]  # 4-codebook frame
-_Q = len(_FRAME)  # num quantizers
+_FRAME = [1, 2, 3, 4]
+_Q = len(_FRAME)
 
 
-def _req(rid: str, *, finished: bool, initial_codec_chunk_frames: int | None = None):
+def _req(rid, *, finished, initial_codec_chunk_frames=None):
     ai = None
     if initial_codec_chunk_frames is not None:
         entry = SimpleNamespace(list_data=[initial_codec_chunk_frames])
@@ -28,9 +32,10 @@ def _req(rid: str, *, finished: bool, initial_codec_chunk_frames: int | None = N
     )
 
 
-def _tm(*, chunk_frames=25, left_context=25, initial_chunk=0):
+def _tm(*, chunk_frames=25, left_context=25, max_num_seqs=1):
     return SimpleNamespace(
         code_prompt_token_ids=defaultdict(list),
+        scheduler_max_num_seqs=max_num_seqs,
         put_req_chunk=defaultdict(int),
         request_payload={},
         connector=SimpleNamespace(
@@ -38,16 +43,14 @@ def _tm(*, chunk_frames=25, left_context=25, initial_chunk=0):
                 "extra": {
                     "codec_chunk_frames": chunk_frames,
                     "codec_left_context_frames": left_context,
-                    "initial_codec_chunk_frames": initial_chunk,
                 }
             }
         ),
     )
 
 
-def _call(tm, rid, *, n_frames, put_req=0, finished=False, req_ic=None):
+def _call(tm, rid, *, n_frames, finished=False, req_ic=None):
     tm.code_prompt_token_ids[rid] = [_FRAME[:] for _ in range(n_frames)]
-    tm.put_req_chunk[rid] = put_req
     return talker2code2wav_async_chunk(
         transfer_manager=tm,
         pooling_output={"audio_codes": torch.zeros((0,))},
@@ -56,84 +59,68 @@ def _call(tm, rid, *, n_frames, put_req=0, finished=False, req_ic=None):
     )
 
 
-def test_does_not_emit_empty_chunk_when_not_finished():
+def test_empty_returns_none():
     tm = _tm()
-    request = _req("rid-empty", finished=False)
-
-    payload = talker2code2wav_async_chunk(
+    p = talker2code2wav_async_chunk(
         transfer_manager=tm,
         pooling_output={"audio_codes": torch.zeros((0,))},
-        request=request,
+        request=_req("r", finished=False),
     )
-
-    assert payload is None
+    assert p is None
 
 
-def test_flushes_tail_when_finished_without_pooler_output():
+def test_eof_marker_when_finished_empty():
     tm = _tm()
-    rid = "rid-tail"
-    tm.code_prompt_token_ids[rid] = [_FRAME[:] for _ in range(24)]
-    request = _req(rid, finished=True)
-
-    payload = talker2code2wav_async_chunk(
+    p = talker2code2wav_async_chunk(
         transfer_manager=tm,
         pooling_output=None,
-        request=request,
+        request=_req("r", finished=True),
+        is_finished=True,
     )
-
-    assert payload is not None
-    assert payload["finished"].item() is True
-    assert len(payload["code_predictor_codes"]) == _Q * 24
+    assert p == {"code_predictor_codes": [], "finished": torch.tensor(True, dtype=torch.bool)}
 
 
-def test_emits_eof_marker_when_finished_with_no_frames():
+def test_flush_on_finish():
     tm = _tm()
-    request = _req("rid-eof", finished=True)
-
-    payload = talker2code2wav_async_chunk(
+    tm.code_prompt_token_ids["r"] = [_FRAME[:] for _ in range(24)]
+    p = talker2code2wav_async_chunk(
         transfer_manager=tm,
         pooling_output=None,
-        request=request,
+        request=_req("r", finished=True),
+        is_finished=True,
     )
-
-    assert payload == {
-        "code_predictor_codes": [],
-        "finished": torch.tensor(True, dtype=torch.bool),
-    }
+    assert p is not None
+    assert p["finished"].item() is True
+    assert len(p["code_predictor_codes"]) == _Q * 24
 
