diff --git a/optimized/mlx/scripts/sa3_mlx.py b/optimized/mlx/scripts/sa3_mlx.py
index c8893b6..ae22b0e 100644
--- a/optimized/mlx/scripts/sa3_mlx.py
+++ b/optimized/mlx/scripts/sa3_mlx.py
@@ -391,9 +391,10 @@ def main():
     # ── Sampling ──────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────
     ap.add_argument("--seconds", type=float, default=30.0,
                     help="Output audio length in seconds. T_lat (latent positions) is derived as "
-                         "ceil(seconds * 44100 / 4096), then bumped to even when --decoder=same-s "
-                         "(encoder modulo-32 padding requirement). Final WAV is trimmed to exactly "
-                         "--seconds.")
+                         "ceil(seconds * 44100 / 4096) — a natural ceil that depends ONLY on "
+                         "--seconds (and --seed via the DiT), never on --decoder. This keeps the "
+                         "sampled latent (and hence the music) identical across decoders for a "
+                         "given prompt/seed. Final WAV is trimmed to exactly --seconds.")
     ap.add_argument("--steps", type=int, default=8,
                     help="Number of pingpong sampling steps. Minimum 1 (single forward pass — fastest, "
                          "lowest quality). rf_denoiser is distilled for 8 (default — sweet spot). "
@@ -465,10 +466,15 @@ def main():
     # Empty prompt is allowed — T5Gemma will produce padding-only embeddings,
     # which (with the learned padding_embedding) is the unconditional case.
     dtype = mx.float32 if args.dit_dtype == "fp32" else mx.float16
+    # T_lat is a DECODER-INDEPENDENT function of --seconds only (natural ceil, no
+    # even-bump). This matches the TensorRT pipeline (sa3_trt.py::resolve_T_lat) so
+    # the same prompt/seed/seconds yields the SAME latent — and hence the same music —
+    # regardless of --decoder. The old code bumped T_lat to even for same-s, which made
+    # make_noise(T_lat, seed) draw a different noise tensor and thus sample a completely
+    # different latent just by switching decoder. SAME-S's internal-length constraint
+    # (T_lat*17 must align to 34, i.e. even) is satisfied by the decode dispatch below:
+    # odd T_lat is routed through decode_chunked, whose every window is an even kernel.
     T_lat = max(1, math.ceil(args.seconds * SAMPLE_RATE / SAMPLES_PER_LATENT))
-    # SAME-S requires T_audio_patches divisible by 32 → T_lat must be even (T_aud=T_lat*16).
-    if args.decoder == "same-s" and T_lat % 2 != 0:
-        T_lat += 1
     target_dur = T_lat * SAMPLES_PER_LATENT / SAMPLE_RATE
 
     # Inpaint validation + parameter mapping
@@ -596,8 +602,15 @@ def main():
         sub(f"encoder load {(time.time()-t0)*1000:.0f} ms")
 
         t0 = time.time()
+        # The ENCODER (SAME-S) needs T_audio_patches divisible by `pad_mod` (32) → an
+        # even latent length. T_lat itself stays the natural-ceil (decoder-independent)
+        # value; we only round the encode grid UP to the modulo, then trim the latent
+        # back to T_lat. This keeps the DiT/noise path identical across decoders.
+        enc_T_lat = T_lat
+        if (T_lat * 16) % pad_mod != 0:
+            enc_T_lat = math.ceil((T_lat * 16) / pad_mod) * pad_mod // 16
+        target_samples = enc_T_lat * SAMPLES_PER_LATENT
         audio_np = read_wav(args.init_audio)                                  # (2, T_audio_in)
-        target_samples = T_lat * SAMPLES_PER_LATENT
         if audio_np.shape[-1] >= target_samples:
             audio_np = audio_np[:, :target_samples]
             init_action = f"trimmed to {target_samples} samples"
@@ -610,13 +623,13 @@ def main():
 
         # Patch + encode (encoder always runs FP32 — softnorm-bottleneck-sensitive)
         t0 = time.time()
-        patches_np = patch_audio(audio_np, patch_size=256)                     # (1, 512, T_lat*16)
+        patches_np = patch_audio(audio_np, patch_size=256)                     # (1, 512, enc_T_lat*16)
         # Sanity: T_audio_patches must be divisible by encoder's required modulo
         assert patches_np.shape[-1] % pad_mod == 0, (
             f"T_audio_patches={patches_np.shape[-1]} not divisible by {pad_mod} "
             f"(decoder={args.decoder})"
         )
-        init_latents = enc_model(mx.array(patches_np))
+        init_latents = enc_model(mx.array(patches_np))[..., :T_lat]            # trim to natural T_lat
         mx.eval(init_latents)
         _stage_peak_b('Init audio encode')
         sub(f"encode  {(time.time()-t0)*1000:.0f} ms   latents {init_latents.shape}")
@@ -742,14 +755,25 @@ def _on_step(i: int, total: int):
     t0 = time.time()
     kernel = chunk + 2 * ovl
     if T_lat > kernel:
+        # Natural-ceil T_lat may be odd; decode_chunked windows are all even kernels,
+        # so odd T_lat decodes correctly here (this is the common path, incl. 30s→323).
         patches = chunk_fn(decoder, latents_fp32, chunk, ovl)
         decode_mode = f"chunked (chunk={chunk}, ovl={ovl})"
     elif T_lat % 2 == 0:
         patches = decoder(latents_fp32)
         decode_mode = "un-chunked"
-    else:
+    elif T_lat > 6:
+        # Odd T_lat in (6, kernel]: a chunk=2,ovl=2 kernel (=6 < T_lat) keeps every
+        # window even for SAME-S while never zero-padding real latents.
         patches = chunk_fn(decoder, latents_fp32, 2, 2)
         decode_mode = "chunked (chunk=2, ovl=2)"
+    else:
+        # Tiny odd T_lat ≤ 6 (sub-0.5s): no even chunk kernel fits. Reflect-pad one
+        # latent to make T even, un-chunked decode, then trim the extra 16 patches.
+        # SAME-L has no even constraint and takes this path only for symmetry.
+        latents_even = mx.concatenate([latents_fp32, latents_fp32[..., -1:]], axis=-1)
+        patches = decoder(latents_even)[..., : T_lat * 16]
+        decode_mode = "un-chunked (odd-pad→trim)"
     mx.eval(patches)
     _stage_peak_b('Decode')
     sub(f"decode {decode_mode}  →  {(time.time()-t0)*1000:.0f} ms   patches {patches.shape}")