diff --git a/sync_audio_test.py b/sync_audio_test.py
index ba74258..4447bdd 100644
--- a/sync_audio_test.py
+++ b/sync_audio_test.py
@@ -44,6 +44,7 @@ except ImportError:
     HAS_SD = False
 
 from sync_audio import load_wav, correlate, device_info, lag_to_seconds
+from waveform_cache import cached_load_wav
 
 
 def load_config(path: str) -> dict:
@@ -131,9 +132,9 @@ class SyncWindow(QtWidgets.QMainWindow):
 
         # load
         print(f"Loading {a_path}")
-        self.a, self.sr_a = load_wav(a_path, target_sr=sr)
+        self.a, self.sr_a = cached_load_wav(a_path, target_sr=sr)
         print(f"Loading {b_path}")
-        self.b, self.sr_b = load_wav(b_path, target_sr=sr)
+        self.b, self.sr_b = cached_load_wav(b_path, target_sr=sr)
         # keep originals for lag apply
         self.a_orig = self.a.copy()
         self.b_orig = self.b.copy()
diff --git a/verify_sync.py b/verify_sync.py
index 5e38537..5712c6a 100644
--- a/verify_sync.py
+++ b/verify_sync.py
@@ -61,6 +61,7 @@ except ImportError:
     HAS_SF = False
 
 from sync_audio import load_wav
+from waveform_cache import cached_load_wav
 
 
 # ─── Helpers ───
@@ -209,9 +210,9 @@ class VerifyWindow(QtWidgets.QMainWindow):
 
         # Load audio
         print(f"Loading audio A: {wav_a_path}")
-        self.a_orig, _ = load_wav(wav_a_path, target_sr=sr)
+        self.a_orig, _ = cached_load_wav(wav_a_path, target_sr=sr)
         print(f"Loading audio B: {wav_b_path}")
-        self.b_orig, _ = load_wav(wav_b_path, target_sr=sr)
+        self.b_orig, _ = cached_load_wav(wav_b_path, target_sr=sr)
 
         # Apply lag alignment
         self.a_aligned, self.b_aligned = apply_lag(self.a_orig, self.b_orig, self.lag_samples)
diff --git a/waveform_cache.py b/waveform_cache.py
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..f99b25a
--- /dev/null
+++ b/waveform_cache.py
@@ -0,0 +1,29 @@
+"""
+Shared waveform cache — avoids re-reading and re-decoding large WAV files
+when the same file is loaded multiple times (e.g. sync_audio_test → verify).
+"""
+
+from __future__ import annotations
+import os
+import numpy as np
+
+_cache: dict[tuple[str, int], np.ndarray] = {}
+
+
+def cached_load_wav(path: str, target_sr: int = 48000) -> tuple[np.ndarray, int]:
+    """Load a WAV file with caching. Returns (audio_array, sample_rate)."""
+    real_path = os.path.realpath(path)
+    key = (real_path, target_sr)
+    if key in _cache:
+        print(f"  (cached: {os.path.basename(path)})")
+        return _cache[key].copy(), target_sr
+
+    # Import here to avoid circular imports
+    from sync_audio import load_wav
+    data, sr = load_wav(path, target_sr=target_sr)
+    _cache[key] = data
+    return data, sr
+
+
+def clear_cache():
+    _cache.clear()