 
 _CASES = [
-    # Normal path (initial=0): emit at chunk_size boundaries
-    ((25, 25, 0), (24, 0, False), None),
-    ((25, 25, 0), (25, 0, False), (0, 25)),
-    # Initial-chunk phase: hold, first emit, second emit
-    ((25, 25, 10), (9, 0, False), None),
-    ((25, 25, 10), (10, 0, False), (0, 10)),
-    ((25, 25, 10), (20, 1, False), (10, 20)),
-    # Non-divisible: holds at chunk boundary
-    ((25, 25, 12), (25, 2, False), None),
-    # Normal phase: offset by initial_coverage (chunk//initial * initial)
-    ((25, 25, 10), (45, 2, False), (20, 45)),
-    # Second normal emit (offset must stay stable)
-    ((25, 25, 10), (70, 3, False), (25, 50)),
-    # initial >= chunk clamps to chunk_size (behaves as normal)
-    ((25, 25, 30), (25, 0, False), (0, 25)),
-    # finished=True flushes IC tail
-    ((25, 25, 10), (5, 0, True), (0, 5)),
-    # finished=True flushes non-divisible IC residual
-    ((25, 25, 12), (25, 2, True), (24, 25)),
-    # finished=True flushes normal phase tail
-    ((25, 25, 10), (30, 2, True), (20, 30)),
+    # Dynamic IC=16, cs=25, initial_coverage=16
+    ((25, 25, 0), 24, False, None),  # IC phase: 24%16!=0 -> hold
+    ((25, 25, 0), 25, False, None),  # transition: adjusted=9, hold (no replay)
+    ((25, 25, 0), 41, False, (16, 41)),  # first normal emit, lc=16
+    # Per-request IC=10, cs=25, initial_coverage=20
+    ((25, 25, 10), 9, False, None),  # IC: hold
+    ((25, 25, 10), 10, False, (0, 10)),  # IC: emit at boundary
+    ((25, 25, 10), 25, False, None),  # transition: hold (no replay)
+    ((25, 25, 10), 45, False, (20, 45)),  # first normal emit, lc=20
+    ((25, 25, 10), 5, True, (0, 5)),  # finished flushes IC tail
+    ((25, 25, 10), 33, True, (20, 33)),  # finished flushes normal tail
+    # IC=8, cs=16: IC divides chunk_size evenly (edge case)
+    ((16, 25, 8), 8, False, (0, 8)),  # IC: emit
+    ((16, 25, 8), 16, False, None),  # transition: hold (no replay)
+    ((16, 25, 8), 24, False, (8, 24)),  # first normal emit, lc=8
+    # Per-request override: IC=15 at n_frames=10 -> 10%15!=0 -> hold
+    ((25, 25, 15), 10, False, None),
 ]
 
 
-@pytest.mark.parametrize("config, state, expected", _CASES)
-def test_streaming_decoding_with_variable_initial(config, state, expected):
-    chunk_frames, left_context, initial_chunk = config
-    n_frames, put_req, finished = state
-
-    tm = _tm(chunk_frames=chunk_frames, left_context=left_context, initial_chunk=initial_chunk)
-    payload = _call(tm, "r", n_frames=n_frames, put_req=put_req, finished=finished)
+@pytest.mark.parametrize("config, n_frames, finished, expected", _CASES)
+def test_streaming_phases(config, n_frames, finished, expected):
+    chunk_frames, left_context, req_ic_val = config
+    tm = _tm(chunk_frames=chunk_frames, left_context=left_context)
+    req_ic = req_ic_val if req_ic_val > 0 else None
+    payload = _call(tm, "r", n_frames=n_frames, finished=finished, req_ic=req_ic)
 
     if expected is None:
         assert payload is None
@@ -144,22 +131,86 @@ def test_streaming_decoding_with_variable_initial(config, state, expected):
         assert len(payload["code_predictor_codes"]) == _Q * exp_window
 
 
-def test_per_request_override_activates_initial_phase():
-    tm = _tm(initial_chunk=0)
-    payload = _call(tm, "r-override", n_frames=10, req_ic=10)
-    assert payload is not None
-    assert payload["left_context_size"] == 0
-    assert len(payload["code_predictor_codes"]) == _Q * 10
+def test_dynamic_ic_adapts_to_load():
+    # chunk_size=25 -> max_ic=16, steps=[2,4,8,16]
+    tm = _tm(max_num_seqs=8)
+
+    # Low load (1/8) -> IC=2 -> emit at 2
+    p1 = _call(tm, "r", n_frames=2)
+    assert p1 is not None
+    assert len(p1["code_predictor_codes"]) == _Q * 2
+
+    # High load: add 4 others -> active=5/8 -> IC=8 -> emit at 8
+    for i in range(4):
+        tm.code_prompt_token_ids[f"other-{i}"] = [[0]]
+    p2 = _call(tm, "r", n_frames=8)
+    assert p2 is not None
+    assert len(p2["code_predictor_codes"]) == _Q * 8
+
+    # Requests past initial phase still count in load factor
+    tm2 = _tm(max_num_seqs=4)
+    for i in range(3):
+        tm2.code_prompt_token_ids[f"long-{i}"] = [[0]] * 50  # well past cs=25
+    # active=4/4=1.0 -> IC=16
+    p3 = _call(tm2, "new", n_frames=16)
+    assert p3 is not None
+    assert len(p3["code_predictor_codes"]) == _Q * 16
 
