Speaker Test (Left/Right)

Plays a sound from the left or right speaker on its own, so you can check that left and right are not swapped and that both sides work. Use it after connecting earphones, headphones or computer speakers, or when one side sounds quieter.

How to use

1. Turn your device volume down first. The "Volume" slider also starts low (15), and each sound starts quiet and fades in.
2. Under "Sound", choose a beep, a low tone, a high tone or pink noise.
3. Press "Left", "Right", "Both" or "Alternate left and right" and check that the sound comes from the side shown on screen. Press "Stop" to end it.
4. Use "Sweep 20 Hz → 20 kHz (30 s)" to find the range you can hear, and compare "In phase" and "Out of phase" under "Phase check (speaker wire polarity)".

How it works

• The sounds are generated with the browser's Web Audio and sent to one channel only. No sound files are downloaded.
• If left and right sound exactly the same, the device or speaker may be mono, or a mono audio setting may be on in your operating system.
• Do not turn the volume up high while wearing earphones. The chosen sound and volume are remembered in this browser.

Questions and answers

How do I check if my earphones are left and right correctly?

Press "Left" and check that only your left ear hears it, then press "Right". If it is the other way round, the earphones are in the wrong ears.

Why do I hear sound on both sides when I press Left?

A mono audio setting may be on in your operating system, often found in the accessibility settings, or the device or speaker may be mono.

What is pink noise?

Pink noise has equal energy in every octave, so it sounds less sharp than white noise. It lets you hear a wide range of frequencies at once.

Can I tell if the + and − speaker wires are swapped?

"In phase" sounds focused in the middle; "Out of phase" sounds spread out with weaker bass. If "In phase" sounds like out of phase, the wires on one speaker may be swapped.