diff --git a/akka-http-core/src/main/scala/akka/http/impl/engine/client/PoolInterfaceActor.scala b/akka-http-core/src/main/scala/akka/http/impl/engine/client/PoolInterfaceActor.scala
index da2614c773..22e0631e90 100644
--- a/akka-http-core/src/main/scala/akka/http/impl/engine/client/PoolInterfaceActor.scala
+++ b/akka-http-core/src/main/scala/akka/http/impl/engine/client/PoolInterfaceActor.scala
@@ -17,7 +17,7 @@ import akka.stream.Materializer
 import akka.stream.actor.{ ActorPublisher, ActorSubscriber, ZeroRequestStrategy }
 import akka.stream.actor.ActorPublisherMessage._
 import akka.stream.actor.ActorSubscriberMessage._
-import akka.stream.impl.{ SeqActorName, FixedSizeBuffer }
+import akka.stream.impl.{ SeqActorName, Buffer }
 import akka.stream.scaladsl.{ Keep, Flow, Sink, Source }
 import akka.http.impl.settings.HostConnectionPoolSetup
 import akka.http.scaladsl.model._
@@ -52,7 +52,7 @@ private class PoolInterfaceActor(hcps: HostConnectionPoolSetup,
   extends ActorSubscriber with ActorPublisher[RequestContext] with ActorLogging {
   import PoolInterfaceActor._
 
-  private[this] val inputBuffer = FixedSizeBuffer[PoolRequest](hcps.setup.settings.maxOpenRequests)
+  private[this] val inputBuffer = Buffer[PoolRequest](hcps.setup.settings.maxOpenRequests, fm)
   private[this] var activeIdleTimeout: Option[Cancellable] = None
 
   log.debug("(Re-)starting host connection pool to {}:{}", hcps.host, hcps.port)
@@ -119,7 +119,7 @@ private class PoolInterfaceActor(hcps: HostConnectionPoolSetup,
         // if we can't dispatch right now we buffer and dispatch when demand from the pool arrives
         if (inputBuffer.isFull) {
           x.responsePromise.failure(
-            new BufferOverflowException(s"Exceeded configured max-open-requests value of [${inputBuffer.size}]"))
+            new BufferOverflowException(s"Exceeded configured max-open-requests value of [${inputBuffer.capacity}]"))
         } else inputBuffer.enqueue(x)
       } else dispatchRequest(x) // if we can dispatch right now, do it
       request(1) // for every incoming request we demand one response from the pool
diff --git a/akka-stream-tests/src/test/scala/akka/stream/impl/FixedBufferSpec.scala b/akka-stream-tests/src/test/scala/akka/stream/impl/FixedBufferSpec.scala
index 32978d281b..a6ce59e338 100644
--- a/akka-stream-tests/src/test/scala/akka/stream/impl/FixedBufferSpec.scala
+++ b/akka-stream-tests/src/test/scala/akka/stream/impl/FixedBufferSpec.scala
@@ -4,6 +4,7 @@
 package akka.stream.impl
 
 import akka.stream.testkit.AkkaSpec
+import akka.stream.ActorMaterializerSettings
 
 class FixedBufferSpec extends AkkaSpec {
 
@@ -94,4 +95,29 @@ class FixedBufferSpec extends AkkaSpec {
     }
   }
 
+  "Buffer factory" must {
+    val default = ActorMaterializerSettings(system)
+
+    "default to one billion for maxFixedBufferSize" in {
+      default.maxFixedBufferSize should ===(1000000000)
+    }
+
+    "produce BoundedBuffers when capacity > max-fixed-buffer-size" in {
+      Buffer(Int.MaxValue, default) shouldBe a[BoundedBuffer[_]]
+    }
+
+    "produce FixedSizeBuffers when capacity < max-fixed-buffer-size" in {
+      Buffer(1000, default) shouldBe a[FixedSizeBuffer.ModuloFixedSizeBuffer[_]]
+      Buffer(1024, default) shouldBe a[FixedSizeBuffer.PowerOfTwoFixedSizeBuffer[_]]
+    }
+
+    "produce FixedSizeBuffers when max-fixed-buffer-size < BoundedBufferSize" in {
+      val settings = default.withMaxFixedBufferSize(9)
+      Buffer(5, default) shouldBe a[FixedSizeBuffer.ModuloFixedSizeBuffer[_]]
+      Buffer(10, default) shouldBe a[FixedSizeBuffer.ModuloFixedSizeBuffer[_]]
+      Buffer(16, default) shouldBe a[FixedSizeBuffer.PowerOfTwoFixedSizeBuffer[_]]
+    }
+
+  }
+
 }
diff --git a/akka-stream/src/main/resources/reference.conf b/akka-stream/src/main/resources/reference.conf
index 2c53344c75..1d4396b7e5 100644
--- a/akka-stream/src/main/resources/reference.conf
+++ b/akka-stream/src/main/resources/reference.conf
@@ -45,6 +45,16 @@ akka {
       # this may cause an initial runtime overhead, but most of the time fusing is
       # desirable since it reduces the number of Actors that are created.
       auto-fusing = on
+      
+      # Those stream elements which have explicit buffers (like mapAsync, mapAsyncUnordered,
+      # buffer, flatMapMerge, Source.actorRef, Source.queue, etc.) will preallocate a fixed
+      # buffer upon stream materialization if the requested buffer size is less than this
+      # configuration parameter. The default is very high because failing early is better
+      # than failing under load.
+      #
+      # Buffers sized larger than this will dynamically grow/shrink and consume more memory 
+      # per element than the fixed size buffers.
+      max-fixed-buffer-size = 1000000000
 
