Compensate, making a sound (5)
I believe the answer is:
atone
'compensate' is the definition.
(I know that atone is a more specific form of compensate)
'a sound' is the wordplay.
'sound' becomes 'tone' (tone is a kind of sound).
'a'+'tone'='ATONE'
'making' is the link.
(Other definitions for atone that I've seen before include "Recompense" , "remedy" , "Pay the price" , "Expiate" , "Make reparation for a misdeed" .)