diff --git a/rvsttd/src/main.rs b/rvsttd/src/main.rs
index 2d4720d..2a1050b 100644
--- a/rvsttd/src/main.rs
+++ b/rvsttd/src/main.rs
@@ -288,11 +288,9 @@ fn transcriber_loop(
         r.log_event(&format!("session {} started", shared.session_id));
     }
 
-    let drain_timeout = Duration::from_millis(100);
-
     // Main loop: process audio until stop_signal
     while !stop_signal.load(Ordering::SeqCst) {
-        match rx.recv_timeout(drain_timeout) {
+        match rx.recv_timeout(Duration::from_millis(100)) {
             Ok(chunk) => {
                 if let Some(ref mut r) = recorder {
                     r.add_audio(&chunk);
@@ -323,9 +321,12 @@ fn transcriber_loop(
         }
     }
 
-    // Drain trailing audio from ALSA buffer (cpal stream still alive)
-    loop {
-        match rx.recv_timeout(drain_timeout) {
+    // Drain trailing audio from ALSA buffer (cpal stream still alive).
+    // Fixed 100ms window — cpal delivers every ~50ms (800 samples @ 16kHz),
+    // so this captures 1-2 more callbacks worth of trailing audio.
+    let drain_deadline = std::time::Instant::now() + Duration::from_millis(100);
+    while std::time::Instant::now() < drain_deadline {
+        match rx.recv_timeout(drain_deadline - std::time::Instant::now()) {
             Ok(chunk) => {
                 if let Some(ref mut r) = recorder {
                     r.add_audio(&chunk);