diff --git a/NEWS b/NEWS
index 116d87a21..1acfd7975 100644
--- a/NEWS
+++ b/NEWS
@@ -21,6 +21,7 @@ ver 0.15 - (200?/??/??)
   - added configuration option to disable decoder plugins
 * audio outputs:
   - added option to disable audio outputs by default
+  - wait 10 seconds before reopening after play failure
   - shout: enlarged buffer size to 32 kB
   - null: allow disabling synchronization
   - mvp: fall back to stereo
diff --git a/src/output_thread.c b/src/output_thread.c
index c5e4b4fa2..a55260785 100644
--- a/src/output_thread.c
+++ b/src/output_thread.c
@@ -83,6 +83,10 @@ static void ao_play(struct audio_output *ao)
 
 			ao_plugin_cancel(ao->plugin, ao->data);
 			ao_close(ao);
+
+			/* don't automatically reopen this device for
+			   10 seconds */
+			ao->fail_timer = g_timer_new();
 			break;
 		}