A hybrid speech encoder detects changes from music-like sounds to speech-like sounds. When the encoder detects music-like sounds (e.g., music), it operates in a first mode, in which it employs a frequency domain coder. When the encoder detects speech-like sounds (e.g., human speech), it operates in a second mode, and employs a time domain or waveform coder. When a switch occurs, the encoder backfills a gap in the signal with a portion of the signal occurring after the gap.