       debug {
         # Enables the fuzzing mode which increases the chance of race conditions
diff --git a/akka-stream/src/main/scala/akka/stream/ActorMaterializer.scala b/akka-stream/src/main/scala/akka/stream/ActorMaterializer.scala
index 55d6e95a2f..887ecb9a06 100644
--- a/akka-stream/src/main/scala/akka/stream/ActorMaterializer.scala
+++ b/akka-stream/src/main/scala/akka/stream/ActorMaterializer.scala
@@ -208,10 +208,11 @@ object ActorMaterializerSettings {
     debugLogging: Boolean,
     outputBurstLimit: Int,
     fuzzingMode: Boolean,
-    autoFusing: Boolean) =
+    autoFusing: Boolean,
+    maxFixedBufferSize: Int) =
     new ActorMaterializerSettings(
       initialInputBufferSize, maxInputBufferSize, dispatcher, supervisionDecider, subscriptionTimeoutSettings, debugLogging,
-      outputBurstLimit, fuzzingMode, autoFusing)
+      outputBurstLimit, fuzzingMode, autoFusing, maxFixedBufferSize)
 
   /**
    * Create [[ActorMaterializerSettings]] from the settings of an [[akka.actor.ActorSystem]] (Scala).
@@ -232,7 +233,8 @@ object ActorMaterializerSettings {
       debugLogging = config.getBoolean("debug-logging"),
       outputBurstLimit = config.getInt("output-burst-limit"),
       fuzzingMode = config.getBoolean("debug.fuzzing-mode"),
-      autoFusing = config.getBoolean("auto-fusing"))
+      autoFusing = config.getBoolean("auto-fusing"),
+      maxFixedBufferSize = config.getInt("max-fixed-buffer-size"))
 
   /**
    * Create [[ActorMaterializerSettings]] from individual settings (Java).
@@ -246,10 +248,11 @@ object ActorMaterializerSettings {
     debugLogging: Boolean,
     outputBurstLimit: Int,
     fuzzingMode: Boolean,
-    autoFusing: Boolean) =
+    autoFusing: Boolean,
+    maxFixedBufferSize: Int) =
     new ActorMaterializerSettings(
       initialInputBufferSize, maxInputBufferSize, dispatcher, supervisionDecider, subscriptionTimeoutSettings, debugLogging,
-      outputBurstLimit, fuzzingMode, autoFusing)
+      outputBurstLimit, fuzzingMode, autoFusing, maxFixedBufferSize)
 
   /**
    * Create [[ActorMaterializerSettings]] from the settings of an [[akka.actor.ActorSystem]] (Java).
@@ -278,7 +281,8 @@ final class ActorMaterializerSettings(
   val debugLogging: Boolean,
   val outputBurstLimit: Int,
   val fuzzingMode: Boolean,
-  val autoFusing: Boolean) {
+  val autoFusing: Boolean,
+  val maxFixedBufferSize: Int) {
 
   require(initialInputBufferSize > 0, "initialInputBufferSize must be > 0")
 
@@ -294,10 +298,11 @@ final class ActorMaterializerSettings(
     debugLogging: Boolean = this.debugLogging,
     outputBurstLimit: Int = this.outputBurstLimit,
     fuzzingMode: Boolean = this.fuzzingMode,
-    autoFusing: Boolean = this.autoFusing) =
+    autoFusing: Boolean = this.autoFusing,
+    maxFixedBufferSize: Int = this.maxFixedBufferSize) =
     new ActorMaterializerSettings(
       initialInputBufferSize, maxInputBufferSize, dispatcher, supervisionDecider, subscriptionTimeoutSettings, debugLogging,
-      outputBurstLimit, fuzzingMode, autoFusing)
+      outputBurstLimit, fuzzingMode, autoFusing, maxFixedBufferSize)
 