 
-def test_per_request_override_wins_over_stage_config():
-    tm = _tm(initial_chunk=5)
-    payload = _call(tm, "r-override2", n_frames=10, put_req=0, req_ic=15)
-    assert payload is None
+def test_ic_load_change_mid_request():
+    """IC stateless: load spike mid-request shifts initial_coverage."""
+    tm = _tm(chunk_frames=25, left_context=25, max_num_seqs=8)
+
+    # Low load -> IC=2 -> emit at frame 2
+    p1 = _call(tm, "r", n_frames=2)
+    assert p1 is not None
+
+    # Spike load: 6 others -> IC=16 -> initial_coverage=16
+    for i in range(6):
+        tm.code_prompt_token_ids[f"other-{i}"] = [[0]] * 10
+
+    # adjusted=25-16=9, 9%25!=0 -> hold
+    assert _call(tm, "r", n_frames=25) is None
+
+    # First normal emit at 16+25=41
+    p3 = _call(tm, "r", n_frames=41)
+    assert p3 is not None
+    assert p3["left_context_size"] == 16
+
+
+@pytest.mark.parametrize(
+    "active,max_bs,max_ic,expected",
+    [
+        (0, 4, 32, 2),  # zero load -> min step
+        (2, 4, 32, 8),  # mid load
+        (4, 4, 32, 32),  # full load
+        (10, 4, 16, 16),  # over capacity, capped
+        (0, 4, 1, 1),  # max_ic below min step
+        (0, 0, 16, 2),  # zero capacity edge case
+    ],
+)
+def test_compute_dynamic_initial_chunk_size(active, max_bs, max_ic, expected):
+    assert compute_dynamic_initial_chunk_size(active, max_bs, max_ic) == expected
+
+
+@pytest.mark.parametrize(
+    "chunk_size,expected",
+    [
+        (25, 16),
+        (50, 32),
+        (70, 64),
+        (8, 4),
+        (4, 2),
+        (2, 1),
+        (1, 1),
+    ],
+)
+def test_max_ic_for_chunk_size(chunk_size, expected):
+    assert max_ic_for_chunk_size(chunk_size) == expected
 
 
 def test_first_streaming_chunk_prepends_ref_code_context():
-    tm = _tm(initial_chunk=10)
+    tm = _tm()
     rid = "r-ref"
     tm.code_prompt_token_ids[rid] = [_FRAME[:] for _ in range(10)]
     ref_code = torch.tensor([[9, 9, 9, 9], [8, 8, 8, 8]], dtype=torch.long)
@@ -177,7 +228,7 @@ def test_first_streaming_chunk_prepends_ref_code_context():
 
 
 def test_ref_code_context_only_applies_to_first_streaming_chunk():
-    tm = _tm(initial_chunk=10)
+    tm = _tm()
     rid = "r-ref2"
     tm.code_prompt_token_ids[rid] = [_FRAME[:] for _ in range(20)]
     tm.put_req_chunk[rid] = 1
@@ -196,7 +247,7 @@ def test_ref_code_context_only_applies_to_first_streaming_chunk():
 
 
 def test_ref_code_context_can_be_buffered_before_first_emit():
-    tm = _tm(initial_chunk=10)
+    tm = _tm()
     rid = "r-ref-buffered"
     ref_code = torch.tensor([[9, 9, 9, 9], [8, 8, 8, 8]], dtype=torch.long)
 
diff --git a/vllm_omni/distributed/omni_connectors/transfer_adapter/chunk_transfer_adapter.py b/vllm_omni/distributed/omni_connectors/transfer_adapter/chunk_transfer_adapter.py
index db8d5dbaa..d96ef74db 100644
--- a/vllm_omni/distributed/omni_connectors/transfer_adapter/chunk_transfer_adapter.py
+++ b/vllm_omni/distributed/omni_connectors/transfer_adapter/chunk_transfer_adapter.py
@@ -236,6 +236,9 @@ class OmniChunkTransferAdapter(OmniTransferAdapterBase):
             self.put_req_chunk[request_id] += 1
             logger.debug(f"[Stage-{stage_id}] Sent {connector_put_key}")
 
