high sierra sound issues

To help troubleshoot your Mac, I would suggest that you consider using EtreCheck and posting the resultant report for us to review.

• You can download EtreCheck from here.
• Start EtreCheck from a normal user account. Optionally, you can run it from a user account with Administrator privileges.
• Select Options

  Verify that the two options: "Ignore expected failures in Apple tasks" and "Hide Apple tasks" are enabled." Note: They should be by default. You can skip this step the next time your run EtreCheck.

• Select a problem from the drop-down menu to enable the "Start EtreCheck" button. Optionally, you can add comments on what issues your Mac is experiencing, especially to aide others with similar Mac issues.
• Click on Start EtreCheck
• Allow the program to run to completion.
• When done, you should get a results report.
• Select the "Share Report" icon.

  Select Copy Report

• Paste the report to your reply post.

My first suggestion is that you should start a new post. We haven't seen the OP's report yet and it will get confusing trying to provide options to both of you even if the issue appears similar.

In the mean time, I would suggest the following:

1. Under the Clean up section, click on the Clean up option to remove the orphan files.
2. Double-check that you really need / using all of the launch agents and daemons in those four subsections. Most of these are device-type drivers. If you really do need them, make sure that you have the very latest drivers that support the version of macOS that is running on your Mac.
3. Same thing with the Internet Plug-ins section.
4. Take a look at the Diagnostics Events section. It list a number of minor system crashes. After cleaning up the first three items in this list, these may become a mute issue.

I'm not OP but I have a similar issue and I did as you suggested. Below is my report:

EtreCheck version: 3.4.6 (460)
Report generated 2017-12-26 15:28:29
Download EtreCheck from https://etrecheck.com
Runtime: 3:57
Performance: Good

Click the [Lookup] links for more information from Apple Support Communities.
Click the [Details] links for more information about that line.
Click the [Clean up] link to delete unused files.

Problem: Other problem
Description:
could not load sound preference pane after high sierra upgrade

Hardware Information: ⓘ
    iMac (27-inch, Mid 2011) 
    [Technical Specifications] - [User Guide] - [Warranty & Service]
    iMac - model: iMac12,2
    1 3.4 GHz Intel Core i7 (i7-2600) CPU: 4-core
    8 GB RAM Upgradeable - [Instructions]
        BANK 0/DIMM0
            4 GB DDR3 1333 MHz ok
        BANK 1/DIMM0
            4 GB DDR3 1333 MHz ok
        BANK 0/DIMM1
            Empty   
        BANK 1/DIMM1
            Empty   
    Handoff/Airdrop2: not supported
    Wireless:  en1: 802.11 a/b/g/n

Video Information: ⓘ
    Intel HD Graphics 3000 - VRAM: 512 MB
    AMD Radeon HD 6970M - VRAM: 2 GB
        iMac 2560 x 1440

Disk Information: ⓘ
    Hitachi HDS723020BLA642 disk0: (2 TB) (Rotational)
    [Show SMART report]
        EFI (disk0s1 - MS-DOS FAT32) <not mounted>  [EFI]: 210 MB 
        Macintosh HD (disk0s2 - Journaled HFS+) /  [Startup]: 1.75 TB (1.26 TB free)
        Recovery HD (disk0s3 - Journaled HFS+) <not mounted>  [Recovery]: 650 MB 
        Linux-Debian (disk0s4 - Journaled HFS+) /Volumes/Linux-Debian : 249.51 GB (249.20 GB free)

    OPTIARC DVD RW AD-5690H  ()

USB Information: ⓘ
     USB20Bus 
        Apple Inc. FaceTime HD Camera (Built-in) 
         hub_device 
            Apple Inc. BRCM2046 Hub 
                Apple Inc. Bluetooth USB Host Controller 
     USB20Bus 
         hub_device 
            M-Audio Fast Track C400 
            Apple, Inc. Keyboard Hub 
                Skullcandy Skullcandy Slayer 
                Apple Inc. Apple Keyboard 
            Apple Computer, Inc. IR Receiver 
            Apple Internal Memory Card Reader 

