diff --git a/frontend/src/components/AudioVisualizer.tsx b/frontend/src/components/AudioVisualizer.tsx
index f0e4d1c..89a89cf 100644
--- a/frontend/src/components/AudioVisualizer.tsx
+++ b/frontend/src/components/AudioVisualizer.tsx
@@ -10,14 +10,17 @@ const MAX_AMPLITUDE = 0.22;
 const PADDING = 6;
 
 export default function AudioVisualizer({ height = 80 }: AudioVisualizerProps) {
-  const { isPlaying, currentTime, duration } = useAudio();
+  const { isPlaying, currentTime, duration, getFrequencyData } = useAudio();
   const canvasRef = useRef<HTMLCanvasElement>(null);
   const rafRef = useRef<number>(0);
   const heightsRef = useRef<number[]>(Array(NUM_POINTS).fill(0));
   const playingRef = useRef(isPlaying);
+  const getDataRef = useRef(getFrequencyData);
   const timeRef = useRef({ currentTime, duration });
+  const hasRealDataRef = useRef(false);
 
   useEffect(() => { playingRef.current = isPlaying; }, [isPlaying]);
+  useEffect(() => { getDataRef.current = getFrequencyData; }, [getFrequencyData]);
   useEffect(() => { timeRef.current = { currentTime, duration }; }, [currentTime, duration]);
 
   useEffect(() => {
@@ -45,19 +48,45 @@ export default function AudioVisualizer({ height = 80 }: AudioVisualizerProps) {
     const animate = () => {
       if (!ctx || !canvas) return;
       frame++;
+      const raw = getDataRef.current?.();
       const hts = heightsRef.current;
       const step = drawW / (NUM_POINTS - 1);
       const { currentTime: ct, duration: dur } = timeRef.current;
       const progress = dur > 0 ? ct / dur : 0;
       const playing = playingRef.current;
 
-      // Simulated waveform animation (Web Audio API not used to avoid CORS muting)
+      // Detect if real frequency data is available
+      if (raw && playing) {
+        const sum = raw.reduce((a, b) => a + b, 0);
+        hasRealDataRef.current = sum > 0;
+      }
+
+      // Update heights
       if (playing) {
-        for (let i = 0; i < NUM_POINTS; i++) {
-          const wave = Math.sin(frame * 0.04 + i * 0.35) * 0.5 + 0.5;
-          const noise = Math.sin(frame * 0.07 + i * 1.7) * 0.3 + 0.7;
-          const target = MAX_AMPLITUDE * 0.6 * (0.5 + wave * noise);
-          hts[i] += (target - hts[i]) * 0.18;
+        if (raw && hasRealDataRef.current) {
+          // Real frequency data from Web Audio API (CORS allowed)
+          for (let i = 0; i < NUM_POINTS; i++) {
+            const bucketSize = raw.length / NUM_POINTS;
+            const startIdx = Math.floor(i * bucketSize);
+            const endIdx = Math.floor((i + 1) * bucketSize);
+            let sum = 0;
+            let count = 0;
+            for (let j = startIdx; j < endIdx && j < raw.length; j++) {
+              sum += raw[j];
+              count++;
+            }
+            const avg = count > 0 ? sum / count : 0;
+            const target = (avg / 255) * MAX_AMPLITUDE;
+            hts[i] += (target - hts[i]) * 0.25;
+          }
+        } else {
+          // Simulated visualization (no CORS or no Web Audio)
+          for (let i = 0; i < NUM_POINTS; i++) {
+            const wave = Math.sin(frame * 0.04 + i * 0.35) * 0.5 + 0.5;
+            const noise = Math.sin(frame * 0.07 + i * 1.7) * 0.3 + 0.7;
+            const target = MAX_AMPLITUDE * 0.6 * (0.5 + wave * noise);
+            hts[i] += (target - hts[i]) * 0.18;
+          }
         }
       } else {
         for (let i = 0; i < NUM_POINTS; i++) {
diff --git a/frontend/src/context/AudioContext.tsx b/frontend/src/context/AudioContext.tsx
index 310194c..97eb25b 100644
--- a/frontend/src/context/AudioContext.tsx
+++ b/frontend/src/context/AudioContext.tsx
@@ -33,6 +33,9 @@ const AudioContext = createContext<AudioContextType | undefined>(undefined);
 
 export function AudioProvider({ children }: { children: ReactNode }) {
   const audioRef = useRef<HTMLAudioElement>(null);
+  const webAudioRef = useRef<AudioContext | null>(null);
+  const analyserRef = useRef<AnalyserNode | null>(null);
+  const dataArrayRef = useRef<Uint8Array | null>(null);
   const [currentEpisode, setCurrentEpisode] = useState<Episode | null>(null);
   const [isPlaying, setIsPlaying] = useState(false);
   const [currentTime, setCurrentTime] = useState(0);
@@ -44,6 +47,9 @@ export function AudioProvider({ children }: { children: ReactNode }) {
   const [error, setError] = useState<string | null>(null);
   const [userId, setUserId] = useState<string | null>(null);
 
