Speaker & Headphone Test
Verify stereo separation by playing a 440 Hz tone to the left, right, and centre channels, then confirming what you hear.
Requires Web Audio API
Speakers & Stereo Channel Tester
Generate clean left and right synthetic stereo audio tones to ensure correct stereo imaging and speaker functionality.
Did you hear the sound clearly from the expected channel?
Disclaimer: The browser generates synthesized audio channels locally via Web Audio API, but cannot physically verify that external sound waves reached your ears.
Stereo Audio Evaluation
When testing the left channel, sound should emerge exclusively from your left speaker or headphone driver. If both speakers produce sound simultaneously during a left-only test, mono audio output may be forced in your system accessibility settings.
How to Test
- •Set your system volume to a moderate level — the tone is generated at a modest level, but the loudness you hear is set by your system volume and amplifier.
- •Play the left, right, and centre tones in turn and confirm each channel you actually hear.
- •Only channels you both played and confirmed count toward the verdict, so play all three.
Browser Limitations
- •The tone is generated at a modest level but there is no volume limiting — the loudness you hear depends on your system volume and amplifier, so keep levels moderate.
- •Audible output verification relies on human listening confirmation — playing a tone alone proves nothing.
- •Bluetooth headphones with mono hands-free profiles may mix both channels together.
- •This is a channel separation check on a single 440 Hz tone. It does not measure loudness, sound quality, or frequency response.
Troubleshooting Tips
- •Make sure your physical mute switch or volume knob is not turned down.
- •Check your operating system sound output device.
About the Speaker & Headphone Test
A dead speaker channel is the audio fault people live with longest: music still plays, so nobody notices the left side of their headphones is silent until a video call. This test isolates the channels in three seconds each.
It plays a short 440 Hz sine tone — concert A, chosen because it sits where most speakers reproduce most accurately — panned fully left, fully right, and to centre. You listen, then tell the tool what you actually heard. A tone playing proves nothing on its own, so the verdict is only ever built from channels you both played and confirmed; a channel you skipped is never counted as passing.
The tone is generated by the Web Audio API inside your browser, at a modest level that stops automatically after three seconds. It is not a volume limiter: the loudness you hear is whatever your system volume and amplifier make of it, so keep your own levels moderate.
Tips for a reliable result
- Set your system volume to a moderate level first. The tone is generated at a fixed, deliberately modest level, so start there and raise your system volume only as far as you are comfortable with.
- Play all three channels. The verdict can only report on channels you actually played and confirmed.
- Test the headphones or speakers you care about, not a spare pair you are keeping in a drawer.
- Confirm each channel while it is still fresh rather than marking several at the end.
- Prefer a wired connection or a stereo Bluetooth codec. Mono hands-free profiles deliberately mix both channels together, so a Bluetooth headset can hide the fault you are looking for.
Common problems and fixes
Only one side produces sound
Confirm the fault in a second app — play a stereo track in your system music player. If the silence follows you, swap the headphones or move the speakers and test again; if it does not, the browser output path is the difference to investigate.
The tone is too quiet to hear
Check the correct output device is selected in your sound settings, then raise the system volume yourself. The tone is generated at a fixed, deliberately modest level, but the level you actually hear depends entirely on your system volume, amplifier, and speakers — turn them up too far and the tone is as loud as you made it.
Left, centre and right all sound identical
That usually means the system is downmixing to mono — a mono Bluetooth profile, a mono output device, or an app-level mixer. Test with a wired stereo output, where the panning is genuinely separated.
No sound at all
Check the physical mute switch or volume knob first, then confirm the browser is routed to the output device you think it is. Reload the page to reset the audio context.
Speaker & Headphone Test FAQ
Is this a speaker quality or volume test?
Neither. It is a channel separation test. The tool can show you that a side is silent; it cannot rate sound quality, measure loudness, or tell you how good your speakers are.
Why does the tone stop after a few seconds?
Each tone self-terminates after three seconds so it does not run on unattended. That is a duration limit, not a volume limit — the loudness depends on your system volume and amplifier. Press the channel button again to replay it as many times as you like.
Why is 440 Hz used?
It is concert A, a reference pitch in the middle of the range most speakers reproduce most accurately, which makes a weak or disconnected side easier to hear than a very low or very high tone would.
Can I use it to test my microphone?
No — this tool only plays audio. Use the Microphone Test for input level and a live waveform, or the Voice Recorder to capture and download a clip.
Is the audio recorded or uploaded?
Never. The tone is synthesised locally and discarded when it stops. Nothing leaves the browser, and the tool can be used offline once the page has loaded.