@FrenchPress @StarTreker @zabadabadoo @Aravisian
Thanks for the recommendations everyone. I think I should get a device like that just in case. I haven't heard the name Sound Blaster in ages. Wow. I remember when I got my first Sound Blaster, it was a SB16 ISA Card. It's been ages since I last installed an actual sound card. then then moved on to an Audigy I think. Haven't bought a card afterwards. LOL.
I remember those days.
There was no on-board sound system by then. I went through many sound cards.
That is correct. This is because computers only had PC speakers at best, they were really good at the bleeps, the sweeps, and the creeps, but not much else.
Remember listening to beeps to decipher motherboard error codes? Don't forget the loud and noisy boot up with the HDD and fans overpowering the beeps. 
It was fun playing midi through it though. Lol.
Yes I do remember that, that was the days before motherboards included CMOS error codes via LED display on mobo.
I have a Dell XPS 9710 and same issue, opened a thread on it. Basically you will need to wait like I will for next kernel release which will address sound issues on our XPS units. Kernel 5.11.0-35 will have the fix. Tested with a prerelease of this kernel and had sound working. then reverted back due to my use of Vmware Workstation.
You have the same problem as I have - Kernel and VMware version mismatch.
Correct, patiently waiting on next kernel release.
Hello! I read your thread. It's a shame your much newer laptop has issues too. Mine's six years old.
I just upgraded to linux-image-unsigned-5.14.6-051406-generic_5.14.6-051406.202109181232_amd64 30 minutes ago. Still got sound, and system seems speedier too. I'll revert back to 5.11.0-34-generic if I have issues.
https://kernel.ubuntu.com/~kernel-ppa/mainline/v5.14.6/
https://git.kernel.org/pub/scm/linux/kernel/git/stable/linux.git/?h=v5.14.6
I believe changes made to 5.11.0-35 will make it to all future mainline kernel releases.
Yeah, I think it was just a bug that needed to get fixed. Good deal! 
I tried 5.14.6 generic unsigned for a day this week. It was stable for me. System seemed snappier too. But, I went back to 5.11.0-34 signed generic, and now -036 since I have no idea how unsigned kernels will affect operations. I also haven't found a way to get signed ubuntu kernels here:
https://kernel.ubuntu.com/~kernel-ppa/mainline/
Oh yea, test sound lady still didn't come back. I'm just going to ignore it. But, I haven't lost my sound yet and I'm on day three of trouble-free sound. Haven't lost the sound card or just the sound from sleep/suspend too. Maybe my multiple full uninstallation of alsa and pulseaudio then shutdown a few days ago helped. LOL.
So new kernel was released today 5.11.0-36. Haven't had a chance to test on XPS 9710 yet will do so later tonight. Hopefully, this resolves sound issues. Will report back in the morning. Seems like a user has tested and seems to be working for them.
So tried latest kernel and more of the same. No sound dummy output. Not sure how to resolve this.
Try using non-Zorin provided kernels as newest stable is now 5.14.6 or maybe 5.14.7. Maybe they'll be better. All of the ones provided via Zorin updates are only v5.11.0-X.
You could use the links I provided previously to test out kernels.
I also noticed, rebooting caused the sound issues for me in the past. I no longer reboot, but do a full shut down each time to swtich OS or after upgrades. Might help with the initialization of kernel drivers when it's a fresh boot.
Have you tried:
echo "options snd-hda-intel dmic_detect=0" | sudo tee -a /etc/modprobe.d/alsa-base.conf
Followed with
echo "blacklist snd_soc_skl" | sudo tee -a /etc/modprobe.d/blacklist.conf
Only run each command once.
Reboot and test.
@Masterpier Have you done Dell updates? Seems there's a BIOS update released on Aug 26, 2021 and Sep 17, 2021.
https://www.dell.com/support/home/en-hk/product-support/product/xps-17-9700-laptop/drivers
https://www.dell.com/support/home/en-hk/product-support/product/xps-17-9710-laptop/drivers
I don't see any Linux drivers for the model at Dell's website. I wonder whether they support Linux for your model.
There's drivers for my model, but quite old and were original releases in 2015.
Hopefully, they'll officially support Linux, if more people complain to them.
