Pastime Arcade

Sound Test

Turn the volume down a little, then press a test. Each sound shows where it should come from.

Press a test to play it. Press it again, or Stop, to stop.

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How to use the sound test

  1. Turn the volume down a little first, especially with headphones.
  2. Press Left, then Right. Each plays a few soft chimes from one side only.
  3. Try Left to right, the Phase check and Stereo music for the rest.

The speakers above light up on the side that should be playing, and the line under them says what you should hear. It works the same as an audio test for headphones, earphones, laptop speakers, desktop speakers or a TV connected to the computer.

What each test tells you

  • Left and Right. Each sound should come from one side only. If they are swapped, headphones are on backwards or the speaker cables are crossed. If one side is silent, see the checks below.
  • Both. Both sides play the same sound, so it should seem to come from a point in the middle. If it leans to one side, the balance is off.
  • Left to right. The chimes step across and back. The sound should move smoothly with the dot, not jump from one side to the other.
  • Phase check. For speakers: it plays noise in phase for three seconds, then with one side inverted. See below.
  • Stereo music. A short loop with the bass and drum in the middle and notes answering each other from the left and right.

The speaker phase check

A speaker has a positive and a negative wire. If one of a pair is connected the wrong way round, its cone moves out while the other moves in, and the two partly cancel each other: the sound loses its centre and much of its bass.

The check plays the same noise from both speakers, first normally, then with one side deliberately inverted. The normal part should sound solid and centred, and the inverted part wide, vague and thinner. If it is the other way round, one speaker is wired backwards: swap the two wires on the back of one speaker. On headphones the inverted part simply sounds strange, which is normal.

Sound on one side only, or the same on both

  • Check the plug. A headphone plug that is not pushed all the way in often plays on one side only.
  • Turn off mono audio. It sends the same sound to both sides, so Left and Right sound identical. On Windows 11 it is under Settings → Accessibility → Audio → Mono audio; on a Mac, System Settings → Accessibility → Audio → Play stereo audio as mono.
  • Check the balance. On Windows, open Settings → System → Sound, choose the output device and check that Left and Right are at the same level. On a Mac, open System Settings → Sound → Output and centre the Balance slider.
  • Try another pair. If other headphones play on both sides, the fault is in the first pair or its cable.

No sound at all

  • Check the volume and mute, on the computer and on the speakers or headphones themselves.
  • Make sure the right output is selected: Settings → System → Sound → Output on Windows, or System Settings → Sound → Output on a Mac. A monitor or a Bluetooth device you forgot about may have taken over.
  • Check that this browser tab is not muted. Most browsers show a crossed-out speaker on a muted tab.
  • On an iPhone, the ring/silent switch can mute sounds from web pages in some versions of Safari. Flip it to ring and try again.

More sound tests

  • Bass test: how low your speakers, headphones or subwoofer can play.
  • Tone generator: any frequency from 20 Hz to 20 kHz, for tuning, testing or experiments.

For the other direction, from your voice into the computer, use the mic test.

Frequently asked questions

How do I test my speakers or headphones online?
Press Left and Right on this page. Each plays a short sound from one side only, so you can tell at once whether both sides work and whether they are the right way round.
Is this an audio test too?
Yes. Sound test and audio test mean the same here: it checks that sound reaches both ears or both speakers, in the right place.
Why do Left and Right sound the same?
Usually because mono audio is turned on, which mixes both sides together. Turn it off in the system’s accessibility settings; the steps are on this page.
Why is one earphone quieter?
Check the balance setting, clean the earphone’s mesh, and try another pair. If the quiet side changes when you swap the earphones round, the fault is in the earphone, not the computer.
Does the sound test work on a phone?
Yes, in the phone’s browser, with its speaker or with headphones. A phone’s own speaker is often mono or barely stereo, so use headphones to check left and right.
Does the page download any sound files?
No. Every sound is made in your browser as it plays.