diff --git a/src/pipecat/services/piper.py b/src/pipecat/services/piper.py
index ecb831eb7..ad71a7d6c 100644
--- a/src/pipecat/services/piper.py
+++ b/src/pipecat/services/piper.py
@@ -4,7 +4,7 @@
 # SPDX-License-Identifier: BSD 2-Clause License
 #
 
-from typing import AsyncGenerator
+from typing import AsyncGenerator, Optional
 
 import aiohttp
 from loguru import logger
@@ -19,85 +19,84 @@ from pipecat.frames.frames import (
 from pipecat.services.ai_services import TTSService
 
 # This assumes a running TTS service running: https://github.com/rhasspy/piper/blob/master/src/python_run/README_http.md
-
-
 class PiperTTSService(TTSService):
     """Piper TTS service implementation.
 
     Provides integration with Piper's TTS server.
+
+    Args:
+        base_url: API base URL
+        aiohttp_session: aiohttp ClientSession
+        sample_rate: Output sample rate
     """
 
     def __init__(
         self,
         *,
         base_url: str,
-        aiohttp_session: aiohttp.ClientSession | None = None,
-        sample_rate: int = 24000,
+        aiohttp_session: aiohttp.ClientSession,
+        # When using Piper, the sample rate of the generated audio depends on the
+        # voice model being used.
+        sample_rate: Optional[int] = None,
         **kwargs,
     ):
-        """Initialize the PiperTTSService class instance.
-
-        Args:
-            base_url (str): Base URL of the Piper TTS server (should not end with a slash).
-            aiohttp_session (aiohttp.ClientSession, optional): Optional aiohttp session to use for requests. Defaults to None.
-            sample_rate (int, optional): Sample rate in Hz. Defaults to 24000.
-            **kwargs (dict): Additional keyword arguments.
-        """
         super().__init__(sample_rate=sample_rate, **kwargs)
-        if not aiohttp_session:
-            aiohttp_session = aiohttp.ClientSession()
 
         if base_url.endswith("/"):
             logger.warning("Base URL ends with a slash, this is not allowed.")
             base_url = base_url[:-1]
 
+        self._base_url = base_url
+        self._session = aiohttp_session
         self._settings = {"base_url": base_url}
-        self.set_voice("voice_id")
-        self._aiohttp_session = aiohttp_session
 
     def can_generate_metrics(self) -> bool:
         return True
 
     async def run_tts(self, text: str) -> AsyncGenerator[Frame, None]:
-        logger.debug(f"Generating TTS: [{text}]")
+        """Generate speech from text using Piper API.
 
-        url = self._settings["base_url"] + "/?text=" + text.replace(".", "").replace("*", "")
+        Args:
+            text: The text to convert to speech
 
-        await self.start_ttfb_metrics()
+        Yields:
+            Frames containing audio data and status information
+        """
+        logger.debug(f"{self}: Generating TTS [{text}]")
+        headers = {
+            "Content-Type": "text/plain",
+        }
+        try:
+            await self.start_ttfb_metrics()
 
-        async with self._aiohttp_session.get(url) as r:
-            if r.status != 200:
-                text = await r.text()
-                logger.error(f"{self} error getting audio (status: {r.status}, error: {text})")
-                yield ErrorFrame(f"Error getting audio (status: {r.status}, error: {text})")
-                return
+            async with self._session.post(self._base_url, data=text, headers=headers) as response:
+                if response.status != 200:
+                    eror = await response.text()
+                    logger.error(
+                        f"{self} error getting audio (status: {response.status}, error: {eror})"
+                    )
+                    yield ErrorFrame(
+                        f"Error getting audio (status: {response.status}, error: {eror})"
+                    )
+                    return
 
-            await self.start_tts_usage_metrics(text)
+                await self.start_tts_usage_metrics(text)
 
-            yield TTSStartedFrame()
-
-            buffer = bytearray()
-            async for chunk in r.content.iter_chunked(1024):
-                if len(chunk) > 0:
-                    await self.stop_ttfb_metrics()
-                    # Append new chunk to the buffer.
-                    buffer.extend(chunk)
-
-                    # Check if buffer has enough data for processing.
-                    while (
-                        len(buffer) >= 48000
-                    ):  # Assuming at least 0.5 seconds of audio data at 24000 Hz
-                        # Process the buffer up to a safe size for resampling.
-                        process_data = buffer[:48000]
-                        # Remove processed data from buffer.
-                        buffer = buffer[48000:]
-
-                        frame = TTSAudioRawFrame(process_data, self._sample_rate, 1)
-                        yield frame
-
-            # Process any remaining data in the buffer.
-            if len(buffer) > 0:
-                frame = TTSAudioRawFrame(buffer, self._sample_rate, 1)
-                yield frame
+                # Process the streaming response
+                CHUNK_SIZE = 1024
 
+                yield TTSStartedFrame()
+                async for chunk in response.content.iter_chunked(CHUNK_SIZE):
+                    # remove wav header if present
+                    if chunk.startswith(b"RIFF"):
+                        chunk = chunk[44:]
+                    if len(chunk) > 0:
+                        await self.stop_ttfb_metrics()
+                        yield TTSAudioRawFrame(chunk, self.sample_rate, 1)
+        except Exception as e:
+            logger.error(f"Error in run_tts: {e}")
+            yield ErrorFrame(error=str(e))
+        finally:
+            logger.debug(f"{self}: Finished TTS [{text}]")
+            await self.stop_ttfb_metrics()
             yield TTSStoppedFrame()