diff --git a/whisperx/asr.py b/whisperx/asr.py
index 43976f2..c75144b 100644
--- a/whisperx/asr.py
+++ b/whisperx/asr.py
@@ -399,7 +399,7 @@ def load_model(
     else:
         if vad_method == "silero":
             vad_model = whisperx.vads.Silero(**default_vad_options)
-        elif vad_method == "pyannote":
+        elif vad_method == "pyannote" or not vad_method:
             vad_model = whisperx.vads.Pyannote(torch.device(device), use_auth_token=None, **default_vad_options)
         else:
             raise ValueError(f"Invalid vad_method: {vad_method}")