Speaker test

How to test the speakers on your computer

The tool above generates pure tones in your browser and sends them to whichever output device your computer is currently using. It needs no permission prompt, no plugin, and no download — it simply plays sound, which is all a speaker test really needs to do.

1. Set your system volume to roughly half. Test tones are steady and can be uncomfortable at high volume.
2. Press Left channel. You should hear a tone only from the left speaker.
3. Press Right channel. The same tone should come only from the right.
4. Play a few of the fixed tones to check that each one is clean rather than buzzy.
5. Finish with the frequency sweep, which climbs from 20 Hz to 20 kHz over eight seconds.

The left/right test: what it catches

The channel test is the single most useful check on this page because it fails loudly when something is wrong.

• Nothing from one side. Either that speaker is dead, its cable is loose, or the system balance slider has been dragged fully to one side. Check the balance control before assuming hardware failure — on Windows it lives in the advanced properties of the playback device.
• Both sides play for both buttons. Your output is being downmixed to mono. That is a setting in Windows accessibility ("Mono audio") and macOS accessibility ("Play stereo audio as mono"), and it is switched on far more often than people realise.
• The sides are swapped. Usually a reversed cable on desktop speakers, or a set of headphones worn backwards. Occasionally an audio interface with its outputs cross-patched.
• One side is quieter. Check balance first, then swap the physical cables between the two speakers. If the quiet side follows the cable, the cable is at fault; if it stays put, the speaker is.

What each test tone tells you

Perceived loudness is not flat across frequency. Your ears are most sensitive around 2–5 kHz and least sensitive at the extremes, so a 60 Hz tone genuinely sounds quieter than a 1 kHz tone even when both are produced at identical levels. That is your hearing, not your hardware.

Reading the frequency sweep

The sweep is the fastest way to find a physical defect. Listen for these:

• A buzz or rattle at a specific point. Something is vibrating — a loose grille, a cracked cabinet joint, or an object resting on the speaker. Move the speaker away from the desk surface and repeat.
• A sudden silent gap. A genuine dropout in the middle of the sweep suggests a failing driver or crossover.
• Distortion that gets worse as it climbs. Often a damaged tweeter, or simply the volume set too high.
• A gradual fade at the very top. Expected. Most adults stop hearing the sweep somewhere between 14 kHz and 17 kHz regardless of the speaker — that is age-related hearing change. Confirm with the hearing range test.
• A gradual fade at the very bottom. Also expected. Laptop and monitor speakers roll off sharply below about 150 Hz.

No sound at all: the fix order

1. Check the output device. Windows: click the volume icon and expand the device list. macOS: hold Option and click the volume icon in the menu bar to see every output at once. Plugged-in monitors, docks, and idle Bluetooth speakers all like to become the default.
2. Check the per-app volume. Windows Volume Mixer can mute your browser alone while everything else works. macOS has no per-app mixer, but browsers have per-tab mute — right-click the tab and confirm it is not muted.
3. Check physical connections and power. Powered desktop speakers need their own mains power; a green light on the speaker is not proof it is receiving signal.
4. Try headphones. If headphones work and speakers do not, the computer is fine and the problem is downstream.
5. Restart the audio service. On Windows, restarting "Windows Audio" in Services fixes a surprising number of "no output device" states without a reboot.

Getting a fair test from desktop speakers

Speaker measurements in a normal room are dominated by the room, not the speaker. If you are comparing two sets, keep these constant:

• Placement. Speakers pushed against a wall gain substantial bass. Moving one 20 cm forward changes the result more than most component upgrades.
• Height. Tweeters should be near ear height. Treble is highly directional; a speaker firing at your chest will sound dull.
• Symmetry. If one speaker sits in a corner and the other in open space, they will never balance.
• Volume matching. Louder always sounds better in a quick comparison. Match levels with the sound level meter before judging.

Testing headphones instead? Use the dedicated headphone test, which adds an automatic left-then-right check.

Frequently asked questions