Sound test

How to use the sound test

Turn the system volume down to about a third, press a button, then raise the volume until the sound is clear but comfortable. The slider above sets how loud the test signals are inside the page, so you can keep your system volume where it normally is. Nothing plays until you press a button, and "Stop all sound" silences everything.

Every result on this page is a listening check. A browser can generate an exact signal, but it cannot hear what comes out of your speakers. You are the measuring instrument, so test in a quiet room and compare against a second pair of headphones if something sounds wrong.

Left and right

The left button sends noise bursts only to the left channel, the right button only to the right. Noise is easier to locate than a pure tone, so a swapped or dead channel is obvious. "Pan left to right" glides the sound across the stereo field; it should move smoothly, without jumping or dropping out in the middle.

Frequency sweep and fixed tones

The sweep glides from 20 Hz to 20 kHz on a logarithmic scale, so each octave takes the same time. Press the button when you stop hearing it to see roughly where your hearing, or your speakers, give out. Laptop speakers usually fade below about 150 Hz, and many Bluetooth codecs roll off above 15 to 16 kHz. Use the fixed tones to hold one frequency, for example 1 kHz to compare the loudness of the two sides.

Bass rattle

The bass sweep moves slowly from 20 to 200 Hz. At some frequencies a loose screw, a cable, the desk or a window will buzz along. Mark each rattle, fix or move the culprit, then sweep again. If the speaker itself buzzes at every frequency, the cone or surround may be damaged.

Polarity

With speakers wired correctly, both cones move outwards together and the sound forms a solid image in the middle. If one speaker has its + and - wires swapped, the bass cancels and the sound seems to come from everywhere. Compare the two buttons: the in phase version should be the fuller one.

Troubleshooting

One side is silent

Check the balance before blaming the hardware. In Windows 11 open Settings, System, Sound, click your output and look at the Left channel and Right channel sliders. On a Mac, centre the Balance slider in System Settings, Sound, Output. Turn off Mono audio in accessibility settings. Then swap the cable, push a 3.5 mm plug fully in, and try another port. If the same ear stays silent on another device, the headphone is faulty.

Crackling or distortion

Lower the test volume first: if crackling stops, the speaker or the amplifier was simply overdriven. If it stays at low volume, try another USB port or cable, update or reinstall the audio driver, and in Windows set the output format (Sound, your output, Output settings) to 24 bit, 48000 Hz. On laptops, a busy CPU or power saving can cause clicks; plug in the charger and close heavy apps.

Bluetooth delay

Bluetooth headphones add delay, roughly 100 to 300 ms with standard codecs. Run the delay check: if the click lands clearly after the flash, that is the lag you hear in games and videos. Video players usually compensate, games and calls often do not. Low latency codecs (aptX Low Latency, LC3), gaming headsets with a USB dongle, or a cable fix it. Also note that when an app opens a Bluetooth headset's mic, the sound drops to mono call quality; our mic test explains why.

Sound plays on the wrong device

Windows and macOS send browser audio to the default output. On Windows, click the speaker icon on the taskbar, open the output list and choose the right device, or set it per app in Settings, System, Sound, Volume mixer. On a Mac, hold Option and click the volume icon in the menu bar. HDMI monitors and docks often grab the default output when they connect, so check after plugging one in. In Chrome and Edge you can also pick an output in the list above.