   /**
    * Each asynchronous piece of a materialized stream topology is executed by one Actor
@@ -377,6 +382,15 @@ final class ActorMaterializerSettings(
     if (enable == this.autoFusing) this
     else copy(autoFusing = enable)
 
+  /**
+   * Configure the maximum buffer size for which a FixedSizeBuffer will be preallocated.
+   * This defaults to a large value because it is usually better to fail early when
+   * system memory is not sufficient to hold the buffer.
+   */
+  def withMaxFixedBufferSize(size: Int): ActorMaterializerSettings =
+    if (size == this.maxFixedBufferSize) this
+    else copy(maxFixedBufferSize = size)
+
   /**
    * Leaked publishers and subscribers are cleaned up when they are not used within a given
    * deadline, configured by [[StreamSubscriptionTimeoutSettings]].
diff --git a/akka-stream/src/main/scala/akka/stream/impl/ActorRefSourceActor.scala b/akka-stream/src/main/scala/akka/stream/impl/ActorRefSourceActor.scala
index c64a6e8c09..a447358b78 100644
--- a/akka-stream/src/main/scala/akka/stream/impl/ActorRefSourceActor.scala
+++ b/akka-stream/src/main/scala/akka/stream/impl/ActorRefSourceActor.scala
@@ -8,27 +8,29 @@ import akka.actor.Props
 import akka.actor.Status
 import akka.stream.OverflowStrategies._
 import akka.stream.{ BufferOverflowException, OverflowStrategy, OverflowStrategies }
+import akka.stream.ActorMaterializerSettings
 
 /**
  * INTERNAL API
  */
 private[akka] object ActorRefSourceActor {
-  def props(bufferSize: Int, overflowStrategy: OverflowStrategy) = {
+  def props(bufferSize: Int, overflowStrategy: OverflowStrategy, settings: ActorMaterializerSettings) = {
     require(overflowStrategy != OverflowStrategies.Backpressure, "Backpressure overflowStrategy not supported")
-    Props(new ActorRefSourceActor(bufferSize, overflowStrategy))
+    val maxFixedBufferSize = settings.maxFixedBufferSize
+    Props(new ActorRefSourceActor(bufferSize, overflowStrategy, maxFixedBufferSize))
   }
 }
 
 /**
  * INTERNAL API
  */
-private[akka] class ActorRefSourceActor(bufferSize: Int, overflowStrategy: OverflowStrategy)
+private[akka] class ActorRefSourceActor(bufferSize: Int, overflowStrategy: OverflowStrategy, maxFixedBufferSize: Int)
   extends akka.stream.actor.ActorPublisher[Any] with ActorLogging {
   import akka.stream.actor.ActorPublisherMessage._
   import akka.stream.OverflowStrategy._
 
   // when bufferSize is 0 there the buffer is not used
-  protected val buffer = if (bufferSize == 0) null else FixedSizeBuffer[Any](bufferSize)
+  protected val buffer = if (bufferSize == 0) null else Buffer[Any](bufferSize, maxFixedBufferSize)
 
