Can I run PulseAudio alongside other services? If you want a more professional setup with your audio, however, you may want to opt for something like JACK. Many distributions now make it available in official repositories, and its stability has improved significantly in recent years. It contains better integrated support for Bluetooth devices and improves PulseAudio’s wonky way of handling sampling and post-processing. Yes! The most popular (and most viable, if you plan on using a desktop) alternative to PulseAudio is PipeWire. The process is a bit more complex than replacing a Realtek kernel module for networking, so be aware that you may be sitting for a very long time trying to sort out issues. If you’re planning on replacing ALSA with something else that operates in the kernel (like Open Sound System), then by all means, go ahead and do that. Tread very carefully here! PulseAudio needs a kernel-level audio module to work. Now you’ll have a service that’s meant to run only when you resume after suspend, immediately shutting down once it’s done its job to avoid adding bloat. If it still fails, the only other solution within reach is to remove timidity from Ubuntu. Once you reboot, your audio should work fine.