Thunderbolt Information: ⓘ
    Apple Inc. thunderbolt_bus

System Software: ⓘ
    macOS High Sierra  10.13.2 (17C88) - Time since boot: about 2 days 

Configuration files: ⓘ
    /etc/sudoers, File size 1297 but expected 1563

Gatekeeper: ⓘ
    Mac App Store and identified developers

Clean up: ⓘ
    com.adobe.ARM.[...].plist
        /Applications/Adobe Reader.app/Contents/MacOS/Updater/Adobe Reader Updater Helper.app/Contents/MacOS/Adobe Reader Updater Helper semi-auto
        Executable not found!
    ~/Library/LaunchAgents/com.skype.skype.shareagent.plist
        /Applications/Skype.app/Contents/Library/LaunchServices/com.skype.skype.shareagent.bundle/Contents/MacOS/com.skype.skype.shareagent
        Executable not found!
    2 orphan files found. [Clean up]

Kernel Extensions: ⓘ
        /Library/Application Support/VirtualBox
    [loaded]    org.virtualbox.kext.VBoxDrv (5.0.10) [Lookup]
    [loaded]    org.virtualbox.kext.VBoxNetAdp (5.0.10) [Lookup]
    [loaded]    org.virtualbox.kext.VBoxNetFlt (5.0.10) [Lookup]
    [loaded]    org.virtualbox.kext.VBoxUSB (5.0.10) [Lookup]

        /Library/Extensions
    [loaded]    com.intel.kext.intelhaxm (6.0.1 - SDK 10.9) [Lookup]

        /System/Library/Extensions
    [loaded]    com.avid.usb.fasttrackc400.driver (M-Audio Fast Track C400 1.2.9 - SDK 10.7) [Lookup]

System Launch Agents: ⓘ
    [failed]    com.apple.telephonyutilities.callservicesd.plist (Apple, Inc. - installed 2017-12-01)
    [not loaded]    8 Apple tasks
    [loaded]    173 Apple tasks
    [running]    108 Apple tasks

System Launch Daemons: ⓘ
    [failed]    com.apple.AirPlayXPCHelper.plist (Apple, Inc. - installed 2017-12-01)
    [failed]    com.apple.audio.coreaudiod.plist (Apple, Inc. - installed 2017-12-01)
    [not loaded]    32 Apple tasks
    [loaded]    182 Apple tasks
    [running]    116 Apple tasks

Launch Agents: ⓘ
    [not loaded]    com.adobe.AAM.Updater-1.0.plist (Adobe Systems, Inc. - installed 2015-10-24) [Lookup]
    [failed]    com.adobe.ARMDCHelper.cc24aef4a1b90ed56a725c38014c95072f92651fb65e1bf9c8e43c37a23d420d.plist (Adobe Systems, Inc. - installed 2017-01-11) [Lookup]
    [running]    com.avid.fasttrackc400.helper.plist (? 25acf25f 9bda68d7 - installed 2016-09-17) [Lookup]
    [loaded]    com.divx.dms.agent.plist (? bf9bdaf7 794bb765 - installed 2015-12-21) [Lookup]
    [loaded]    com.divx.update.agent.plist (DivX, LLC - installed 2015-12-21) [Lookup]
    [loaded]    com.google.keystone.agent.plist (Google, Inc. - installed 2017-09-27) [Lookup]
    [loaded]    com.oracle.java.Java-Updater.plist (? 93c6c840 72ac4dde - installed 2017-12-23) [Lookup]
    [loaded]    org.macosforge.xquartz.startx.plist (Apple Inc. - XQuartz - installed 2013-11-10) [Lookup]

