diff --git a/sys/dev/sound/pcm/sound.c b/sys/dev/sound/pcm/sound.c
--- a/sys/dev/sound/pcm/sound.c
+++ b/sys/dev/sound/pcm/sound.c
@@ -139,6 +139,7 @@
 {
 	struct snddev_info *d = device_get_softc(dev);
 	struct pcm_channel *ch;
+	int err = 0;
 
 	PCM_LOCK(d);
 	PCM_WAIT(d);
@@ -147,13 +148,12 @@
 	if (!ch) {
 		device_printf(d->dev, "chn_init(%s, %d, %p) failed\n",
 		    cls->name, dir, devinfo);
-		PCM_UNLOCK(d);
-		return (ENODEV);
+		err = ENODEV;
 	}
 	PCM_RELEASE(d);
 	PCM_UNLOCK(d);
 
-	return (0);
+	return (err);
 }
 
 static void