   def receive = ({
     case Cancel ⇒
diff --git a/akka-stream/src/main/scala/akka/stream/impl/BoundedBuffer.scala b/akka-stream/src/main/scala/akka/stream/impl/BoundedBuffer.scala
deleted file mode 100644
index b0216f09c6..0000000000
--- a/akka-stream/src/main/scala/akka/stream/impl/BoundedBuffer.scala
+++ /dev/null
@@ -1,104 +0,0 @@
-/**
- * Copyright (C) 2015-2016 Typesafe Inc. <http://www.typesafe.com>
- */
-package akka.stream.impl
-
-import java.{ util ⇒ ju }
-
-/**
- * INTERNAL API
- */
-private[akka] trait Buffer[T] {
-  def used: Int
-  def isFull: Boolean
-  def isEmpty: Boolean
-  def nonEmpty: Boolean
-
-  def enqueue(elem: T): Unit
-  def dequeue(): T
-
-  def peek(): T
-  def clear(): Unit
-  def dropHead(): Unit
-  def dropTail(): Unit
-}
-
-/**
- * INTERNAL API
- */
-private[akka] final class BoundedBuffer[T](val capacity: Int) extends Buffer[T] {
-
-  def used: Int = q.used
-  def isFull: Boolean = q.isFull
-  def isEmpty: Boolean = q.isEmpty
-  def nonEmpty: Boolean = q.nonEmpty
-
-  def enqueue(elem: T): Unit = q.enqueue(elem)
-  def dequeue(): T = q.dequeue()
-
-  def peek(): T = q.peek()
-  def clear(): Unit = q.clear()
-  def dropHead(): Unit = q.dropHead()
-  def dropTail(): Unit = q.dropTail()
-
-  private final class FixedQueue extends Buffer[T] {
-    final val Size = 16
-    final val Mask = 15
-
-    private val queue = new Array[AnyRef](Size)
-    private var head = 0
-    private var tail = 0
-
-    override def used = tail - head
-    override def isFull = used == capacity
-    override def isEmpty = tail == head
-    override def nonEmpty = tail != head
-
-    override def enqueue(elem: T): Unit =
-      if (tail - head == Size) {
-        val queue = new DynamicQueue(head)
-        while (nonEmpty) {
-          queue.enqueue(dequeue())
-        }
-        q = queue
-        queue.enqueue(elem)
-      } else {
-        queue(tail & Mask) = elem.asInstanceOf[AnyRef]
-        tail += 1
-      }
-    override def dequeue(): T = {
-      val pos = head & Mask
-      val ret = queue(pos).asInstanceOf[T]
-      queue(pos) = null
-      head += 1
-      ret
-    }
-
-    override def peek(): T =
-      if (tail == head) null.asInstanceOf[T]
-      else queue(head & Mask).asInstanceOf[T]
-    override def clear(): Unit =
-      while (nonEmpty) {
-        dequeue()
-      }
-    override def dropHead(): Unit = dequeue()
-    override def dropTail(): Unit = {
-      tail -= 1
-      queue(tail & Mask) = null
-    }
-  }
-
-  private final class DynamicQueue(startIdx: Int) extends ju.LinkedList[T] with Buffer[T] {
-    override def used = size
-    override def isFull = size == capacity
-    override def nonEmpty = !isEmpty()
-
-    override def enqueue(elem: T): Unit = add(elem)
-    override def dequeue(): T = remove()
-
-    override def dropHead(): Unit = remove()
-    override def dropTail(): Unit = removeLast()
-  }
-
-  private var q: Buffer[T] = new FixedQueue
-}
diff --git a/akka-stream/src/main/scala/akka/stream/impl/Buffers.scala b/akka-stream/src/main/scala/akka/stream/impl/Buffers.scala
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000..184e0bf7b2
--- /dev/null
+++ b/akka-stream/src/main/scala/akka/stream/impl/Buffers.scala
@@ -0,0 +1,204 @@
+/**
+ * Copyright (C) 2015-2016 Typesafe Inc. <http://www.typesafe.com>
+ */
+package akka.stream.impl
+
+import java.{ util ⇒ ju }
+import akka.stream._
+import scala.reflect.classTag
+import scala.reflect.ClassTag
+
+/**
+ * INTERNAL API
+ */
+private[akka] trait Buffer[T] {
+  def capacity: Int
+  def used: Int
+  def isFull: Boolean
+  def isEmpty: Boolean
+  def nonEmpty: Boolean
+
+  def enqueue(elem: T): Unit
+  def dequeue(): T
+
+  def peek(): T
+  def clear(): Unit
+  def dropHead(): Unit
+  def dropTail(): Unit
+}
+
+private[akka] object Buffer {
+  val FixedQueueSize = 128
+  val FixedQueueMask = 127
+
+  def apply[T](size: Int, settings: ActorMaterializerSettings): Buffer[T] =
+    apply(size, settings.maxFixedBufferSize)
+
+  def apply[T](size: Int, materializer: Materializer): Buffer[T] =
+    materializer match {
