diff --git a/crates/xenia-kernel/src/xaudio.rs b/crates/xenia-kernel/src/xaudio.rs
index c20fe94..cb09261 100644
--- a/crates/xenia-kernel/src/xaudio.rs
+++ b/crates/xenia-kernel/src/xaudio.rs
@@ -58,6 +58,24 @@ pub const XAUDIO_PERIOD: Duration = Duration::from_nanos(5_333_333);
 /// queueing unbounded callbacks while injection is starved.
 pub const XAUDIO_QUEUE_CAP: usize = 16;
 
+/// Phase HostAudioEager (2026-05-19): initial seeded fire count at
+/// `XAudioRegisterRenderDriverClient` time. Mirrors xenia-canary
+/// [`audio_system.cc:210`](../../../../xenia-canary/src/xenia/apu/audio_system.cc#L210)
+/// `client_semaphore->Release(queued_frames_=8, nullptr)` — the moment
+/// canary's `RegisterClient` returns, its already-running host worker
+/// thread has 8 buffer-complete fires queued to drain.
+///
+/// In ours, the dedicated guest audio worker (spawned at the same
+/// register call) can't be HOST-threaded; instead we seed the pending
+/// FIFO so the round prologue's `try_inject_audio_callback` injects
+/// the first callback on the very next round — well before tid=1
+/// reaches `ExCreateThread` for the XAudio worker threads (tid=14/15
+/// in canary, tid=9/10 in ours). This fixes the ordering issue where
+/// the 48k-instruction ticker delay let tid=9/10 spawn and enter
+/// their spin loop on the uninitialized voice struct before the
+/// callback could modify it.
+pub const XAUDIO_REGISTER_SEED_FIRES: usize = 8;
+
 #[derive(Debug, Clone, Copy)]
 pub struct XAudioClient {
     pub callback_pc: u32,
@@ -155,6 +173,28 @@ impl XAudioState {
         }
     }
 
+    /// Phase HostAudioEager: enqueue `n` buffer-complete fires for a
+    /// specific client slot. Used by `XAudioRegisterRenderDriverClient`
+    /// to mirror canary's `client_semaphore->Release(queued_frames_)`
+    /// at register time. Capped by [`XAUDIO_QUEUE_CAP`] to avoid
+    /// unbounded growth if the caller seeds aggressively. Returns the
+    /// actual number of fires enqueued.
+    pub fn seed_fires_for(&mut self, index: usize, n: usize) -> usize {
+        if index >= XAUDIO_MAX_CLIENTS || self.clients[index].is_none() {
+            return 0;
+        }
+        let mut queued = 0;
+        for _ in 0..n {
+            if self.pending.len() >= XAUDIO_QUEUE_CAP {
+                self.dropped += 1;
+                break;
+            }
+            self.pending.push_back(index);
+            queued += 1;
+        }
+        queued
+    }
+
     pub fn peek_next(&self) -> Option<usize> {
         self.pending.front().copied()
     }
@@ -320,6 +360,51 @@ mod tests {
         assert!(s.last_instant.is_some());
     }
 
+    #[test]
+    fn seed_fires_for_registered_slot_enqueues_n() {
+        let mut s = XAudioState::default();
+        let i = s.register(dummy_client(1)).unwrap();
+        let queued = s.seed_fires_for(i, XAUDIO_REGISTER_SEED_FIRES);
+        assert_eq!(queued, XAUDIO_REGISTER_SEED_FIRES);
+        assert_eq!(s.pending.len(), XAUDIO_REGISTER_SEED_FIRES);
+        // All enqueued fires reference our slot.
+        for _ in 0..XAUDIO_REGISTER_SEED_FIRES {
+            assert_eq!(s.take_next(), Some(i));
+        }
+        assert!(s.pending.is_empty());
+    }
+
+    #[test]
+    fn seed_fires_for_unregistered_slot_is_noop() {
+        let mut s = XAudioState::default();
+        // Slot 3 is empty.
+        let queued = s.seed_fires_for(3, 8);
+        assert_eq!(queued, 0);
+        assert!(s.pending.is_empty());
+        assert_eq!(s.dropped, 0);
+    }
+
+    #[test]
+    fn seed_fires_for_caps_at_queue_cap_and_counts_drops() {
+        let mut s = XAudioState::default();
+        let i = s.register(dummy_client(1)).unwrap();
+        let queued = s.seed_fires_for(i, XAUDIO_QUEUE_CAP * 4);
+        assert_eq!(queued, XAUDIO_QUEUE_CAP);
+        assert_eq!(s.pending.len(), XAUDIO_QUEUE_CAP);
+        // Excess fires are counted as dropped (per
+        // existing `enqueue_all_active` discipline).
+        assert!(s.dropped >= 1);
+    }
+
+    #[test]
+    fn seed_fires_for_out_of_range_index_is_noop() {
+        let mut s = XAudioState::default();
+        s.register(dummy_client(1)).unwrap();
+        let queued = s.seed_fires_for(XAUDIO_MAX_CLIENTS + 5, 4);
+        assert_eq!(queued, 0);
+        assert!(s.pending.is_empty());
+    }
+
     #[test]
     fn tick_wallclock_fires_after_period() {
         let mut s = XAudioState::default();