diff --git a/Shared/Audio/AudioPlayer.swift b/Shared/Audio/AudioPlayer.swift
index f52c48d..0422f14 100644
--- a/Shared/Audio/AudioPlayer.swift
+++ b/Shared/Audio/AudioPlayer.swift
@@ -111,12 +111,67 @@ class AudioPlayer: NSObject, ObservableObject {
         AlbumCoverStore.shared.$updateTrigger
             .sink { [weak self] _ in
                 guard let self, let id = self.currentSong?.coverArt else { return }
-                self.cachedArtworkCoverArtId = nil // Force refetch
+                self.cachedArtworkCoverArtId = nil
                 self.fetchAndSetArtwork(coverArtId: id)
             }
             .store(in: &cancellables)
+
+        // Stop all visualizer timers when backgrounded — they serve no purpose without
+        // a visible Canvas and burn CPU (causing XPC_EXIT_REASON_FAULT at ~169% CPU).
+        NotificationCenter.default.publisher(for: UIApplication.didEnterBackgroundNotification)
+            .sink { [weak self] _ in self?.suspendVisTimers() }
+            .store(in: &cancellables)
+
+        // Restart the correct timer when returning to foreground
+        NotificationCenter.default.publisher(for: UIApplication.willEnterForegroundNotification)
+            .sink { [weak self] _ in self?.resumeVisTimers() }
+            .store(in: &cancellables)
         #endif
     }
+
+    #if os(iOS)
+    private func suspendVisTimers() {
+        stopOfflineVisTimer()
+        stopLevelTimer()
+        // Remove the periodic time observer — it fires at 10Hz updating @Published currentTime,
+        // which triggers SwiftUI re-evaluation of the entire view tree in background.
+        // This is the primary driver of the 93% background CPU that kills the process.
+        removeTimeObserver()
+        alog("Background: timers + time observer suspended")
+    }
+
+    private func resumeVisTimers() {
+        guard isPlaying else { return }
+        // Reinstall the time observer before restarting vis timers so currentTime
+        // is accurate when the offline vis timer first reads position.
+        reinstallTimeObserver()
+        if isUsingOfflineVis {
+            startOfflineVisSync()
+        } else {
+            startLevelSimulation()
+        }
+        alog("Foreground: timers + time observer resumed (offlineVis=\(isUsingOfflineVis))")
+    }
+
+    private func removeTimeObserver() {
+        if let observer = timeObserver {
+            player?.removeTimeObserver(observer)
+            timeObserver = nil
+        }
+    }
+
+    private func reinstallTimeObserver() {
+        guard player != nil, timeObserver == nil else { return }
+        let interval = CMTime(seconds: 0.1, preferredTimescale: 600)
+        timeObserver = player?.addPeriodicTimeObserver(forInterval: interval, queue: .main) { [weak self] time in
+            guard let self = self else { return }
+            self.currentTime = time.seconds
+            if let dur = self.playerItem?.duration.seconds, !dur.isNaN {
+                self.duration = dur
+            }
+        }
+    }
+    #endif
     
     // MARK: - Audio Session
     
@@ -1374,33 +1429,34 @@ class AudioPlayer: NSObject, ObservableObject {
     
     private func startLevelSimulation() {
         stopLevelTimer()
-        // Force a fresh target generation on the first tick after resume
-        // by invalidating the cached phase. Otherwise currentTime hasn't
-        // advanced yet and the wave smooths to a stale constant value.
         lastTargetPhase = -1
         levelTimer = Timer.scheduledTimer(withTimeInterval: 1.0/60.0, repeats: true) { [weak self] _ in
             guard let self = self, self.isPlaying else {
                 if self?.internalLevels.contains(where: { $0 > 0.01 }) == true {
-                    self?.internalLevels = Array(repeating: 0, count: 30)
+                    for i in 0..<(self?.internalLevels.count ?? 0) {
+                        self?.internalLevels[i] = 0
+                    }
                     self?.setLevels(self?.internalLevels ?? [])
                 }
                 return
             }
-            
-            let time = self.currentTime
+
+            let time  = self.currentTime
             let phase = Int(time * 12)
             if phase != self.lastTargetPhase {
                 self.lastTargetPhase = phase
-                self.targetLevels = (0..<30).map { _ in
-                    Float.random(in: 0.1...0.85)
+                // In-place random target — no allocation
+                for i in 0..<self.targetLevels.count {
+                    self.targetLevels[i] = Float.random(in: 0.1...0.85)
                 }
             }
-            
+
+            // In-place smooth — no zip/map allocation
             let smoothing: Float = 0.15
-            self.internalLevels = zip(self.internalLevels, self.targetLevels).map { current, target in
-                current + (target - current) * smoothing
+            for i in 0..<self.internalLevels.count {
+                self.internalLevels[i] += (self.targetLevels[i] - self.internalLevels[i]) * smoothing
             }
-            
+
             self.publishCounter += 1
             if self.publishCounter % 2 == 0 {
                 self.setLevels(self.internalLevels)