Preference Error: could not load Sound preference pane

There is plenty of references to waves:

Launch Daemons:

[Loaded] com.waves.central.InstlHelper.plist (Waves Inc - installed 2023-04-17)

Executable: /Library/PrivilegedHelperTools/com.waves.central.InstlHelper

[Not Loaded] com.waves.daemon.SoundGrid.DisableNetworkRxPolling.plist (Apple - installed 2023-04-04)

Command: /usr/sbin/sysctl -w net.link.generic.system.rxpoll=0

[Loaded] com.waves.daemon.SoundGrid.Helper.plist (Waves Inc - installed 2022-11-26)

Executable: /Library/Extensions/SoundGrid.kext/Contents/Resources/SGHelper

[Other] com.waves.daemon.SoundGrid.Protocol.plist (Not signed - installed 2022-11-26)

Executable: /Applications/Waves/SoundGrid/SoundGrid Driver Control Panel.app/Contents/Resources/SGProtocolService.app/Contents/MacOS/SGProtocolService

Launch Agents:

[Loaded] com.paceap.eden.licensed.agent.plist (PACE Anti-Piracy, Inc. - installed 2023-04-15)

Command: /Library/Frameworks/PACEEdenExperience.framework/Versions/Current/Software Activation /var/tmp/com.paceap.eden.licensed.agent 1

[Other] com.waves.daemon.SoundGrid.DawNodeService.plist (Not signed - installed 2022-11-26)

Command: /Applications/Waves/SoundGrid/SoundGrid Driver Control Panel.app/Contents/Resources/SoundGrid Core Audio Service.app/Contents/MacOS/SGDawNodeService runasservice

[Other] com.waves.wls.agent.plist (Not signed - installed 2023-04-17)

Executable: /Library/Application Support/Waves/WavesLocalServer/WavesLocalServer.bundle/Contents/MacOS/WavesLocalServer

User Launch Agents:

[Other] com.WavesAudio.SoundGridStudioSilent.plist (Not signed - installed 2023-04-17)

Command: /Applications/Waves/SoundGrid Studio/SoundGrid Studio.app/Contents/MacOS/SoundGrid Studio --NoSplashScreen --Minimized

Launch Daemons are in /Library/LaunchDaemons

Launch Agents are in /Library/LaunchAgents

User Launch Agents are in ~/Library/LaunchAgents

To delete daemons you probably should start in Safe Mode.

In Finder, press Command-Shift-G and paste

/Library/LaunchDaemons

and drag the relevant items to the trash, like this one:

com.waves.daemon.SoundGrid.DisableNetworkRxPolling.plist

Similarly, for launch agents and user launch agents, do Command-Shift-G, paste

/Library/LaunchAgents

or

~/Library/LaunchAgents

and drag the relevant items to the trash.

Restart and test.

Start by telling us what your current version of macOS is.

Try restarting in Safe Mode. Can you open Sound Preferences whilst in Safe Mode?

Log in to a new user account. Can you open Sound Preferences in that account?

Please run Etrecheck and post its full report here. Use the "additional text" button and paste the report into the text box.

It does not take much to go to the Apple menu and check. I don't know what version of (presumably) Monterey that may have been released last night.

We are not looking at your mac, so we have only the information that you can provide to us, in order to help.

Major Issues:

Anything that appears on this list needs immediate attention.

Automatic updates disabled - Automatic updates are disabled. This computer is at risk of malware infection.

Security updates disabled - Security updates are disabled. This computer is at risk of malware infection.

Apple security disabled - Apple security software is disabled. This computer is at risk of malware infection.

While this may not have caused the present issue, disabling system security is never a good idea.

You should at least turn on Security updates. I do not turn on the automatic OS updates, though. It is best to make sure a backup is in place and wait usually a bit to hear user reactions, in case an update comes with particular problems. But security updates are a different thing.

There are a number of things connected to "waves", and they of course are sound related. Some of these appear to have installed quite recently.

You may look at that and other sound software and see if they need to be updated.