diff --git a/ts3-client/desktop/src/main/java/com/ts3client/audio/desktop/WavSoundPlayer.java b/ts3-client/desktop/src/main/java/com/ts3client/audio/desktop/WavSoundPlayer.java
index be0479b..0fae90d 100644
--- a/ts3-client/desktop/src/main/java/com/ts3client/audio/desktop/WavSoundPlayer.java
+++ b/ts3-client/desktop/src/main/java/com/ts3client/audio/desktop/WavSoundPlayer.java
@@ -16,14 +16,18 @@ import java.util.Map;
  * playback device.
  *
  * <p>All notification sounds share one playback line and are mixed together, so
- * two events firing at once never fight over the device and the line only exists
- * while something is actually playing. Files are decoded once, resampled to the
+ * two events firing at once never fight over the device, and the line is dropped
+ * again after a long enough quiet spell. Files are decoded once, resampled to the
  * device's 48&nbsp;kHz and cached, so repeat events cost nothing but the mix.
  */
 public final class WavSoundPlayer implements SoundPlayer {
 
-    /** How long the playback line is kept open after the last sound, in mixer frames. */
-    private static final int IDLE_FRAMES = 150;                 // 3 s of 20 ms frames
+    /**
+     * How long the playback line is held after the last sound. Opening it costs a
+     * device round-trip, which is audible as a lag before a sound the user just
+     * triggered, so it is kept around for a spell of quiet rather than per sound.
+     */
+    private static final long IDLE_KEEP_OPEN_NANOS = 30_000_000_000L;
     /** Sound files are small; this caps the decoded cache anyway. */
     private static final int MAX_CACHED_FILES = 64;
 
@@ -97,31 +101,21 @@ public final class WavSoundPlayer implements SoundPlayer {
     // ---- mixing ----
 
     /**
-     * Renders the active sounds onto one line until everything has been quiet for
-     * {@link #IDLE_FRAMES}, then gives the device back.
+     * Renders the active sounds onto one line, idling (rather than writing silence)
+     * between them and giving the device back after {@link #IDLE_KEEP_OPEN_NANOS}.
+     *
+     * <p>Idling matters for latency: the line buffers a few hundred milliseconds, so
+     * padding the gaps with silence would queue a sound behind all of it.
      */
     private void mixLoop() {
         AudioPlayback line = null;
         try {
-            int idle = 0;
             float[] mix = new float[AudioDevices.FRAME_SIZE];
-            while (true) {
-                synchronized (lock) {
-                    if (!running) return;
-                    if (voices.isEmpty()) {
-                        if (++idle > IDLE_FRAMES) {
-                            mixer = null;
-                            return;
-                        }
-                    } else {
-                        idle = 0;
-                    }
-                }
+            while (awaitVoices()) {
                 if (line == null) {
                     line = AudioDevices.openPlayback(outputDevice, AudioDevices.MAX_CHANNELS);
                     line.start();
                 }
-                // Silence keeps the line running (and paces this loop) until it is closed.
                 renderFrame(mix);
                 line.write(toBytes(mix, line.channels()), 0, mix.length * 2 * line.channels());
             }
@@ -135,6 +129,26 @@ public final class WavSoundPlayer implements SoundPlayer {
         }
     }
 
+    /**
+     * Blocks until there is something to render.
+     *
+     * @return false when the idle timeout expired or the player was shut down, in
+     * which case this thread is done and {@link #play} will start a fresh one
+     */
+    private boolean awaitVoices() throws InterruptedException {
+        synchronized (lock) {
+            long deadline = System.nanoTime() + IDLE_KEEP_OPEN_NANOS;
+            while (running && voices.isEmpty()) {
+                long remaining = deadline - System.nanoTime();
+                if (remaining <= 0) break;
+                lock.wait(Math.max(1, remaining / 1_000_000L));
+            }
+            if (running && !voices.isEmpty()) return true;
+            mixer = null;
+            return false;
+        }
+    }
+
     /** Sums the active sounds into {@code mix}, dropping the ones that ran out. */
     private void renderFrame(float[] mix) {
         java.util.Arrays.fill(mix, 0f);