+        if is_finished:
+            self.code_prompt_token_ids.pop(request_id, None)
+
     ########################################################################
     # Cleanup
     ########################################################################
diff --git a/vllm_omni/entrypoints/openai/protocol/audio.py b/vllm_omni/entrypoints/openai/protocol/audio.py
index 1efab8ebe..871787173 100644
--- a/vllm_omni/entrypoints/openai/protocol/audio.py
+++ b/vllm_omni/entrypoints/openai/protocol/audio.py
@@ -58,7 +58,7 @@ class OpenAICreateSpeechRequest(BaseModel):
     initial_codec_chunk_frames: int | None = Field(
         default=None,
         ge=0,
-        description="Initial chunk size for reduced TTFA. Overrides stage config for this request.",
+        description="Per-request initial chunk size override. If null, computed dynamically based on server load.",
     )
 
     @field_validator("stream_format")
diff --git a/vllm_omni/model_executor/models/qwen3_tts/cuda_graph_decoder_wrapper.py b/vllm_omni/model_executor/models/qwen3_tts/cuda_graph_decoder_wrapper.py
index de278edf7..5ff259193 100644
--- a/vllm_omni/model_executor/models/qwen3_tts/cuda_graph_decoder_wrapper.py
+++ b/vllm_omni/model_executor/models/qwen3_tts/cuda_graph_decoder_wrapper.py
@@ -29,7 +29,7 @@ class CUDAGraphDecoderWrapper:
         output = wrapper.decode(codes)  # Automatically uses CUDA graph if possible
     """
 
-    DEFAULT_CAPTURE_SIZES = [25, 50, 100, 150, 200, 250, 300]
+    DEFAULT_CAPTURE_SIZES = [2, 4, 8, 16, 25, 32, 50, 100, 150, 200, 250, 300]
 
     def __init__(
         self,
diff --git a/vllm_omni/model_executor/stage_configs/qwen3_tts.yaml b/vllm_omni/model_executor/stage_configs/qwen3_tts.yaml
index 19502add8..095aafe08 100644
--- a/vllm_omni/model_executor/stage_configs/qwen3_tts.yaml
+++ b/vllm_omni/model_executor/stage_configs/qwen3_tts.yaml
@@ -96,10 +96,6 @@ runtime:
         # Align with Omni: small chunks with sufficient context overlap.
         codec_chunk_frames: 25
         codec_left_context_frames: 25
-        # First chunk size for reduced TTFA (0 = disabled).
-        # When > 0, emits small chunks every N frames during the initial phase,
-        # then switches to codec_chunk_frames cadence.
-        initial_codec_chunk_frames: 0
 
   edges:
     - from: 0
diff --git a/vllm_omni/model_executor/stage_configs/qwen3_tts_batch.yaml b/vllm_omni/model_executor/stage_configs/qwen3_tts_batch.yaml
index 43df70fc2..d73739109 100644
--- a/vllm_omni/model_executor/stage_configs/qwen3_tts_batch.yaml
+++ b/vllm_omni/model_executor/stage_configs/qwen3_tts_batch.yaml
@@ -98,10 +98,6 @@ runtime:
         # Align with Omni: small chunks with sufficient context overlap.
         codec_chunk_frames: 25
         codec_left_context_frames: 25
-        # First chunk size for reduced TTFA (0 = disabled).
-        # When > 0, emits small chunks every N frames during the initial phase,
-        # then switches to codec_chunk_frames cadence.
-        initial_codec_chunk_frames: 0
 
