Speaker Test
A free speaker test for laptops, phones and desktop speakers: play each speaker on its own, sweep from 20 Hz to 20 kHz, and check that the wiring polarity is right.
Turn your device volume down first.
Start quiet. Turn your device volume down before you play anything, then raise it slowly.
That is a high setting. Lower it before low or high tones, and never raise it with headphones on your ears.
How to use the speaker test
This speaker test plays a sound on one speaker at a time. Press Left, Both or Right to start pink noise on that side, and press the same button again to stop. Under Sound you can switch to white noise or a steady 440 Hz tone. If the left button plays on your right speaker, the speakers or their cables are swapped.
Frequency sweep glides a sine tone from 20 Hz up to 20 kHz on both speakers in 10, 20 or 40 seconds, with the frequency shown live. Polarity (phase) test plays the same noise on both speakers, either in phase or with the right side inverted. The Stop button, Esc and leaving the page stop every sound. Keyboard: Space plays or stops pink noise on both speakers, L, R and C pick a side.
Laptop and phone speaker test
The same buttons work as a laptop speaker test or a phone speaker test. If your laptop or phone has two speakers, Left and Right should come from two different places. If both buttons sound the same and come from one spot, the device has a single speaker or mono audio is switched on; the left right sound test shows where that setting lives. Hold the phone in front of you, a little away from your face, so that you can tell the sides apart.
A crackle or buzz on noise that the other speaker does not make points to the speaker itself. A phone speaker that sounds muffled after getting wet can be helped by the speaker cleaner.
Reading the speaker sweep
The commonly stated range of human hearing is 20 Hz to 20,000 Hz, so the sweep covers exactly that span. Watch the readout and listen for these points:
| What you notice | What it tells you |
|---|---|
| Silence at the start, then the tone fades in | The frequency where it appears is about the lowest your speaker plays at this volume. The bass test finds it more exactly. |
| A buzz or rattle at one point | Something vibrates at that frequency: the speaker, its grille or an object nearby. |
| The tone gets clearly louder or quieter in one region | The speaker or the room favors or cuts those frequencies. |
| The tone fades out near the end | Either the speaker or your ears stop there. Try the same sweep on headphones to compare. |
Start quiet. The top of the sweep is piercing on a loud system, and the bottom can be hard on small speakers.
Speaker polarity: in phase and out of phase
A speaker is wired out of phase (reversed polarity) when the red and black connections are swapped at one speaker, so its cone moves the opposite way to the other. Ohm Speakers describes the result: deep bass is drastically reduced, almost eliminated, because the two sound waves cancel, and it becomes hard to locate where the sound comes from.
Sit centered between your two speakers and press In phase: the noise should sit in one small spot in the middle, with full bass. Press Out of phase: the tool inverts the right channel, so the sound turns wide, vague and thin. Switch every 3 s flips between the two so you can compare. If it is the other way round on your system, with Out of phase sounding focused, one of your speakers is wired backward. Swap the two wires on one speaker only and test again.
More for sound check: Mic Test · Sound Test · Headphone Test · Left Right Test · Bass Test · Surround Sound Test · Audio Delay Test · Speaker Cleaner · Tone Generator
Got a new monitor or TV? Run the Dead pixel test.
Questions
Can a speaker test damage my speakers?
Not at sensible levels. Keep the volume low, especially for the sweep, and stop if you hear distortion. Very low and very high tones are the ones to be careful with.
Why do I hear nothing at the start of the sweep?
Many speakers cannot play the lowest frequencies. The point where the tone appears is about your speaker's lower limit at that volume; the bass test finds it more exactly.
Which sound should I use for a speaker test?
Start with pink noise: it is steady, so a missing side or a buzz stands out. Switch to white noise or the 440 Hz tone to compare, and use the sweep to hear the whole range.
How do I test speakers in a 5.1 or 7.1 system?
This page tests left and right. For each speaker of a home theater, use the surround sound test.