Speaker and Headphone Sound Test
Free · No sign-up · Nothing is uploaded or recorded
Start quiet. Turn your speakers or headphones down first, then raise the volume slowly. Test sounds can be louder than they look.
Left and right channel test
Each test repeats short bursts on one side. The label above and the boxes say which side is playing. If you hear the left test from your right speaker, the speakers or the headphone cable may be swapped.
Stereo test
The sound moves from left to right and back every 4 seconds. It should travel smoothly between your two speakers, or across your head in headphones, with no jump or dip in the middle. It uses the sound chosen above.
Polarity (phase) test
Pink noise, first the same in both channels (in phase), then with the right channel inverted (out of phase). Use Alternate to hear the two back to back.
How to listen
In phase, noise from a correctly wired pair usually sounds centered, between the speakers or in the middle of your head, and fuller, most of all in the bass. Out of phase, it tends to sound wider and more diffuse, with a thinner bass and no clear center. Listen to both versions and compare. This page only plays the two signals. It cannot measure your wiring, and your room and the way headphones fit change what you hear.
Bass and frequency sweep
A sine wave glides from 20 Hz up to half your browser's sample rate. Each octave takes the same time. Note where the sound fades or stops. Speakers, headphones and your ears all limit what you hear, so this shows where your whole setup stops, not which part is responsible.
What is a sound test?
A sound test plays known signals through your speakers or headphones so you can check them by ear. This page makes the signals in your browser with the Web Audio API: short bursts on the left, right or both channels, a sound that moves across the stereo field, noise in phase and out of phase, and a sweep from 20 Hz up to half your browser's sample rate. It helps you hear a problem. It does not measure your equipment.
How it works
Step 1
Turn the volume down
Set your speakers or headphones low, then press a test. The page starts at a low volume. Raise it slowly, and press Stop at any time.
Step 2
Run a test and watch the label
The label at the top and the boxes in each test say what is playing: which side, where the sound sits, which polarity or which frequency.
Step 3
Listen and compare
Check that each side plays only from its own speaker, that the sound moves smoothly, how the two phase versions differ, and where the sweep fades out.
Questions
Is any audio uploaded?
No. Every sound is made by your browser's own audio engine while you listen. Nothing is recorded, downloaded or sent anywhere, and the page never asks for your microphone.
Why do I hear the left test from both speakers?
The page sends the left test to the left output channel only; it cannot see where your system sends it after that. Mono audio, a Bluetooth device in mono mode, or a sound effect that mixes the channels in your system settings can all play both sides.
What does the polarity test show?
It plays the same pink noise in both channels, then with the right channel inverted. A correctly wired pair usually sounds centered and fuller in phase and more diffuse out of phase. It plays the two signals for you to compare and does not measure your wiring.
How high does the sweep go?
It starts at 20 Hz and ends at half the sample rate your browser uses for audio, for example 24,000 Hz at 48,000 Hz. The page shows the real figure after your first test. Speakers, headphones and ears all limit what you hear, so a sound that fades out earlier does not say which of them is the limit.
Is there a 5.1 or 7.1 surround test?
No. This page tests two channels. Many browsers expose only two output channels to a web page, even when a surround system is connected.
Privacy: what runs where
- The sounds are generated in this browser tab: pink noise, a 1000 Hz tone and sine sweeps of 10, 20, 40 seconds. No audio is uploaded.
- The page never asks for your microphone. Sound stops when you press Stop or Escape, when a sweep ends, or when you leave the page.
- The stereo test moves the sound across once every 4 seconds. Nothing is downloaded from anywhere else: the test signals are part of this page.