diff --git a/sound/soc/sof/intel/hda-loader.c b/sound/soc/sof/intel/hda-loader.c
index 9d8ebb7c6a1060..f0dfcf1d047431 100644
--- a/sound/soc/sof/intel/hda-loader.c
+++ b/sound/soc/sof/intel/hda-loader.c
@@ -26,6 +26,11 @@
 #include "../sof-priv.h"
 #include "hda.h"
 
+static bool hda_keep_fw_dma_buffer = true;
+module_param_named(keep_firmware_dma_buffer, hda_keep_fw_dma_buffer, bool, 0444);
+MODULE_PARM_DESC(keep_firmware_dma_buffer, "Allocate firmware loader DMA buffer once "
+		 "(default = Y, use N to force buffer re-allocation)");
+
 static void hda_ssp_set_cbp_cfp(struct snd_sof_dev *sdev)
 {
 	struct sof_intel_hda_dev *hda = sdev->pdata->hw_pdata;
@@ -43,9 +48,10 @@ static void hda_ssp_set_cbp_cfp(struct snd_sof_dev *sdev)
 	}
 }
 
-struct hdac_ext_stream *hda_cl_prepare(struct device *dev, unsigned int format,
-				       unsigned int size, struct snd_dma_buffer *dmab,
-				       int direction, bool is_iccmax)
+struct hdac_ext_stream*
+hda_cl_prepare(struct device *dev, unsigned int format, unsigned int size,
+	       struct snd_dma_buffer *dmab, bool persistent_buffer, int direction,
+	       bool is_iccmax)
 {
 	struct snd_sof_dev *sdev = dev_get_drvdata(dev);
 	struct hdac_ext_stream *hext_stream;
@@ -61,11 +67,19 @@ struct hdac_ext_stream *hda_cl_prepare(struct device *dev, unsigned int format,
 	hstream = &hext_stream->hstream;
 	hstream->substream = NULL;
 
-	/* allocate DMA buffer */
-	ret = snd_dma_alloc_pages(SNDRV_DMA_TYPE_DEV_SG, dev, size, dmab);
-	if (ret < 0) {
-		dev_err(sdev->dev, "error: memory alloc failed: %d\n", ret);
-		goto out_put;
+	/*
+	 * Allocate DMA buffer if it is temporary or if the buffer is intended
+	 * to be persistent but not yet allocated.
+	 * We cannot rely solely on !dmab->area as caller might use a struct on
+	 * stack without clearing it to 0.
+	 */
+	if (!persistent_buffer || (persistent_buffer && !dmab->area)) {
+		ret = snd_dma_alloc_pages(SNDRV_DMA_TYPE_DEV_SG, dev, size, dmab);
+		if (ret < 0) {
+			dev_err(sdev->dev, "%s: memory alloc failed: %d\n",
+				__func__, ret);
+			goto out_put;
+		}
 	}
 
 	hstream->period_bytes = 0;/* initialize period_bytes */
@@ -91,6 +105,9 @@ struct hdac_ext_stream *hda_cl_prepare(struct device *dev, unsigned int format,
 
 out_free:
 	snd_dma_free_pages(dmab);
+	dmab->area = NULL;
+	hstream->bufsize = 0;
+	hstream->format_val = 0;
 out_put:
 	hda_dsp_stream_put(sdev, direction, hstream->stream_tag);
 	return ERR_PTR(ret);
@@ -255,7 +272,7 @@ int hda_cl_trigger(struct device *dev, struct hdac_ext_stream *hext_stream, int
 EXPORT_SYMBOL_NS(hda_cl_trigger, SND_SOC_SOF_INTEL_HDA_COMMON);
 
 int hda_cl_cleanup(struct device *dev, struct snd_dma_buffer *dmab,
-		   struct hdac_ext_stream *hext_stream)
+			  bool persistent_buffer, struct hdac_ext_stream *hext_stream)
 {
 	struct snd_sof_dev *sdev =  dev_get_drvdata(dev);
 	struct hdac_stream *hstream = &hext_stream->hstream;
@@ -279,10 +296,13 @@ int hda_cl_cleanup(struct device *dev, struct snd_dma_buffer *dmab,
 			  sd_offset + SOF_HDA_ADSP_REG_SD_BDLPU, 0);
 