Launch Daemons: ⓘ
    [loaded]    com.adobe.ARMDC.Communicator.plist (Adobe Systems, Inc. - installed 2017-01-11) [Lookup]
    [loaded]    com.adobe.ARMDC.SMJobBlessHelper.plist (Adobe Systems, Inc. - installed 2017-01-11) [Lookup]
    [loaded]    com.adobe.SwitchBoard.plist (? 68cad67 0 - installed 2013-01-07) [Lookup]
    [running]    com.adobe.agsservice.plist (Adobe Systems, Inc. - installed 2017-09-29) [Lookup]
    [failed]    com.adobe.fpsaud.plist (? 2afb3af7 6cf41d3c - installed 2016-04-15) [Lookup]
    [loaded]    com.apple.installer.osmessagetracing.plist (Apple, Inc. - installed 2017-12-01)
    [running]    com.docker.vmnetd.plist (Docker Inc - installed 2017-10-06) [Lookup]
    [failed]    com.edb.launchd.postgresql-9.3.plist (? b8fda941 61e7efec - installed 2014-10-14) [Lookup]
    [loaded]    com.github.GitHub.GHInstallCLI.plist (GitHub - installed 2014-06-21) [Lookup]
    [loaded]    com.google.keystone.daemon.plist (Google, Inc. - installed 2017-10-12) [Lookup]
    [loaded]    com.intel.haxm.plist (Shell Script 42f307e7 - installed 2015-11-26) [Lookup]
    [loaded]    com.oracle.java.Helper-Tool.plist (Shell Script e3fefdd2 - installed 2017-09-05) [Lookup]
    [loaded]    com.skype.skypeinstaller.plist (Skype - installed 2017-07-02) [Lookup]
    [loaded]    org.macosforge.xquartz.privileged_startx.plist (Apple Inc. - XQuartz - installed 2013-11-10) [Lookup]
    [not loaded]    org.virtualbox.startup.plist (Shell Script 700b9385 - installed 2016-08-20) [Lookup]

User Launch Agents: ⓘ
    [loaded]    com.adobe.AAM.Updater-1.0.plist (Adobe Systems, Inc. - installed 2015-10-24) [Lookup]
    [failed]    com.adobe.ARM.[...].plist (? 560d19c8 0 - installed 2015-04-14) [Lookup] - /Applications/Adobe Reader.app/Contents/MacOS/Updater/Adobe Reader Updater Helper.app/Contents/MacOS/Adobe Reader Updater Helper: Executable not found!
    [loaded]    com.adobe.ARM.[...].plist (? 5c76f5f6 1c9bb8a9 - installed 2015-10-25) [Lookup]
    [loaded]    com.skype.skype.shareagent.plist (? 9e64636f 0 - installed 2017-11-12) [Lookup] - /Applications/Skype.app/Contents/Library/LaunchServices/com.skype.skype.shareagent.bundle/Contents/MacOS/com.skype.skype.shareagent: Executable not found!
    [running]    com.spotify.webhelper.plist (Spotify - installed 2017-12-22) [Lookup]
    [loaded]    com.valvesoftware.steamclean.plist (? f53cfcf4 6db598b5 - installed 2017-12-26) [Lookup]
    [not loaded]    org.virtualbox.vboxwebsrv.plist (Oracle America, Inc. - installed 2016-08-20) [Lookup]

User Login Items: ⓘ
    Applications    Folder 
        (/Applications)
    Arq Agent    Application (PhotoMinds LLC - installed 2017-11-20)
        (/Applications/Arq.app/Contents/Library/LoginItems/Arq Agent.app)

