Unfortunately the strace isn't telling us much more than we already knew - sound device doesn't seem to be accepting data (maybe didn't manage to start running).
I did another test here with LE8.1.2 and still haven't been able to reproduce your issue.
I used a RPi2 with the PCM5102 based pimoroni pHat, connected ethernet and HDMI cables and a USB keyboard. Then I did this
- fresh installation of LE 8.1.2 image on SD card
- after bootup only enabled SSH
- SSHed in, added "dtoverlay=hifiberry-dac" to end of config.txt, then rebooted
- copied a 10 seconds wav file (44.1kHz, stereo, 16 bit) via scp to the sdcard
- SSHed in, ran "aplay -Dhw:0 cd-10sec.wav" about 15 times without any issues
Try if you can replicate using the exact same setup and steps. If you get issues my best bet is some hardware/cabling issue with your soundcard or an issue with your power supply (the number one cause of mysterious problems on RPi).
so long,
Hias