+      case m: ActorMaterializer ⇒ apply(size, m.settings.maxFixedBufferSize)
+      case _                    ⇒ apply(size, 1000000000)
+    }
+
+  def apply[T](size: Int, max: Int): Buffer[T] =
+    if (size < FixedQueueSize || size < max) FixedSizeBuffer(size)
+    else new BoundedBuffer(size)
+}
+
+/**
+ * INTERNAL API
+ */
+private[akka] object FixedSizeBuffer {
+
+  /**
+   * INTERNAL API
+   *
+   * Returns a fixed size buffer backed by an array. The buffer implementation DOES NOT check against overflow or
+   * underflow, it is the responsibility of the user to track or check the capacity of the buffer before enqueueing
+   * dequeueing or dropping.
+   *
+   * Returns a specialized instance for power-of-two sized buffers.
+   */
+  def apply[T](size: Int): FixedSizeBuffer[T] =
+    if (size < 1) throw new IllegalArgumentException("size must be positive")
+    else if (((size - 1) & size) == 0) new PowerOfTwoFixedSizeBuffer(size)
+    else new ModuloFixedSizeBuffer(size)
+
+  sealed abstract class FixedSizeBuffer[T](val capacity: Int) extends Buffer[T] {
+    override def toString = s"Buffer($capacity, $readIdx, $writeIdx)(${(readIdx until writeIdx).map(get).mkString(", ")})"
+    private val buffer = new Array[AnyRef](capacity)
+
+    protected var readIdx = 0
+    protected var writeIdx = 0
+    def used: Int = writeIdx - readIdx
+
+    def isFull: Boolean = used == capacity
+    def isEmpty: Boolean = used == 0
+    def nonEmpty: Boolean = used != 0
+
+    def enqueue(elem: T): Unit = {
+      put(writeIdx, elem)
+      writeIdx += 1
+    }
+
+    protected def toOffset(idx: Int): Int
+
+    def put(idx: Int, elem: T): Unit = buffer(toOffset(idx)) = elem.asInstanceOf[AnyRef]
+    def get(idx: Int): T = buffer(toOffset(idx)).asInstanceOf[T]
+
+    def peek(): T = get(readIdx)
+
+    def dequeue(): T = {
+      val result = get(readIdx)
+      dropHead()
+      result
+    }
+
+    def clear(): Unit = {
+      java.util.Arrays.fill(buffer, null)
+      readIdx = 0
+      writeIdx = 0
+    }
+
+    def dropHead(): Unit = {
+      put(readIdx, null.asInstanceOf[T])
+      readIdx += 1
+    }
+
+    def dropTail(): Unit = {
+      writeIdx -= 1
+      put(writeIdx, null.asInstanceOf[T])
+    }
+  }
+
+  private[akka] final class ModuloFixedSizeBuffer[T](_size: Int) extends FixedSizeBuffer[T](_size) {
+    override protected def toOffset(idx: Int): Int = idx % capacity
+  }
+
+  private[akka] final class PowerOfTwoFixedSizeBuffer[T](_size: Int) extends FixedSizeBuffer[T](_size) {
+    private val Mask = capacity - 1
+    override protected def toOffset(idx: Int): Int = idx & Mask
+  }
+
+}
+
+/**
+ * INTERNAL API
+ */
+private[akka] final class BoundedBuffer[T](val capacity: Int) extends Buffer[T] {
+
+  def used: Int = q.used
+  def isFull: Boolean = q.isFull
+  def isEmpty: Boolean = q.isEmpty
+  def nonEmpty: Boolean = q.nonEmpty
+
+  def enqueue(elem: T): Unit = q.enqueue(elem)
+  def dequeue(): T = q.dequeue()
+
+  def peek(): T = q.peek()
+  def clear(): Unit = q.clear()
+  def dropHead(): Unit = q.dropHead()
+  def dropTail(): Unit = q.dropTail()
+
+  private final class FixedQueue extends Buffer[T] {
+    import Buffer._
+
+    private val queue = new Array[AnyRef](FixedQueueSize)
+    private var head = 0
+    private var tail = 0
+
+    override def capacity = BoundedBuffer.this.capacity
+    override def used = tail - head
+    override def isFull = used == capacity
+    override def isEmpty = tail == head
+    override def nonEmpty = tail != head
+
+    override def enqueue(elem: T): Unit =
+      if (tail - head == FixedQueueSize) {
+        val queue = new DynamicQueue(head)
+        while (nonEmpty) {
+          queue.enqueue(dequeue())
+        }
+        q = queue
+        queue.enqueue(elem)
+      } else {
+        queue(tail & FixedQueueMask) = elem.asInstanceOf[AnyRef]
+        tail += 1
+      }
+    override def dequeue(): T = {
+      val pos = head & FixedQueueMask
+      val ret = queue(pos).asInstanceOf[T]
+      queue(pos) = null
+      head += 1
+      ret
+    }
+