 	snd_sof_dsp_write(sdev, HDA_DSP_HDA_BAR, sd_offset, 0);
-	snd_dma_free_pages(dmab);
-	dmab->area = NULL;
-	hstream->bufsize = 0;
-	hstream->format_val = 0;
+
+	if (!persistent_buffer) {
+		snd_dma_free_pages(dmab);
+		dmab->area = NULL;
+		hstream->bufsize = 0;
+		hstream->format_val = 0;
+	}
 
 	return ret;
 }
@@ -354,7 +374,8 @@ int hda_dsp_cl_boot_firmware_iccmax(struct snd_sof_dev *sdev)
 	 * the data, so use a buffer of PAGE_SIZE for receiving.
 	 */
 	iccmax_stream = hda_cl_prepare(sdev->dev, HDA_CL_STREAM_FORMAT, PAGE_SIZE,
-				       &dmab_bdl, SNDRV_PCM_STREAM_CAPTURE, true);
+				       &dmab_bdl, false, SNDRV_PCM_STREAM_CAPTURE,
+				       true);
 	if (IS_ERR(iccmax_stream)) {
 		dev_err(sdev->dev, "error: dma prepare for ICCMAX stream failed\n");
 		return PTR_ERR(iccmax_stream);
@@ -366,7 +387,7 @@ int hda_dsp_cl_boot_firmware_iccmax(struct snd_sof_dev *sdev)
 	 * Perform iccmax stream cleanup. This should be done even if firmware loading fails.
 	 * If the cleanup also fails, we return the initial error
 	 */
-	ret1 = hda_cl_cleanup(sdev->dev, &dmab_bdl, iccmax_stream);
+	ret1 = hda_cl_cleanup(sdev->dev, &dmab_bdl, false, iccmax_stream);
 	if (ret1 < 0) {
 		dev_err(sdev->dev, "error: ICCMAX stream cleanup failed\n");
 
@@ -408,7 +429,7 @@ int hda_dsp_cl_boot_firmware(struct snd_sof_dev *sdev)
 	const struct sof_intel_dsp_desc *chip_info;
 	struct hdac_ext_stream *hext_stream;
 	struct firmware stripped_firmware;
-	struct snd_dma_buffer dmab;
+	bool memcpy_needed = true;
 	int ret, ret1, i;
 
 	if (hda->imrboot_supported && !sdev->first_boot && !hda->skip_imr_boot) {
@@ -432,23 +453,28 @@ int hda_dsp_cl_boot_firmware(struct snd_sof_dev *sdev)
 		return -EINVAL;
 	}
 
-	stripped_firmware.data = sdev->basefw.fw->data + sdev->basefw.payload_offset;
-	stripped_firmware.size = sdev->basefw.fw->size - sdev->basefw.payload_offset;
-
 	/* init for booting wait */
 	init_waitqueue_head(&sdev->boot_wait);
 
+	/* If the DMA buffer is preserved, the memcpy only needs to be done once */
+	if (hda_keep_fw_dma_buffer && hda->fw_dmab.area)
+		memcpy_needed = false;
+
 	/* prepare DMA for code loader stream */
+	stripped_firmware.size = sdev->basefw.fw->size - sdev->basefw.payload_offset;
 	hext_stream = hda_cl_prepare(sdev->dev, HDA_CL_STREAM_FORMAT,
 				     stripped_firmware.size,
-				     &dmab, SNDRV_PCM_STREAM_PLAYBACK, false);
+				     &hda->fw_dmab, hda_keep_fw_dma_buffer,
+				     SNDRV_PCM_STREAM_PLAYBACK, false);
 	if (IS_ERR(hext_stream)) {
 		dev_err(sdev->dev, "error: dma prepare for fw loading failed\n");
 		return PTR_ERR(hext_stream);
 	}
 
-	memcpy(dmab.area, stripped_firmware.data,
-	       stripped_firmware.size);
+	if (memcpy_needed) {
+		stripped_firmware.data = sdev->basefw.fw->data + sdev->basefw.payload_offset;
+		memcpy(hda->fw_dmab.area, stripped_firmware.data, stripped_firmware.size);
+	}
 
