diff --git a/cmd/speak.go b/cmd/speak.go
index e043407..9b17e85 100644
--- a/cmd/speak.go
+++ b/cmd/speak.go
@@ -35,6 +35,7 @@ type speakOptions struct {
 	normalize   string
 	lang        string
 	metrics     bool
+	player      string
 
 	speakerBoost   bool
 	noSpeakerBoost bool
@@ -105,6 +106,24 @@ func init() {
 				}
 			}
 
+			// Resolve player backend.
+			playerChoice := opts.player
+			if playerChoice == "" || playerChoice == "auto" {
+				if env := os.Getenv("SAG_PLAYER"); env != "" {
+					playerChoice = env
+				}
+			}
+			switch playerChoice {
+			case "", "auto":
+				// Default: build tags route StreamToSpeakers to the right backend.
+			case "afplay":
+				playToSpeakers = audio.StreamViaAfplay
+			case "oto":
+				playToSpeakers = audio.StreamViaOto
+			default:
+				return fmt.Errorf("unknown player %q; choose auto, afplay, or oto", playerChoice)
+			}
+
 			ctx, cancel := context.WithTimeout(cmd.Context(), 90*time.Second)
 			defer cancel()
 
@@ -156,6 +175,7 @@ func init() {
 	cmd.Flags().StringVar(&opts.normalize, "normalize", "", "Text normalization: auto|on|off (numbers/units/URLs; when set)")
 	cmd.Flags().StringVar(&opts.lang, "lang", "", "Language code (2-letter ISO 639-1; influences normalization; when set)")
 	cmd.Flags().BoolVar(&opts.metrics, "metrics", false, "Print request metrics to stderr (chars, bytes, duration, etc.)")
+	cmd.Flags().StringVar(&opts.player, "player", "auto", "Audio backend: auto (afplay on macOS, oto elsewhere), afplay, oto (SAG_PLAYER)")
 	cmd.Flags().StringVarP(&opts.inputFile, "input-file", "f", "", "Read text from file (use '-' for stdin), matching macOS say -f")
 	cmd.Flags().Bool("progress", false, "Accepted for macOS say compatibility (no-op)")
 	cmd.Flags().String("network-send", "", "Accepted for macOS say compatibility (not implemented)")
diff --git a/internal/audio/afplay.go b/internal/audio/afplay.go
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..4c4c996
--- /dev/null
+++ b/internal/audio/afplay.go
@@ -0,0 +1,34 @@
+//go:build darwin
+
+package audio
+
+import (
+	"context"
+	"fmt"
+	"io"
+	"os"
+	"os/exec"
+)
+
+// StreamViaAfplay plays MP3 audio using macOS afplay, which correctly handles AirPlay devices.
+func StreamViaAfplay(ctx context.Context, r io.Reader) error {
+	tmp, err := os.CreateTemp("", "sag-*.mp3")
+	if err != nil {
+		return fmt.Errorf("create temp file: %w", err)
+	}
+	defer os.Remove(tmp.Name())
+
+	if _, err := io.Copy(tmp, r); err != nil {
+		_ = tmp.Close()
+		return fmt.Errorf("write audio to temp file: %w", err)
+	}
+	if err := tmp.Close(); err != nil {
+		return fmt.Errorf("close temp file: %w", err)
+	}
+
+	cmd := exec.CommandContext(ctx, "afplay", tmp.Name())
+	if err := cmd.Run(); err != nil {
+		return fmt.Errorf("afplay: %w", err)
+	}
+	return nil
+}
diff --git a/internal/audio/afplay_other.go b/internal/audio/afplay_other.go
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..8601bf1
--- /dev/null
+++ b/internal/audio/afplay_other.go
@@ -0,0 +1,14 @@
+//go:build !darwin
+
+package audio
+
+import (
+	"context"
+	"errors"
+	"io"
+)
+
+// StreamViaAfplay is not available on non-macOS platforms.
+func StreamViaAfplay(_ context.Context, _ io.Reader) error {
+	return errors.New("afplay backend is only available on macOS")
+}
diff --git a/internal/audio/player_darwin.go b/internal/audio/player_darwin.go
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..00c4fda
--- /dev/null
+++ b/internal/audio/player_darwin.go
@@ -0,0 +1,13 @@
+//go:build darwin
+
+package audio
+
+import (
+	"context"
+	"io"
+)
+
+// StreamToSpeakers plays MP3 audio via macOS afplay, which correctly handles AirPlay devices.
+func StreamToSpeakers(ctx context.Context, r io.Reader) error {
+	return StreamViaAfplay(ctx, r)
+}
diff --git a/internal/audio/player_other.go b/internal/audio/player_other.go
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..8edb949
--- /dev/null
+++ b/internal/audio/player_other.go
@@ -0,0 +1,13 @@
+//go:build !darwin
+
+package audio
+
+import (
+	"context"
+	"io"
+)
+
+// StreamToSpeakers plays MP3 audio via the oto backend (CoreAudio/ALSA/etc.).
+func StreamToSpeakers(ctx context.Context, r io.Reader) error {
+	return StreamViaOto(ctx, r)
+}
diff --git a/internal/audio/player.go b/internal/audio/player_oto.go
similarity index 92%
rename from internal/audio/player.go
rename to internal/audio/player_oto.go
index 9d17da2..1306174 100644
--- a/internal/audio/player.go
+++ b/internal/audio/player_oto.go
@@ -22,8 +22,8 @@ var (
 	audioContextErr error
 )
 
-// StreamToSpeakers decodes MP3 audio from the reader and plays it to the default output device.
-func StreamToSpeakers(ctx context.Context, r io.Reader) error {
+// StreamViaOto decodes MP3 audio from the reader and plays it via the oto backend (CoreAudio/ALSA/etc.).
+func StreamViaOto(ctx context.Context, r io.Reader) error {
 	decoder, err := mp3.NewDecoder(r)
 	if err != nil {
 		return fmt.Errorf("decode mp3: %w", err)