Here's a custom action list that I think improves on the already great sws command for previewing items;
It allows you to just hover the mouse over an item (no need to select it) and simply press the button assigned to the below custom action to audition that sound (with pan and fades intact) without loosing your previous selection. It's very fast for working out what sound is what
-SWS: save selected item(s)
-item: Select item under mouse cursor
-Xenakios/SWS: Preview selected media item (toggle)
-SWS: Restore saved selected item(s)
My one little problem is that it plays back pre fader volume so it can be quite loud compared to your actual mix, Will contact Tim and ask him if it's possible for either a post fader or just an additional command 6dB lower.
ADDITIONAL:
another thing you can do is assign just the preview action (without toggle) to toolbar icon and then if you right click it (to make it active) you can then preview every item you select straight away but still be able to move and copy them, great for a scene I just did with lots of gun shots and splintering wood