 	/* try ROM init a few times before giving up */
 	for (i = 0; i < HDA_FW_BOOT_ATTEMPTS; i++) {
@@ -514,7 +540,8 @@ int hda_dsp_cl_boot_firmware(struct snd_sof_dev *sdev)
 	 * This should be done even if firmware loading fails.
 	 * If the cleanup also fails, we return the initial error
 	 */
-	ret1 = hda_cl_cleanup(sdev->dev, &dmab, hext_stream);
+	ret1 = hda_cl_cleanup(sdev->dev, &hda->fw_dmab, hda_keep_fw_dma_buffer,
+			      hext_stream);
 	if (ret1 < 0) {
 		dev_err(sdev->dev, "error: Code loader DSP cleanup failed\n");
 
@@ -558,8 +585,8 @@ int hda_dsp_ipc4_load_library(struct snd_sof_dev *sdev,
 
 	/* prepare DMA for code loader stream */
 	hext_stream = hda_cl_prepare(sdev->dev, HDA_CL_STREAM_FORMAT,
-				     stripped_firmware.size,
-				     &dmab, SNDRV_PCM_STREAM_PLAYBACK, false);
+				     stripped_firmware.size, &dmab, false,
+				     SNDRV_PCM_STREAM_PLAYBACK, false);
 	if (IS_ERR(hext_stream)) {
 		dev_err(sdev->dev, "%s: DMA prepare failed\n", __func__);
 		return PTR_ERR(hext_stream);
@@ -628,7 +655,7 @@ int hda_dsp_ipc4_load_library(struct snd_sof_dev *sdev,
 
 cleanup:
 	/* clean up even in case of error and return the first error */
-	ret1 = hda_cl_cleanup(sdev->dev, &dmab, hext_stream);
+	ret1 = hda_cl_cleanup(sdev->dev, &dmab, false, hext_stream);
 	if (ret1 < 0) {
 		dev_err(sdev->dev, "%s: Code loader DSP cleanup failed\n", __func__);
 
diff --git a/sound/soc/sof/intel/hda.c b/sound/soc/sof/intel/hda.c
index e4cb4ffc727048..46ad9e8d3709ce 100644
--- a/sound/soc/sof/intel/hda.c
+++ b/sound/soc/sof/intel/hda.c
@@ -936,6 +936,9 @@ void hda_dsp_remove(struct snd_sof_dev *sdev)
 	/* disable DSP */
 	hda_dsp_ctrl_ppcap_enable(sdev, false);
 
+	if (hda->fw_dmab.area)
+		snd_dma_free_pages(&hda->fw_dmab);
+
 skip_disable_dsp:
 	free_irq(sdev->ipc_irq, sdev);
 	if (sdev->msi_enabled)
diff --git a/sound/soc/sof/intel/hda.h b/sound/soc/sof/intel/hda.h
index b74a472435b5d2..dc5b384fb794ee 100644
--- a/sound/soc/sof/intel/hda.h
+++ b/sound/soc/sof/intel/hda.h
@@ -495,6 +495,13 @@ struct sof_intel_hda_dev {
 
 	int boot_iteration;
 
+	/*
+	 * DMA buffer for base firmware download. By default the buffer is
+	 * allocated once and kept through the lifetime of the driver.
+	 * See module parameter: keep_firmware_dma_buffer
+	 */
+	struct snd_dma_buffer fw_dmab;
+
 	struct hda_bus hbus;
 
 	/* hw config */
@@ -714,11 +721,12 @@ int hda_cl_copy_fw(struct snd_sof_dev *sdev, struct hdac_ext_stream *hext_stream
 
 struct hdac_ext_stream *hda_cl_prepare(struct device *dev, unsigned int format,
 				       unsigned int size, struct snd_dma_buffer *dmab,
-				       int direction, bool is_iccmax);
+				       bool persistent_buffer, int direction,
+				       bool is_iccmax);
 int hda_cl_trigger(struct device *dev, struct hdac_ext_stream *hext_stream, int cmd);
 
 int hda_cl_cleanup(struct device *dev, struct snd_dma_buffer *dmab,
-		   struct hdac_ext_stream *hext_stream);
+		   bool persistent_buffer, struct hdac_ext_stream *hext_stream);
 int cl_dsp_init(struct snd_sof_dev *sdev, int stream_tag, bool imr_boot);
 #define HDA_CL_STREAM_FORMAT 0x40