diff --git a/spa/plugins/alsa/alsa-pcm.c b/spa/plugins/alsa/alsa-pcm.c
index 7aea58231..7bb842ac0 100644
--- a/spa/plugins/alsa/alsa-pcm.c
+++ b/spa/plugins/alsa/alsa-pcm.c
@@ -803,7 +803,7 @@ recover:
 	state->alsa_started = false;
 
 	if (state->stream == SND_PCM_STREAM_PLAYBACK)
-		spa_alsa_silence(state, state->threshold * 2 + state->headroom);
+		spa_alsa_silence(state, state->threshold + state->headroom);
 
 	return do_start(state);
 }
@@ -1478,7 +1478,7 @@ int spa_alsa_start(struct state *state)
 	state->alsa_started = false;
 
 	if (state->stream == SND_PCM_STREAM_PLAYBACK)
-		spa_alsa_silence(state, state->threshold * 2 + state->headroom);
+		spa_alsa_silence(state, state->threshold + state->headroom);
 
 	if ((err = do_start(state)) < 0)
 		return err;