diff --git a/core/artwork/artwork.go b/core/artwork/artwork.go
index 077ca31d4..9b89230b9 100644
--- a/core/artwork/artwork.go
+++ b/core/artwork/artwork.go
@@ -104,9 +104,10 @@ func (a *artwork) Get(ctx context.Context, artID model.ArtworkID, size int, squa
 	if a.blurHashes != nil && size == 0 && !square && eligibleKind(artID) {
 		// Tee the served bytes: the blurhash is computed from exactly what the client downloads, so it
 		// changes precisely when the served cover changes. Placeholder bytes (playlist fallback) clear.
+		// The tee wraps r directly, so Close reaches the underlying stream (no fd leak).
 		version := capAtNow(artReader.LastUpdated())
-		reader = &teeCachedStream{CachedStream: r, tee: newTeeReader(io.NopCloser(r), maxTeeBytes,
-			func(data []byte) { a.blurHashes.EnqueueBytes(artID, data, version) })}
+		reader = newTeeReader(r, maxTeeBytes,
+			func(data []byte) { a.blurHashes.EnqueueBytes(artID, data, version) })
 	}
 	return reader, artReader.LastUpdated(), nil
 }
diff --git a/core/artwork/blurhash_tee.go b/core/artwork/tee_reader.go
similarity index 61%
rename from core/artwork/blurhash_tee.go
rename to core/artwork/tee_reader.go
index 60c0d3661..e55592ab0 100644
--- a/core/artwork/blurhash_tee.go
+++ b/core/artwork/tee_reader.go
@@ -3,13 +3,11 @@ package artwork
 import (
 	"bytes"
 	"io"
-
-	"github.com/navidrome/navidrome/utils/cache"
 )
 
 // teeReader mirrors bytes read from src into buf, and on Close invokes onComplete with the captured
 // bytes only if the stream was fully consumed (EOF) and stayed within maxBytes. Partial reads and
-// oversized streams are skipped, so a hash is only ever computed from a complete, bounded image.
+// oversized streams are skipped, so the callback only ever receives a complete, bounded payload.
 type teeReader struct {
 	src        io.ReadCloser
 	buf        bytes.Buffer
@@ -48,14 +46,3 @@ func (t *teeReader) Close() error {
 	}
 	return err
 }
-
-// teeCachedStream wraps a *cache.CachedStream so reads are teed for blurhash capture while callers
-// still see a ReadCloser. Seek is intentionally dropped: blurhash-eligible serves are full reads
-// (every artwork handler does io.Copy), so no caller Seeks a teed stream.
-type teeCachedStream struct {
-	*cache.CachedStream
-	tee *teeReader
-}
-
-func (t *teeCachedStream) Read(p []byte) (int, error) { return t.tee.Read(p) }
-func (t *teeCachedStream) Close() error               { return t.tee.Close() }
diff --git a/core/artwork/blurhash_tee_internal_test.go b/core/artwork/tee_reader_internal_test.go
similarity index 73%
rename from core/artwork/blurhash_tee_internal_test.go
rename to core/artwork/tee_reader_internal_test.go
index 595bbb099..64cfecf19 100644
--- a/core/artwork/blurhash_tee_internal_test.go
+++ b/core/artwork/tee_reader_internal_test.go
@@ -8,7 +8,23 @@ import (
 	. "github.com/onsi/gomega"
 )
 
+type closeSpy struct {
+	io.Reader
+	closed bool
+}
+
+func (c *closeSpy) Close() error { c.closed = true; return nil }
+
 var _ = Describe("teeReader", func() {
+	It("closes the underlying source exactly once", func() {
+		src := &closeSpy{Reader: bytes.NewReader([]byte("hello"))}
+		tr := newTeeReader(src, 1024, func([]byte) {})
+		_, err := io.ReadAll(tr)
+		Expect(err).ToNot(HaveOccurred())
+		Expect(tr.Close()).To(Succeed())
+		Expect(src.closed).To(BeTrue(), "the source stream must be closed, or its fd leaks")
+	})
+
 	It("calls onComplete with the full bytes after a complete read+close", func() {
 		var got []byte
 		src := io.NopCloser(bytes.NewReader([]byte("hello world")))