Internet Plug-ins: ⓘ
    JavaAppletPlugin: Java 8 Update 151 build 12 (installed 2017-12-23) Check version
    o1dbrowserplugin: 5.41.3.0 (installed 2015-12-18) [Lookup]
    OVSHelper: 1.1 (installed 2015-12-21) [Lookup]
    OfficeLiveBrowserPlugin: 12.3.6 (installed 2013-03-22) [Lookup]
    Flip4Mac WMV Plugin: 3.0.0.126   (installed 2013-01-12) [Lookup]
    Unity Web Player: UnityPlayer version 5.0.3f2 (installed 2015-08-16) [Lookup]
    AdobeAAMDetect: AdobeAAMDetect 1.0.0.0 (installed 2015-10-24) [Lookup]
    FlashPlayer-10.6: 21.0.0.226 (installed 2016-04-22) [Lookup]
    AdobePDFViewerNPAPI: 17.012.20098 (installed 2017-11-29) [Lookup]
    DivX Web Player: 3.5.0.5 (installed 2015-12-16) [Lookup]
    QuickTime Plugin: 7.7.3 (installed 2017-12-23)
    Flash Player: 21.0.0.226 (installed 2016-04-22) Outdated! Update
    googletalkbrowserplugin: 5.41.3.0 (installed 2015-12-11) [Lookup]
    Silverlight: 5.1.50901.0 (installed 2016-12-11) [Lookup]
    AdobePDFViewer: 18.009.20050 (installed 2017-11-29) [Lookup]
    DirectorShockwave: 12.0.9r149 (installed 2014-01-28) [Lookup]

3rd Party Preference Panes: ⓘ
    Flash Player (installed 2016-04-15) [Lookup]
    Flip4Mac WMV (installed 2012-09-14) [Lookup]
    Java (installed 2017-12-23) [Lookup]
    M-Audio Fast Track C400 Control Panel (installed 2016-09-17) [Lookup]

Time Machine: ⓘ
    Time Machine not configured!

Top Processes by CPU: ⓘ
         5%   Google Chrome Helper
         4%   WindowServer
         3%   kernel_task
         1%   Google Chrome Helper
         1%   Google Chrome

Top Processes by Memory: ⓘ
    817 MB    kernel_task
    555 MB    SystemUIServer
    237 MB    Google Chrome Helper
    227 MB    Google Chrome
    183 MB    Finder

Top Processes by Network Use: ⓘ
    Input     Output    Process name
    2 MB      1 MB      mDNSResponder
    62 KB     24 KB     netbiosd
    9 KB      17 KB     apsd
    0 B       64 B      SystemUIServer

Top Processes by Energy Use: ⓘ
     37.80 Google Chrome Helper
     12.42 WindowServer
      9.20 ReportCrash
      6.20 Google Chrome Helper

Virtual Memory Information: ⓘ
    3.10 GB   Available RAM
    1.24 GB   Free RAM
    4.90 GB   Used RAM
    1.86 GB   Cached files
    0 B       Swap Used

Software installs (last 30 days): ⓘ
    Adobe Acrobat Reader DC (18.009.20050):  (installed 2017-11-29)
    Evernote: 6.13.1 (installed 2017-12-03)
    Java 8 Update 151:  (installed 2017-12-23)

    Install information may not be complete.

Diagnostics Events (last 3 days for minor events): ⓘ
    2017-12-26 15:27:05    universalaccessd Crash [Open]
    2017-12-26 15:18:49    Sound.prefPane Crash [Open]
        Cause:        ViewBridge hint(s): (
        "<NSViewServiceMarshal 0x7f96d7f0da40> <(null) 0x0>"
        )
    2017-12-26 15:08:17    callservicesd Crash [Open]

    Standard users cannot read /Library/Logs/DiagnosticReports.
    Run as an administrator account to see more information.

The line that seems most relevant/concerning is:

[failed] com.apple.audio.coreaudiod.plist (Apple, Inc. - installed 2017-12-01)

Suggestions?

I found the problem. I have a 3rd party audio interface plugged into one of my USB ports. I guess the driver stopped working with the OS upgrade. I unplugged the interface and rebooted the machine and everything now works as expected. I haven't tried installing a new driver yet but presumably that will get my interface to work correctly with the latest OS.