I recommend going into Pidgin, and switching your audio settings from PulseAudio to the corresponding audio system on your desktop (ALSA, OSS, etc.). Until the issue with crackling and distortion in PulseAudio is fixed, Pidgin's notifications will continue to sound like that.
** Changed in: pidgin (Ubuntu) Status: New => Fix Released -- You received this bug notification because you are a member of Ubuntu Bugs, which is subscribed to Ubuntu. https://bugs.launchpad.net/bugs/648839 Title: Notification sound crackle -- ubuntu-bugs mailing list ubuntu-bugs@lists.ubuntu.com https://lists.ubuntu.com/mailman/listinfo/ubuntu-bugs