+    override def peek(): T =
+      if (tail == head) null.asInstanceOf[T]
+      else queue(head & FixedQueueMask).asInstanceOf[T]
+    override def clear(): Unit =
+      while (nonEmpty) {
+        dequeue()
+      }
+    override def dropHead(): Unit = dequeue()
+    override def dropTail(): Unit = {
+      tail -= 1
+      queue(tail & FixedQueueMask) = null
+    }
+  }
+
+  private final class DynamicQueue(startIdx: Int) extends ju.LinkedList[T] with Buffer[T] {
+    override def capacity = BoundedBuffer.this.capacity
+    override def used = size
+    override def isFull = size == capacity
+    override def nonEmpty = !isEmpty()
+
+    override def enqueue(elem: T): Unit = add(elem)
+    override def dequeue(): T = remove()
+
+    override def dropHead(): Unit = remove()
+    override def dropTail(): Unit = removeLast()
+  }
+
+  private var q: Buffer[T] = new FixedQueue
+}
diff --git a/akka-stream/src/main/scala/akka/stream/impl/FixedSizeBuffer.scala b/akka-stream/src/main/scala/akka/stream/impl/FixedSizeBuffer.scala
deleted file mode 100644
index ae53622daa..0000000000
--- a/akka-stream/src/main/scala/akka/stream/impl/FixedSizeBuffer.scala
+++ /dev/null
@@ -1,84 +0,0 @@
-/**
- * Copyright (C) 2009-2016 Typesafe Inc. <http://www.typesafe.com>
- */
-package akka.stream.impl
-
-import scala.reflect.classTag
-import scala.reflect.ClassTag
-
-/**
- * INTERNAL API
- */
-private[akka] object FixedSizeBuffer {
-
-  /**
-   * INTERNAL API
-   *
-   * Returns a fixed size buffer backed by an array. The buffer implementation DOES NOT check against overflow or
-   * underflow, it is the responsibility of the user to track or check the capacity of the buffer before enqueueing
-   * dequeueing or dropping.
-   *
-   * Returns a specialized instance for power-of-two sized buffers.
-   */
-  def apply[T](size: Int): FixedSizeBuffer[T] =
-    if (size < 1) throw new IllegalArgumentException("size must be positive")
-    else if (((size - 1) & size) == 0) new PowerOfTwoFixedSizeBuffer(size)
-    else new ModuloFixedSizeBuffer(size)
-
-  sealed abstract class FixedSizeBuffer[T](val size: Int) extends Buffer[T] {
-    override def toString = s"Buffer($size, $readIdx, $writeIdx)(${(readIdx until writeIdx).map(get).mkString(", ")})"
-    private val buffer = new Array[AnyRef](size)
-
-    protected var readIdx = 0
-    protected var writeIdx = 0
-    def used: Int = writeIdx - readIdx
-
-    def isFull: Boolean = used == size
-    def isEmpty: Boolean = used == 0
-    def nonEmpty: Boolean = used != 0
-
-    def enqueue(elem: T): Unit = {
-      put(writeIdx, elem)
-      writeIdx += 1
-    }
-
-    protected def toOffset(idx: Int): Int
-
-    def put(idx: Int, elem: T): Unit = buffer(toOffset(idx)) = elem.asInstanceOf[AnyRef]
-    def get(idx: Int): T = buffer(toOffset(idx)).asInstanceOf[T]
-
-    def peek(): T = get(readIdx)
-
-    def dequeue(): T = {
-      val result = get(readIdx)
-      dropHead()
-      result
-    }
-
-    def clear(): Unit = {
-      java.util.Arrays.fill(buffer, null)
-      readIdx = 0
-      writeIdx = 0
-    }
-
-    def dropHead(): Unit = {
-      put(readIdx, null.asInstanceOf[T])
-      readIdx += 1
-    }
-
-    def dropTail(): Unit = {
-      writeIdx -= 1
-      put(writeIdx, null.asInstanceOf[T])
-    }
-  }
-
-  private final class ModuloFixedSizeBuffer[T](_size: Int) extends FixedSizeBuffer[T](_size) {
-    override protected def toOffset(idx: Int): Int = idx % size
-  }
-
-  private final class PowerOfTwoFixedSizeBuffer[T](_size: Int) extends FixedSizeBuffer[T](_size) {
-    private val Mask = size - 1
-    override protected def toOffset(idx: Int): Int = idx & Mask
-  }
-
-}
diff --git a/akka-stream/src/main/scala/akka/stream/impl/Modules.scala b/akka-stream/src/main/scala/akka/stream/impl/Modules.scala
index e6db823860..4109caa5c7 100644
--- a/akka-stream/src/main/scala/akka/stream/impl/Modules.scala
+++ b/akka-stream/src/main/scala/akka/stream/impl/Modules.scala
@@ -107,8 +107,8 @@ private[akka] final class ActorRefSource[Out](
   extends SourceModule[Out, ActorRef](shape) {
 
   override def create(context: MaterializationContext) = {
-    val ref = ActorMaterializer.downcast(context.materializer).actorOf(context,
-      ActorRefSourceActor.props(bufferSize, overflowStrategy))
+    val mat = ActorMaterializer.downcast(context.materializer)
+    val ref = mat.actorOf(context, ActorRefSourceActor.props(bufferSize, overflowStrategy, mat.settings))
     (akka.stream.actor.ActorPublisher[Out](ref), ref)
   }
 
diff --git a/akka-stream/src/main/scala/akka/stream/impl/Sinks.scala b/akka-stream/src/main/scala/akka/stream/impl/Sinks.scala
index 1d3553f374..c843b9db81 100644
--- a/akka-stream/src/main/scala/akka/stream/impl/Sinks.scala
+++ b/akka-stream/src/main/scala/akka/stream/impl/Sinks.scala
@@ -252,17 +252,17 @@ private[akka] class QueueSink[T]() extends GraphStageWithMaterializedValue[SinkS
   override val shape: SinkShape[T] = SinkShape.of(in)
 
   override def createLogicAndMaterializedValue(inheritedAttributes: Attributes) = {
-    type Received[E] = Try[Option[E]]
-
-    val maxBuffer = module.attributes.getAttribute(classOf[InputBuffer], InputBuffer(16, 16)).max
-    require(maxBuffer > 0, "Buffer size must be greater than 0")
-
-    val buffer = FixedSizeBuffer[Received[T]](maxBuffer + 1)
-    var currentRequest: Option[Requested[T]] = None
-
     val stageLogic = new GraphStageLogic(shape) with CallbackWrapper[Requested[T]] {
+      type Received[E] = Try[Option[E]]
+
+      val maxBuffer = module.attributes.getAttribute(classOf[InputBuffer], InputBuffer(16, 16)).max
+      require(maxBuffer > 0, "Buffer size must be greater than 0")
+
+      var buffer: Buffer[Received[T]] = _
+      var currentRequest: Option[Requested[T]] = None
 
       override def preStart(): Unit = {
+        buffer = Buffer(maxBuffer + 1, materializer)
         setKeepGoing(true)
         initCallback(callback.invoke)
         pull(in)
diff --git a/akka-stream/src/main/scala/akka/stream/impl/Sources.scala b/akka-stream/src/main/scala/akka/stream/impl/Sources.scala
index fd3d4ae0e1..857cbe4ca9 100644
--- a/akka-stream/src/main/scala/akka/stream/impl/Sources.scala
+++ b/akka-stream/src/main/scala/akka/stream/impl/Sources.scala
@@ -24,11 +24,14 @@ private[akka] class QueueSource[T](maxBuffer: Int, overflowStrategy: OverflowStr
 
   override def createLogicAndMaterializedValue(inheritedAttributes: Attributes) = {
     val stageLogic = new GraphStageLogic(shape) with CallbackWrapper[(T, Offered)] {
-      val buffer = if (maxBuffer == 0) null else FixedSizeBuffer[T](maxBuffer)
+      var buffer: Buffer[T] = _
       var pendingOffer: Option[(T, Offered)] = None
       var pulled = false
 
-      override def preStart(): Unit = initCallback(callback.invoke)
+      override def preStart(): Unit = {
+        if (maxBuffer > 0) buffer = Buffer(maxBuffer, materializer)
+        initCallback(callback.invoke)
+      }
       override def postStop(): Unit = stopCallback {
         case (elem, promise) ⇒ promise.failure(new IllegalStateException("Stream is terminated. SourceQueue is detached"))
       }
diff --git a/akka-stream/src/main/scala/akka/stream/impl/fusing/Ops.scala b/akka-stream/src/main/scala/akka/stream/impl/fusing/Ops.scala
index f235e82561..74dd9e9942 100644
--- a/akka-stream/src/main/scala/akka/stream/impl/fusing/Ops.scala
+++ b/akka-stream/src/main/scala/akka/stream/impl/fusing/Ops.scala
@@ -9,7 +9,7 @@ import akka.stream.Attributes.{ InputBuffer, LogLevels }
 import akka.stream.impl.Stages.DefaultAttributes
 import akka.stream.OverflowStrategies._
 import akka.stream.impl.fusing.GraphStages.SimpleLinearGraphStage
-import akka.stream.impl.{ FixedSizeBuffer, BoundedBuffer, ReactiveStreamsCompliance }
+import akka.stream.impl.{ Buffer ⇒ BufferImpl, ReactiveStreamsCompliance }
 import akka.stream.stage._
 import akka.stream.{ Supervision, _ }
 import scala.annotation.tailrec
@@ -372,7 +372,11 @@ private[akka] final case class Sliding[T](n: Int, step: Int) extends PushPullSta
  */
 private[akka] final case class Buffer[T](size: Int, overflowStrategy: OverflowStrategy) extends DetachedStage[T, T] {
 
