How to use the speaker test
- Turn your computer or phone volume down, and leave the Test volume slider at its low default.
- Press Left. You should hear a soft chime from the left speaker or left earcup only. Raise the volume slowly until it is clear.
- Press Right, then Both. With both channels the sound should appear in the centre, between the speakers or in the middle of your head.
- Use the other tabs to sweep the whole frequency range, check how deep your bass goes, and confirm your speakers are wired in phase.
Everything is generated live by your browser’s Web Audio engine. There are no audio files to download and nothing is recorded.
Left and right channel test
If the left button plays on the right, your channels are swapped: check that headphones are worn the right way round (look for the small L and R marks), or swap the speaker cables. If both buttons play from both sides equally, something is mixing your audio to mono. Common causes are the Mono audio accessibility setting (Windows, macOS, iOS and Android all have one), a balance slider set to the middle of a mono device, a phone’s single built-in speaker, or a Bluetooth speaker that only has one driver. If one side is quieter, check the balance slider in your system sound settings before blaming the hardware.
Pink noise contains every frequency at once with equal energy per octave, so it is the best signal for comparing the tone of two speakers: they should sound the same. The chime is easier to locate and more pleasant to listen to.
Frequency sweep: what to listen for
The sweep glides from 20 Hz to 20,000 Hz on a logarithmic scale. Listen for three things: where the sound first appears at the bottom, any buzz, rattle or sudden jump in loudness on the way up, and where it disappears at the top. Small laptop and phone speakers usually fade in somewhere around 150 to 300 Hz; good headphones reach down to 20 to 30 Hz. At the top end, most adults stop hearing the sweep somewhere between 14 and 17 kHz, which is your ears rather than your speakers. The hearing test measures that limit properly. Use Mark this frequency to note the points you care about, or dial in any exact frequency with the tone generator.
Bass test
Play the fixed tones from 120 Hz downwards. A healthy speaker gets quieter smoothly as the frequency drops. If you hear buzzing, rattling or a “flapping” sound, the cone is hitting its limit, something nearby is vibrating, or the driver is damaged: turn the volume down straight away. Human hearing is much less sensitive at 20 to 40 Hz, so these tones need more volume to be heard. Raise it carefully, because this is also where small speakers are easiest to damage.
Phase (polarity) test
Both speakers should push and pull together. If one speaker’s red and black wires are swapped, it moves backwards, and the two cancel each other’s bass and smear the stereo image. Play In phase and Out of phase in turn. Correctly wired speakers make the in-phase noise sound solid and centred and the out-of-phase noise sound diffuse and thin. If it is the other way round, reverse the wires on one speaker only. On headphones, out of phase sounds strangely “inside your head” or on both sides at once. That is normal and shows the test is working.
Troubleshooting: no sound at all
- Check the output device in your system sound settings. Audio may be going to a monitor, a Bluetooth device or a disconnected headset.
- Make sure the browser tab is not muted, and check the per-app volume mixer on Windows.
- On iPhone and iPad, switch off silent mode and turn up the media volume, not the ringer.
- Bluetooth headphones can add a short delay and may switch to a low-quality “headset” mode while a microphone is in use. Close calls and apps that use the mic, or check it with the microphone test.
Frequently asked questions
How do I test if my left and right speakers work?
Turn your volume down, press Left and listen for the chime from the left speaker or earcup only, then press Right. Press Both and the sound should appear in the centre. Alternate L/R switches sides automatically so you can listen hands-free.
Why do I hear the sound from both sides when I press Left?
Something is mixing your audio to mono. Check the Mono audio accessibility setting on your computer or phone, and remember that most phones, many laptops and single-driver Bluetooth speakers only have one real speaker, so they cannot separate left and right.
My left and right channels are swapped. How do I fix it?
On headphones, check you are wearing them the right way round. On speakers, swap the left and right cables at the amplifier or computer. Some sound drivers also have a swap-channels option.
What does the frequency sweep test show?
It glides a pure tone from 20 Hz to 20 kHz so you can hear where your speakers start and stop producing sound and spot buzzes or rattles along the way. The upper end is usually limited by your hearing rather than the speakers: most adults stop hearing it between 14 and 17 kHz.
What is a speaker phase test?
It plays the same noise in both channels, first normally (in phase) and then with the right channel inverted (out of phase). If your speakers are wired correctly, in phase sounds solid and centred and out of phase sounds diffuse and thin. If it is the other way round, the red and black wires on one speaker are swapped.
Can a speaker test damage my speakers?
It can at very high volume, especially the deep bass tones and high-frequency sweeps on small laptop or phone speakers. Start with the volume low, raise it gradually, and stop immediately if you hear rattling or distortion.
Why can I not hear the 20 Hz or 25 Hz tones?
Most small speakers, laptops and phones cannot reproduce frequencies that low, and human hearing is far less sensitive there. Good headphones and subwoofers can. Silence at 20 Hz on laptop speakers is normal, not a fault.
Does the speaker test work with Bluetooth headphones?
Yes. The sound may start a fraction of a second late because Bluetooth adds latency, and if a microphone is in use some headsets switch to a lower-quality mode that cuts the high frequencies.