diff --git a/gui/audio_preview.py b/gui/audio_preview.py
index b7804f3..5553ff7 100644
--- a/gui/audio_preview.py
+++ b/gui/audio_preview.py
@@ -1,32 +1,61 @@
 from pydub import AudioSegment
 import simpleaudio as sa
 from tkinter import messagebox
+import threading
+import time
 
 _play_obj = None
+_play_thread: threading.Thread | None = None
+_stop_event: threading.Event | None = None
 
-def play_preview(path: str, start_ms: int = 30000, duration_ms: int = 15000) -> None:
-    """Play a short preview of the audio file at ``path``.
-
-    Parameters
-    ----------
-    path : str
-        File path of the audio clip.
-    start_ms : int, optional
-        Starting point in milliseconds, by default 30000.
-    duration_ms : int, optional
-        Duration of the preview in milliseconds, by default 15000.
-    """
+
+def stop_preview() -> None:
+    """Stop any currently playing preview."""
+    global _play_obj, _play_thread, _stop_event
+    if _stop_event is not None:
+        _stop_event.set()
+    if _play_obj and _play_obj.is_playing():
+        _play_obj.stop()
+    _play_thread = None
+    _stop_event = None
+    _play_obj = None
+
+
+def _loop_play(clip: AudioSegment, stop_evt: threading.Event) -> None:
     global _play_obj
-    try:
-        audio = AudioSegment.from_file(path)
-        clip = audio[start_ms : start_ms + duration_ms]
-        if _play_obj and _play_obj.is_playing():
-            _play_obj.stop()
+    while not stop_evt.is_set():
         _play_obj = sa.play_buffer(
             clip.raw_data,
             num_channels=clip.channels,
             bytes_per_sample=clip.sample_width,
             sample_rate=clip.frame_rate,
         )
+        while _play_obj.is_playing() and not stop_evt.is_set():
+            time.sleep(0.1)
+        if stop_evt.is_set():
+            _play_obj.stop()
+            break
+        time.sleep(0.25)
+
+
+def play_preview(path: str, start_ms: int = 30000, duration_ms: int = 30000) -> None:
+    """Play a looping preview of ``path``.
+
+    The snippet plays for ``duration_ms`` starting at ``start_ms`` then pauses
+    briefly before looping until :func:`stop_preview` is called.
+    """
+    global _play_thread, _stop_event
+
+    stop_preview()
+    try:
+        audio = AudioSegment.from_file(path)
+        clip = audio[start_ms : start_ms + duration_ms]
     except Exception as exc:
         messagebox.showerror("Playback Error", str(exc))
+        return
+
+    _stop_event = threading.Event()
+    _play_thread = threading.Thread(
+        target=_loop_play, args=(clip, _stop_event), daemon=True
+    )
+    _play_thread.start()
diff --git a/main_gui.py b/main_gui.py
index 80b4ba1..2bd7619 100644
--- a/main_gui.py
+++ b/main_gui.py
@@ -44,6 +44,7 @@
 from controllers.import_controller import import_new_files
 from controllers.genre_list_controller import list_unique_genres
 from controllers.highlight_controller import play_snippet, PYDUB_AVAILABLE
+from gui.audio_preview import play_preview as _play_clip, stop_preview as _stop_clip
 from io import BytesIO
 from PIL import Image, ImageTk
 from mutagen import File as MutagenFile
@@ -2250,6 +2251,7 @@ def _replace_selected(self):
 
     # ── Quality Checker Helpers ─────────────────────────────────────────
     def clear_quality_view(self) -> None:
+        _stop_clip()
         for w in self.qc_inner.winfo_children():
             w.destroy()
 
@@ -2279,13 +2281,11 @@ def _play_preview(self, path: str) -> None:
             )
             return
 
-        def task() -> None:
-            try:
-                play_snippet(path)
-            except Exception as e:
-                self.after(0, lambda: messagebox.showerror("Playback failed", str(e)))
-
-        threading.Thread(target=task, daemon=True).start()
+        try:
+            _stop_clip()
+            _play_clip(path)
+        except Exception as e:
+            messagebox.showerror("Playback failed", str(e))
 
     def _load_thumbnail(self, path: str, size: int = 100) -> ImageTk.PhotoImage:
         img = None