Alienware 17 R2: Audio/sound problems

Upon receiving my new Alienware 17 R2, I discovered that no sound whatsoever would play, whether it be through the speakers or any headphones I plugged in. I simply uninstalled and reinstalled the Creative SoundBlaster audio drivers with a proper reboot here and there, and all seemed well...until a while later.

Sometimes it happens when I'm simply watching a youtube video, other times it's when I'm in a skype call, or some other menial task that is not taxing to the system whatsoever, but whatever audio is playing starts to fizzle and cut out, and then there's nothing altogether.

Audio is working fine one moment, then the next it's gone. After a reboot, suddenly it says "no audio output device is installed." Another reboot and it's back again, only to fizzle out and disappear within the hour.

I've done a complete restore, I've uninstalled, reinstalled, and/or updated numerous drivers, I've updated BIOS, yet nothing seems to have worked as a permanent solution. When I ran the ePSA and checked the box to test audio, nothing was detected as faulty. I'm at my wit's end trying to troubleshoot this. Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated!