diff --git a/packages/studio/src/player/store/playerStore.ts b/packages/studio/src/player/store/playerStore.ts
index adf60e723..6e090bba2 100644
--- a/packages/studio/src/player/store/playerStore.ts
+++ b/packages/studio/src/player/store/playerStore.ts
@@ -1,6 +1,6 @@
 import { create } from "zustand";
 import { attachPlayerStoreDevHandle } from "./playerStoreDevHandle";
-import { nextSelectionSet } from "./playerStoreSelection";
+import { nextSelectionSet, revealTargetsSelection } from "./playerStoreSelection";
 import type { MusicBeatAnalysis } from "@hyperframes/core/beats";
 import type { GsapAnimation } from "@hyperframes/core/gsap-parser";
 import type { BeatEditState } from "../../utils/beatEditing";
@@ -541,7 +541,13 @@ export const usePlayerStore = create<PlayerState>((set, get) => ({
       // selection lands afterwards and used to clear the very request that
       // caused it — the panel then read null and the section never opened.
       // Any OTHER selection still drops it: a request aimed elsewhere is stale.
-      const revealSurvives = s.revealedAudioFxTarget?.elementKey === id;
+      //
+      // Compared across the ID-SPACE BOUNDARY, which is why this needs saying:
+      // a request carries the BARE dom id (`runtimeAudioId`, because the panel
+      // and the runtime speak that), while this store's ids are
+      // `sourceFile#domId`. A direct `===` was silently never true — the exact
+      // shape of failure the id-space split produces.
+      const revealSurvives = revealTargetsSelection(s.revealedAudioFxTarget, id);
       return id !== s.selectedElementId
         ? {
             selectedElementId: id,
diff --git a/packages/studio/src/player/store/playerStoreSelection.ts b/packages/studio/src/player/store/playerStoreSelection.ts
index 33817091b..ab514399b 100644
--- a/packages/studio/src/player/store/playerStoreSelection.ts
+++ b/packages/studio/src/player/store/playerStoreSelection.ts
@@ -1,9 +1,12 @@
 /**
- * Selection-set arithmetic for the player store.
+ * Selection-set arithmetic for the player store, and the reveal request's
+ * cross-id-space match.
  *
  * Its own module so `playerStore.ts` stays under the studio's 600-line cap.
  */
 
+import { splitTimelineElementKey } from "../lib/timelineElementHelpers";
+
 /**
  * The id set a selection change leaves behind.
  *
@@ -19,3 +22,20 @@ export function nextSelectionSet(
   if (preserveSet) return id && current.has(id) ? new Set(current) : new Set<string>();
   return id ? new Set([id]) : new Set<string>();
 }
+
+/**
+ * Is a pending reveal request aimed at the element being selected?
+ *
+ * Compared across the ID-SPACE BOUNDARY, which is why it is a named function:
+ * a request carries the BARE dom id (`runtimeAudioId` — the panel and the
+ * runtime speak that), while the store's ids are `sourceFile#domId`. A direct
+ * `===` between the two is silently never true, which is the exact shape of
+ * failure the split produces and how the reveal came to be dead.
+ */
+export function revealTargetsSelection(
+  request: { elementKey: string } | null,
+  id: string | null,
+): boolean {
+  if (!request || id === null) return false;
+  return request.elementKey === splitTimelineElementKey(id).domId;
+}