I'm suffering from the same problem; in my case it is triggered by having an Edirol UM-1SX MIDI interface (which has no audio functionality whatsoever) plugged in at boot time. When I do, there is a /dev/dsp1 but no /dev/dsp, and no sound.
-- ALSA default device doesnt work if usb midi device is plugged in https://launchpad.net/bugs/39251 -- ubuntu-bugs mailing list ubuntu-bugs@lists.ubuntu.com https://lists.ubuntu.com/mailman/listinfo/ubuntu-bugs