   edges:
     - from: 0
diff --git a/vllm_omni/model_executor/stage_input_processors/chunk_size_utils.py b/vllm_omni/model_executor/stage_input_processors/chunk_size_utils.py
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..7bdec0bb3
--- /dev/null
+++ b/vllm_omni/model_executor/stage_input_processors/chunk_size_utils.py
@@ -0,0 +1,33 @@
+# SPDX-License-Identifier: Apache-2.0
+# SPDX-FileCopyrightText: Copyright contributors to the vLLM project
+
+
+def max_ic_for_chunk_size(chunk_size: int) -> int:
+    """Largest power of 2 strictly less than chunk_size."""
+    if chunk_size <= 2:
+        return 1
+    return 1 << ((chunk_size - 1).bit_length() - 1)
+
+
+def compute_dynamic_initial_chunk_size(
+    active_requests: int,
+    max_batch_size: int,
+    max_ic: int,
+) -> int:
+    """Select IC from power-of-2 steps [2, 4, ..., max_ic] based on load factor.
+
+    - Low load: small IC (faster TTFA).
+    - High load: large IC (amortise decode cost).
+    """
+    steps: list[int] = []
+    v = 2
+    while v <= max_ic:
+        steps.append(v)
+        v <<= 1
+    if not steps:
+        return max(1, max_ic)
+    if max_batch_size <= 0:
+        return steps[0]
+    load_factor = min(active_requests / max_batch_size, 1.0)
+    idx = int(round(load_factor * (len(steps) - 1)))
+    return steps[idx]
diff --git a/vllm_omni/model_executor/stage_input_processors/qwen3_tts.py b/vllm_omni/model_executor/stage_input_processors/qwen3_tts.py
index eb9753262..435e45f03 100644
--- a/vllm_omni/model_executor/stage_input_processors/qwen3_tts.py
+++ b/vllm_omni/model_executor/stage_input_processors/qwen3_tts.py
@@ -5,6 +5,11 @@ from typing import Any
 import torch
 from vllm.logger import init_logger
 
+from vllm_omni.model_executor.stage_input_processors.chunk_size_utils import (
+    compute_dynamic_initial_chunk_size,
+    max_ic_for_chunk_size,
+)
+
 logger = init_logger(__name__)
 
 
@@ -14,7 +19,7 @@ def talker2code2wav(
     prompt: Any = None,
     requires_multimodal_data: bool = False,
 ) -> list[Any]:
-    """Non-async processor: wait for talker to finish, then pass all codes to code2wav at once."""
+    """Non-async: collect all talker codes, then pass to code2wav at once."""
     from vllm_omni.inputs.data import OmniTokensPrompt
     from vllm_omni.model_executor.stage_input_processors.qwen3_omni import _validate_stage_inputs
 
@@ -94,9 +99,12 @@ def talker2code2wav_async_chunk(
     cfg = raw_cfg.get("extra", raw_cfg) if isinstance(raw_cfg, dict) else {}
     chunk_size = int(cfg.get("codec_chunk_frames", 25))
     left_context_size_config = int(cfg.get("codec_left_context_frames", 25))
-    initial_chunk_size = int(cfg.get("initial_codec_chunk_frames", 0))
-    # Per-request override (takes priority over stage config)
+
+    # Per-request override takes priority over dynamic IC.
+    per_request_override = False
+    initial_chunk_size = 0
     additional_information = getattr(request, "additional_information", None)
+
     if (
         additional_information is not None
         and hasattr(additional_information, "entries")
@@ -105,12 +113,32 @@ def talker2code2wav_async_chunk(
         entry = additional_information.entries["initial_codec_chunk_frames"]
         if entry.list_data is not None and len(entry.list_data) == 1:
             initial_chunk_size = int(entry.list_data[0])
+            per_request_override = True
+
+    # Dynamic IC: always derived from chunk_size, recomputed every call to adapt to load.
+    if not per_request_override:
+        max_ic = max_ic_for_chunk_size(chunk_size)
+        active = sum(1 for v in transfer_manager.code_prompt_token_ids.values() if len(v) > 0)
+        capacity = getattr(transfer_manager, "scheduler_max_num_seqs", 1)
+        initial_chunk_size = compute_dynamic_initial_chunk_size(active, capacity, max_ic)
+        logger.debug(
+            "Dynamic IC: active=%d, capacity=%d, max_ic=%d, ic=%d, cs=%d, req=%s, keys=%d",
+            active,
+            capacity,
+            max_ic,
+            initial_chunk_size,
+            chunk_size,
+            request_id,
+            len(transfer_manager.code_prompt_token_ids),
+        )
+
     if chunk_size <= 0 or left_context_size_config < 0 or initial_chunk_size < 0:
         raise ValueError(
             f"Invalid codec chunk config: codec_chunk_frames={chunk_size}, "
             f"codec_left_context_frames={left_context_size_config}, "
             f"initial_codec_chunk_frames={initial_chunk_size}"
         )
+
     if initial_chunk_size > chunk_size:
         logger.warning(
             "initial_codec_chunk_frames=%d > codec_chunk_frames=%d, clamping to codec_chunk_frames.",
@@ -120,8 +148,6 @@ def talker2code2wav_async_chunk(
         initial_chunk_size = chunk_size
     length = len(transfer_manager.code_prompt_token_ids[request_id])
 
