diff --git a/audio/audio.c b/audio/audio.c
index 5be4b15fcf..a0fc8b31ae 100644
--- a/audio/audio.c
+++ b/audio/audio.c
@@ -1806,9 +1806,6 @@ static void audio_init (void)
     atexit (audio_atexit);
 
     s->ts = timer_new_ns(QEMU_CLOCK_VIRTUAL, audio_timer, s);
-    if (!s->ts) {
-        hw_error("Could not create audio timer\n");
-    }
 
     audio_process_options ("AUDIO", audio_options);
 
@@ -1859,12 +1856,8 @@ static void audio_init (void)
 
     if (!done) {
         done = !audio_driver_init (s, &no_audio_driver);
-        if (!done) {
-            hw_error("Could not initialize audio subsystem\n");
-        }
-        else {
-            dolog ("warning: Using timer based audio emulation\n");
-        }
+        assert(done);
+        dolog("warning: Using timer based audio emulation\n");
     }
 
     if (conf.period.hertz <= 0) {