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Speaker test

Is left really left? How deep does the bass go, how high can you hear? Every tone is generated right in your browser – nothing is downloaded or sent. Please start quietly.

Careful – protect your hearing and speakers: set the system volume low first and only turn it up slowly during the test, especially with headphones. Very high and very low tones played loudly can damage tweeters and drivers.

Left / right

Three beeps on the left, on the right and then on both sides. If a beep comes from the wrong side, the channels are swapped.

Frequency sweep 20 Hz – 20 kHz

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The tone glides from very low to very high. Listen for rattling, hiss or dropouts.

Single tones

Tap a tone to play it, tap again to stop.

Phase test

Pink noise on both speakers. In phase it sounds focused in the centre, out of phase it sounds diffuse with no centre. If it is the other way round, plus and minus are swapped on one speaker.

Ready – check the volume and start a test.

All tones are generated right in your browser – nothing is downloaded or sent.

Result

How it is calculated

New speakers, new headphones, or one side seems quieter than the other: this speaker test checks in seconds whether both channels are wired correctly, which frequencies your device can reproduce and whether the polarity is right. All tones are synthesised with the Web Audio API in your browser.

Important: start at a low volume

Turn your system volume down before the first tone and raise it slowly. Pure sine tones sound louder and harsher than music. High tones and the sweep can overload tweeters and – especially with headphones – damage your hearing. That is why the volume slider starts at 20%.

How it works

  1. Left/right stereo test: “Start left/right test” plays three beeps on the left, then on the right, then on both sides. Use Left, Both and Right to repeat a single side.
  2. Frequency sweep: a tone glides logarithmically from 20 Hz to 20,000 Hz (10, 20 or 40 seconds) with the current frequency shown live. Press “I can't hear it from here” as soon as the tone disappears and the value is kept.
  3. Single tones: fixed frequencies from 20 Hz to 20 kHz on both channels or on the left or right only – handy for tracking down rattles, hum or a dead tweeter.
  4. Phase test: pink noise played in phase and out of phase. “Stop all” ends every sound immediately.

What the results mean

No sound or wrong side? Troubleshooting

Honest limitations

This test measures nothing – it only plays tones, and your ears are the judge. Equalisers, system “sound enhancements”, Bluetooth codecs and room acoustics change what you hear. Some Bluetooth devices and settings downmix stereo to mono or swap channels without the browser being able to detect it. No device can output frequencies above half its sample rate (usually 24 kHz).

Privacy

All tones are calculated in your browser. No audio files are loaded, nothing is stored or transmitted, and the microphone is not used.

Related: the mic test for the recording side, the webcam test before your next call and the gamepad tester for controllers.

Frequently asked questions

How do I test left and right speakers?

Click “Start left/right test”. You will hear three beeps on the left, three on the right and then on both sides. If a beep comes from the wrong side, cables or speakers are swapped.

Why do both speakers play the same sound?

Usually “mono audio” is switched on (Windows: Accessibility → Audio; iPhone: Accessibility → Audio & Visual), or the device only has one speaker. Try again with headphones.

Can a speaker test damage my speakers?

Not at a sensible volume. Loud high tones and sweeps can overload tweeters, though. Start with a low system volume and turn it up slowly.

What frequency should I be able to hear?

Young adults often hear up to 17–20 kHz; from around 40, 12–15 kHz is typical. The result also depends on the speaker and does not replace a hearing test by a professional.

Why can’t I hear the low tones?

Small speakers in phones and laptops reproduce very little below about 100–200 Hz. For 20–50 Hz you need large speakers, a subwoofer or good headphones.

What does out of phase mean in the phase test?

One channel is played with inverted polarity, which sounds vague and without a clear centre. If the in-phase test sounds like that, plus and minus are swapped on one speaker.

Does the speaker test work on a phone?

Yes, in current browsers on Android and iOS. Use headphones for the stereo test, since many phones have only one speaker or two placed close together.

Is anything recorded or uploaded?

No. The tones are only generated and played, the microphone stays off and nothing is sent to a server.

Sources and legal basis

As of:

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