-    # Avoid emitting empty chunks during normal streaming. If the request is
-    # finished and nothing was produced, emit an EOF marker.
     if length <= 0:
         if finished:
             return {
@@ -130,34 +156,32 @@ def talker2code2wav_async_chunk(
             }
         return None
 
-    in_initial_phase = initial_chunk_size > 0 and length <= chunk_size
+    in_initial_phase = initial_chunk_size > 0 and initial_chunk_size < chunk_size and length < chunk_size
 
     if in_initial_phase:
-        # Initial-chunk phase: emit every initial_chunk_size frames with full accumulated context.
-        already_sent = transfer_manager.put_req_chunk[request_id] * initial_chunk_size
-        pending = length - already_sent
-        if pending <= 0:
+        # IC phase: emit every initial_chunk_size frames with growing left context.
+        if not finished and length % initial_chunk_size != 0:
             return None
-        if pending < initial_chunk_size and not finished:
-            return None
-        context_length = min(pending, initial_chunk_size)
-        end_index = length
-        left_context_size = max(0, length - context_length)
-        window_frames = transfer_manager.code_prompt_token_ids[request_id][:length]
+        context_length = (
+            length % initial_chunk_size if (finished and length % initial_chunk_size != 0) else initial_chunk_size
+        )
     else:
-        # Normal phase: standard chunk_size cadence with left_context sliding window.
-        # Offset by initial_coverage so normal starts from where the initial-chunk phase left off.
-        initial_coverage = (chunk_size // initial_chunk_size) * initial_chunk_size if initial_chunk_size > 0 else 0
+        # Normal phase: offset so the first normal emit picks up after IC phase.
+        # IC is stateless (may change with load); any mismatch is absorbed by left_context.
+        initial_coverage = (
+            ((chunk_size - 1) // initial_chunk_size) * initial_chunk_size if 0 < initial_chunk_size < chunk_size else 0
+        )
         adjusted = length - initial_coverage
-        chunk_length = adjusted % chunk_size
-        if chunk_length != 0 and not finished:
+        if not finished and adjusted % chunk_size != 0:
             return None
+        chunk_length = adjusted % chunk_size
         context_length = chunk_length if chunk_length != 0 else chunk_size
-        end_index = min(length, left_context_size_config + context_length)
-        left_context_size = max(0, int(end_index - context_length))
-        window_frames = transfer_manager.code_prompt_token_ids[request_id][-end_index:]
 
-    # Match offline Base ICL decoding by prepending ref_code only once to the first decoder window.
+    end_index = min(length, left_context_size_config + context_length)
+    left_context_size = max(0, end_index - context_length)
+    window_frames = transfer_manager.code_prompt_token_ids[request_id][-end_index:]
+
+    # Prepend ref_code to the first decoder window only.
     if transfer_manager.put_req_chunk[request_id] == 0:
         ref_code = request_payload.pop(request_id, None)
         if isinstance(ref_code, torch.Tensor) and ref_code.numel() > 0:
@@ -165,7 +189,6 @@ def talker2code2wav_async_chunk(
             window_frames = ref_frames + window_frames
             left_context_size += len(ref_frames)
 
-    # Pack context + chunk into codebook-major flat codes for adapter.
     code_predictor_codes = torch.tensor(window_frames).transpose(0, 1).reshape(-1).tolist()
 
     return {
diff --git a/vllm_omni/platforms/npu/stage_configs/qwen3_tts.yaml b/vllm_omni/platforms/npu/stage_configs/qwen3_tts.yaml
index 5ad0cc90e..60659a976 100644
--- a/vllm_omni/platforms/npu/stage_configs/qwen3_tts.yaml
+++ b/vllm_omni/platforms/npu/stage_configs/qwen3_tts.yaml
@@ -96,10 +96,6 @@ runtime:
         # Align with Omni: small chunks with sufficient context overlap.
         codec_chunk_frames: 25
         codec_left_context_frames: 25
-        # First chunk size for reduced TTFA (0 = disabled).
-        # When > 0, emits small chunks every N frames during the initial phase,
-        # then switches to codec_chunk_frames cadence.
-        initial_codec_chunk_frames: 0
 
   edges:
     - from: 0