+  // CORS retry: start with CORS for real frequency data, fall back if blocked
+  const [corsMode, setCorsMode] = useState<'cors' | 'no-cors'>('cors');
+
   // Refs for interval-based progress saving
   const currentTimeRef = useRef(0);
   const durationRef = useRef(0);
@@ -104,21 +110,66 @@ export function AudioProvider({ children }: { children: ReactNode }) {
     }).catch(() => setIsResuming(false));
   }, [currentEpisode?._id, userId]);
 
-  // getFrequencyData returns null — visualizer uses simulated data
-  const getFrequencyData = () => null;
+  // Initialize Web Audio Analyser (only in CORS mode)
+  useEffect(() => {
+    if (corsMode !== 'cors' || !audioRef.current || !currentEpisode) return;
+
+    try {
+      const AudioCtx = (window as any).AudioContext || (window as any).webkitAudioContext;
+      if (!AudioCtx) return;
+
+      const ctx = new AudioCtx();
+      const source = ctx.createMediaElementSource(audioRef.current);
+      const analyser = ctx.createAnalyser();
+      analyser.fftSize = 128;
+      analyser.smoothingTimeConstant = 0.8;
+      source.connect(analyser);
+      analyser.connect(ctx.destination);
+
+      webAudioRef.current = ctx;
+      analyserRef.current = analyser;
+      dataArrayRef.current = new Uint8Array(analyser.frequencyBinCount);
+    } catch {
+      // Fallback: audio plays without visualizer
+    }
+
+    return () => {
+      if (webAudioRef.current && webAudioRef.current.state !== 'closed') {
+        webAudioRef.current.close().catch(() => {});
+      }
+      analyserRef.current = null;
+      dataArrayRef.current = null;
+      webAudioRef.current = null;
+    };
+  }, [currentEpisode?._id, corsMode]);
+
+  const getFrequencyData = () => {
+    if (!analyserRef.current || !dataArrayRef.current) return null;
+    analyserRef.current.getByteFrequencyData(dataArrayRef.current as Uint8Array<ArrayBuffer>);
+    return dataArrayRef.current;
+  };
 
   // Actions
   const playEpisode = (episode: Episode) => {
+    setCorsMode('cors');
+    setError(null);
     setCurrentEpisode(episode);
     setIsPlaying(true);
   };
 
   const closePlayer = () => {
     if (audioRef.current) audioRef.current.pause();
+    if (webAudioRef.current && webAudioRef.current.state !== 'closed') {
+      webAudioRef.current.close().catch(() => {});
+    }
+    analyserRef.current = null;
+    dataArrayRef.current = null;
+    webAudioRef.current = null;
     setCurrentEpisode(null);
     setIsPlaying(false);
     setCurrentTime(0);
     setDuration(0);
+    setCorsMode('cors');
   };
 
   const togglePlay = () => {
@@ -151,6 +202,16 @@ export function AudioProvider({ children }: { children: ReactNode }) {
     setPlaybackSpeedState(prev => speeds[(speeds.indexOf(prev) + 1) % speeds.length]);
   };
 
+  const handleAudioError = () => {
+    if (corsMode === 'cors') {
+      // CORS blocked the audio — retry without CORS (sound works, no real frequency data)
+      setCorsMode('no-cors');
+      setError(null);
+    } else {
+      setError("Impossible de charger ce fichier audio. Le lien est peut-être expiré ou protégé.");
+    }
+  };
+
   return (
     <AudioContext.Provider value={{
       currentEpisode, isPlaying, currentTime, duration, volume, playbackSpeed, isMuted, isResuming, error,
@@ -160,15 +221,16 @@ export function AudioProvider({ children }: { children: ReactNode }) {
       {/* Persistent audio element — lives at provider level so it survives page navigation */}
       {currentEpisode && (
         <audio
-          key={currentEpisode._id}
+          key={`${currentEpisode._id}-${corsMode}`}
           ref={audioRef}
           src={currentEpisode.audioUrl}
+          crossOrigin={corsMode === 'cors' ? 'anonymous' : undefined}
           onTimeUpdate={() => audioRef.current && setCurrentTime(audioRef.current.currentTime)}
           onLoadedMetadata={() => audioRef.current && setDuration(audioRef.current.duration)}
           onPlay={() => setIsPlaying(true)}
           onPause={() => setIsPlaying(false)}
           onEnded={() => setIsPlaying(false)}
-          onError={() => setError("Impossible de charger ce fichier audio. Le lien est peut-être expiré ou protégé.")}
+          onError={handleAudioError}
           autoPlay
         />
       )}
@@ -183,4 +245,4 @@ export function useAudio() {
     throw new Error('useAudio must be used within an AudioProvider');
   }
   return context;
-}
+}
\ No newline at end of file