diff --git a/station_broadcast.lua b/station_broadcast.lua
index 77525aa..721ff4c 100644
--- a/station_broadcast.lua
+++ b/station_broadcast.lua
@@ -1447,19 +1447,19 @@ end
 local function playHqAudioItem(item)
     if not Peripherals.speakers or #Peripherals.speakers == 0 then
         Utils.log("WARN", "No speakers found; cannot play audio")
-        return
+        return false
     end
 
     local playSeq = State.interruptSeq
     local payload = item.audioData
-    if type(payload) ~= "string" or #payload == 0 then return end
+    if type(payload) ~= "string" or #payload == 0 then return false end
 
     local format = tostring(item.audioFormat or "file"):lower()
     if format == "stream" then
         local bytes, ext, err = downloadAudioBytes(payload)
         if not bytes then
             Utils.log("ERROR", "Failed to download stream audio: " .. tostring(err))
-            return
+            return false
         end
         Utils.log("INFO", "Downloaded stream audio: " .. tostring(#bytes) .. " bytes")
         payload = bytes
@@ -1467,6 +1467,8 @@ local function playHqAudioItem(item)
         elseif ext == "mp3" then format = "mp3"
         elseif ext == "ogg" then format = "ogg"
         else format = "file" end
+        item.audioData = payload
+        item.audioFormat = format
     end
 
     local controller = Peripherals.speakers[1]
@@ -1525,19 +1527,20 @@ local function playHqAudioItem(item)
 
     if not called then
         Utils.log("ERROR", "HQ speaker did not accept audio for format " .. format)
-        return
+        return false
     end
 
     while areHqSpeakersBusy(Peripherals.speakers) do
         if shouldStop(playSeq) then
             Audio.stop("current")
-            return
+            return true
         end
         if not waitForInterruptibleDelay(playSeq, 0.1) then
             Audio.stop("current")
-            return
+            return true
         end
     end
+    return true
 end
 
 local function pushWavChunkToSpeakers(payload, playSeq)
@@ -1781,7 +1784,20 @@ end
 function Audio.playItem(item)
     local format = tostring(item.audioFormat or "dfpwm"):lower()
     if format == "wav" or format == "file" or format == "stream" or format == "hls" then
-        return playHqAudioItem(item)
+        local success = playHqAudioItem(item)
+        if success == false then
+            format = tostring(item.audioFormat or "file"):lower()
+            Utils.log("WARN", "HQ speaker playback failed, falling back to default decoding for format: " .. format)
+            if format == "wav" or format == "file" then
+                return Audio.playWavStreamItem(item)
+            elseif format == "dfpwm" then
+                return Audio.playDfpwmItem(item)
+            else
+                Utils.log("ERROR", "Cannot fallback for format: " .. format)
+                return false
+            end
+        end
+        return success
     elseif format == "pcm" then
         return Audio.playPcmItem(item)
     elseif format == "wav-stream" then