> Did you created an /etc/asound.conf

No, I have no such file.

> or adapted some options loading your snd- modules?

Yes, I mentioned in the first post that I created a rule under
/etc/modprobe.d/ to disable HDMI audio output through the integrated chips.
But you added another reply so you probably noticed that I wrote that
afterwards.

> A clean install of
> alsa-utils and libasound2 should work out of the box with no custom
settings!

It *does* work, however, not as it should.

>
> > That's why I asked you for specific commands that I can use with those
CLI
> > players.
>
> Do you think to solve your issue with "specific commands"? Just
> install Debian's plain alsa and enjoy,

No, I meant specific commands to test those CLI players with the default
ALSA device (that has that issue with high CPU usage). Or at least to give
some output with which we could have a clue what's causing the CPU usage.

> Remove /etc/modprobe.d/intel-disable-hdmi.conf and try again.

I did, and unsurprisingly it did not help, the same high CPU usage on the
default device, the specific subdevice monopolises the sound card, and on
top of that, most applications that don't offer any settings for setting
which audio card/device/subdevice to use are left without sound because
they automatically choose the first card, which is the HDMI output.