Comment 6 for bug 67998

I've also tried setting the default soundcard, and that worked, too. I guess the quick fix is:

$ asoundconf set-default-card `asoundconf list | grep -v "^Names" | head -1`

Especially if you have only one soundcard :D. This sets the default soundcard to be the first one showing up in the output of 'asoundconf list'.

If, however, you want to use another one of the cards in the list, Chris's solution is the one to go with. It seems there are a few people these days with two sound cards.