-  private val buffer = FixedSizeBuffer[T](size)
+  private var buffer: BufferImpl[T] = _
+
+  override def preStart(ctx: LifecycleContext): Unit = {
+    buffer = BufferImpl(size, ctx.materializer)
+  }
 
   override def onPush(elem: T, ctx: DetachedContext[T]): UpstreamDirective =
     if (ctx.isHoldingDownstream) ctx.pushAndPull(elem)
@@ -639,9 +643,11 @@ private[akka] final case class MapAsync[In, Out](parallelism: Int, f: In ⇒ Fut
     //FIXME Put Supervision.stoppingDecider as a SupervisionStrategy on DefaultAttributes.mapAsync?
     val decider = inheritedAttributes.get[SupervisionStrategy].map(_.decider).getOrElse(Supervision.stoppingDecider)
 
-    val buffer = new BoundedBuffer[Holder[Try[Out]]](parallelism)
+    var buffer: BufferImpl[Holder[Try[Out]]] = _
     def todo = buffer.used
 
+    override def preStart(): Unit = buffer = BufferImpl(parallelism, materializer)
+
     @tailrec private def pushOne(): Unit =
       if (buffer.isEmpty) {
         if (isClosed(in)) completeStage()
@@ -719,9 +725,11 @@ private[akka] final case class MapAsyncUnordered[In, Out](parallelism: Int, f: I
         .map(_.decider).getOrElse(Supervision.stoppingDecider)
 
     var inFlight = 0
-    val buffer = new BoundedBuffer[Out](parallelism)
+    var buffer: BufferImpl[Out] = _
     def todo = inFlight + buffer.used
 
+    override def preStart(): Unit = buffer = BufferImpl(parallelism, materializer)
+
     def failOrPull(ex: Throwable) =
       if (decider(ex) == Supervision.Stop) failStage(ex)
       else if (isClosed(in) && todo == 0) completeStage()
@@ -958,9 +966,11 @@ private[stream] final class Delay[T](d: FiniteDuration, strategy: DelayOverflowS
         case Some(InputBuffer(min, max)) ⇒ max
       }
 
-    val buffer = FixedSizeBuffer[(Long, T)](size) // buffer has pairs timestamp with upstream element
+    var buffer: BufferImpl[(Long, T)] = _ // buffer has pairs timestamp with upstream element
     var willStop = false
 
+    override def preStart(): Unit = buffer = BufferImpl(size, materializer)
+
     setHandler(in, handler = new InHandler {
       //FIXME rewrite into distinct strategy functions to avoid matching on strategy for every input when full
       override def onPush(): Unit = {
@@ -989,7 +999,7 @@ private[stream] final class Delay[T](d: FiniteDuration, strategy: DelayOverflowS
           case Backpressure ⇒ throw new IllegalStateException("Delay buffer must never overflow in Backpressure mode")
         }
         else {
-          grabAndPull(strategy != Backpressure || buffer.size < size - 1)
+          grabAndPull(strategy != Backpressure || buffer.capacity < size - 1)
           if (!isTimerActive(timerName)) scheduleOnce(timerName, d)
         }
       }
diff --git a/akka-stream/src/main/scala/akka/stream/impl/fusing/StreamOfStreams.scala b/akka-stream/src/main/scala/akka/stream/impl/fusing/StreamOfStreams.scala
index ef2a19eb45..7e423a1309 100644
--- a/akka-stream/src/main/scala/akka/stream/impl/fusing/StreamOfStreams.scala
+++ b/akka-stream/src/main/scala/akka/stream/impl/fusing/StreamOfStreams.scala
@@ -21,7 +21,7 @@ import akka.stream.impl.MultiStreamOutputProcessor.SubstreamSubscriptionTimeout
 import scala.annotation.tailrec
 import akka.stream.impl.PublisherSource
 import akka.stream.impl.CancellingSubscriber
-import akka.stream.impl.BoundedBuffer
+import akka.stream.impl.{ Buffer ⇒ BufferImpl }
 
 /**
  * INTERNAL API
@@ -38,7 +38,9 @@ final class FlattenMerge[T, M](breadth: Int) extends GraphStage[FlowShape[Graph[
     var sources = Set.empty[SubSinkInlet[T]]
     def activeSources = sources.size
 
-    val q = new BoundedBuffer[SubSinkInlet[T]](breadth)
+    var q: BufferImpl[SubSinkInlet[T]] = _
+
+    override def preStart(): Unit = q = BufferImpl(breadth, materializer)
 
     def pushOut(): Unit = {
       val src = q.dequeue()