diff --git a/CHANGELOG.md b/CHANGELOG.md
index 91061d4..f5d439e 100644
--- a/CHANGELOG.md
+++ b/CHANGELOG.md
@@ -2,6 +2,9 @@
 
 ## Unreleased
 
+### Fixed
+- Explicit `--format` values now override output-extension inference, preserving the requested ElevenLabs audio format. (#21/#22, thanks @100yenadmin)
+
 ## 0.4.0 - 2026-06-11
 ### Added
 - Added live-tested 60db provider support via `/default-voices`, `/myvoices`, and `/tts-synthesize`, including bounded NDJSON decoding, incomplete-response rejection, and PCM-to-WAV playback. (#20, thanks @manishEMS47)
diff --git a/cmd/speak.go b/cmd/speak.go
index 82b6d38..d21ed92 100644
--- a/cmd/speak.go
+++ b/cmd/speak.go
@@ -108,10 +108,13 @@ func init() {
 				return err
 			}
 
-			// If user provided output path with a known extension, infer a compatible format.
+			// If user provided output path with a known extension, infer a compatible format
+			// unless --format was explicitly set. Explicit format selection should always win.
 			if opts.outputPath != "" {
-				if inferred := inferFormatFromExt(opts.outputPath); inferred != "" {
-					opts.outputFmt = inferred
+				if !cmd.Flags().Changed("format") {
+					if inferred := inferFormatFromExt(opts.outputPath); inferred != "" {
+						opts.outputFmt = inferred
+					}
 				}
 				// Disable playback when -o is set, unless --play was explicitly provided
 				if !cmd.Flags().Changed("play") {
diff --git a/cmd/speak_integration_test.go b/cmd/speak_integration_test.go
index fe8067b..c747d5b 100644
--- a/cmd/speak_integration_test.go
+++ b/cmd/speak_integration_test.go
@@ -114,6 +114,61 @@ func TestSpeakCommand_FlagsBuildRequestAndMetrics(t *testing.T) {
 	}
 }
 
+func TestSpeakCommand_ExplicitFormatOverridesOutputExtension(t *testing.T) {
+	t.Helper()
+	resetProviderEnv(t)
+	resetRootCommandState()
+
+	const voiceID = "abc1234567890123"
+
+	srv := httptest.NewServer(http.HandlerFunc(func(w http.ResponseWriter, r *http.Request) {
+		if !strings.Contains(r.URL.Path, "/v1/text-to-speech/") {
+			t.Fatalf("unexpected path: %s", r.URL.Path)
+		}
+		if path.Base(r.URL.Path) != voiceID {
+			t.Fatalf("expected voice ID %q, got %q", voiceID, path.Base(r.URL.Path))
+		}
+		if got := r.URL.Query().Get("output_format"); got != "mp3_44100_192" {
+			t.Fatalf("expected explicit output_format query mp3_44100_192, got %q", got)
+		}
+
+		var got map[string]any
+		if err := json.NewDecoder(r.Body).Decode(&got); err != nil {
+			t.Fatalf("decode body: %v", err)
+		}
+		if _, ok := got["output_format"]; ok {
+			t.Fatalf("expected output_format to be omitted from body, got %v", got["output_format"])
+		}
+
+		w.WriteHeader(http.StatusOK)
+		_, _ = w.Write([]byte("audio-bytes"))
+	}))
+	defer srv.Close()
+
+	tmp := t.TempDir()
+	outPath := tmp + "/out.mp3"
+
+	rootCmd.SetArgs([]string{
+		"--api-key", "testkey",
+		"--base-url", srv.URL,
+		"speak",
+		"--voice-id", voiceID,
+		"--stream=false",
+		"--play=false",
+		"--output", outPath,
+		"--format", "mp3_44100_192",
+		"Hello world",
+	})
+
+	if err := rootCmd.Execute(); err != nil {
+		t.Fatalf("speak command failed: %v", err)
+	}
+
+	if _, err := os.Stat(outPath); err != nil {
+		t.Fatalf("expected output file to be written: %v", err)
+	}
+}
+
 func TestSpeakCommand_SixtyDBMetricsOmitElevenLabsModel(t *testing.T) {
 	t.Helper()
 	resetProviderEnv(t)