diff --git a/crates/buzz-relay/src/audio/handler.rs b/crates/buzz-relay/src/audio/handler.rs
index b0db14eb4f..586dfce1cd 100644
--- a/crates/buzz-relay/src/audio/handler.rs
+++ b/crates/buzz-relay/src/audio/handler.rs
@@ -183,6 +183,35 @@ async fn handle_audio_connection(socket: WebSocket, state: Arc<AppState>, channe
         return;
     }
 
+    // Huddle audio guardrail (plan §5b). Audio frames are relayed only within
+    // a single pod; under horizontal scaling (any-pod-any-connection) two peers
+    // in one huddle can land on different pods and never hear each other. A
+    // multi-pod deployment sets `huddle_audio_available = false`, and we surface
+    // a clear, client-handleable "unavailable" signal here — BEFORE joining a
+    // room — rather than shipping a silent split-room. Single-pod deployments
+    // leave the flag at its `true` default and keep today's behavior. The fix
+    // is an out-of-relay media/SFU service (Tyler's long-term target), not
+    // sticky-routing huddles into this rewrite.
+    if !state.config.huddle_audio_available {
+        debug!(
+            channel_id = %channel_id,
+            pubkey = %pubkey_hex,
+            "huddle audio unavailable under horizontal scaling — rejecting join"
+        );
+        let _ = ws_send
+            .send(WsMessage::Text(
+                serde_json::json!({
+                    "type": "error",
+                    "code": "huddle_audio_unavailable",
+                    "message": "huddle audio unavailable in this deployment"
+                })
+                .to_string()
+                .into(),
+            ))
+            .await;
+        return;
+    }
+
     let room = state.audio_rooms.get_or_create(channel_id);
 
     // Re-check archived status after obtaining the room. This closes the
diff --git a/crates/buzz-relay/src/config.rs b/crates/buzz-relay/src/config.rs
index 248e3f419d..ca0d2486b9 100644
--- a/crates/buzz-relay/src/config.rs
+++ b/crates/buzz-relay/src/config.rs
@@ -80,6 +80,23 @@ pub struct Config {
     /// are permitted regardless of auth method (API token, NIP-42).
     pub require_relay_membership: bool,
 
+    /// Whether this deployment can serve huddle (voice) audio.
+    ///
+    /// Huddle audio frames are relayed peer-to-peer *within a single pod*
+    /// (`AudioRoomManager` is an in-process map; only huddle lifecycle events
+    /// cross pods via Redis). Under horizontal scaling (any-pod-any-connection,
+    /// plan §4 fork B) two peers in the same huddle can land on different pods
+    /// and never hear each other. Rather than sticky-route huddles or ship a
+    /// silent split-room (plan §5b, decided by Tyler), a horizontally-scaled
+    /// deployment sets this `false` and the relay surfaces a clear, client-
+    /// handleable "huddle audio unavailable" signal on join.
+    ///
+    /// Defaults to `true` so single-pod deployments (the N=1 case) keep today's
+    /// behavior unchanged. Operators running multiple relay pods MUST set
+    /// `BUZZ_HUDDLE_AUDIO_AVAILABLE=false` until the out-of-relay media/SFU
+    /// service lands.
+    pub huddle_audio_available: bool,
+
     /// Optional hex-encoded pubkey of the relay owner.
     /// When set, this pubkey is automatically bootstrapped into `relay_members`
     /// with the `owner` role on first startup.
@@ -190,6 +207,12 @@ impl Config {
             .map(|v| v == "true" || v == "1")
             .unwrap_or(false);
 
+        // Defaults true → single-pod (N=1) keeps today's huddle behavior. A
+        // horizontally-scaled deployment sets this false; see the field doc.
+        let huddle_audio_available = std::env::var("BUZZ_HUDDLE_AUDIO_AVAILABLE")
+            .map(|v| !(v == "false" || v == "0"))
+            .unwrap_or(true);
+
         let allow_nip_oa_auth = std::env::var("BUZZ_ALLOW_NIP_OA_AUTH")
             .map(|v| v == "true" || v == "1")
             .unwrap_or(false);
@@ -390,6 +413,7 @@ impl Config {
             metrics_port,
             pubkey_allowlist_enabled,
             require_relay_membership,
+            huddle_audio_available,
             relay_owner_pubkey,
             allow_nip_oa_auth,
             media,
@@ -440,6 +464,22 @@ mod tests {
             !config.allow_nip_oa_auth,
             "allow_nip_oa_auth should default to false"
         );
+        assert!(
+            config.huddle_audio_available,
+            "huddle_audio_available should default to true so single-pod (N=1) keeps today's huddle behavior"
+        );
+    }
+
+    #[test]
+    fn huddle_audio_available_can_be_disabled_for_horizontal_scaling() {
+        let _guard = ENV_MUTEX.lock().unwrap();
+        std::env::set_var("BUZZ_HUDDLE_AUDIO_AVAILABLE", "false");
+        let config = Config::from_env().expect("config");
+        std::env::remove_var("BUZZ_HUDDLE_AUDIO_AVAILABLE");
+        assert!(
+            !config.huddle_audio_available,
+            "BUZZ_HUDDLE_AUDIO_AVAILABLE=false must disable huddle audio (multi-pod deployments)"
+        );
     }
 
     #[test]