As of commit 683ab3a some sounds (placing blocks/torch/possibly others) are not played when connected to 0.4.16+ servers (singleplayer is fine).
On the other hand - digging, walking, opening chests, etc seems to work fine.
@Rui-Minetest @nerzhul and others who want to investigate are welcome.
Guess:
pitch defaults to 0.0
which results in no sound
Fixed
Most helpful comment
Guess:
pitch defaults to
0.0
which results in no sound