Headphone Test
Check that each earcup or earbud plays on the correct side, both drivers work and stereo is wired correctly.
- Left / right check
- Stereo polarity
- Frequency sweep
- Bluetooth or wired
What is a headphone test?
A headphone test plays sounds to one ear at a time so you can confirm that both drivers work and the channels are not swapped. This test uses chimes panned fully left or right, an alternating mode, a polarity test that reveals a reversed driver, a 20 Hz–20 kHz sweep for range and rattles, and a tone generator with a balance control. Everything is generated in your browser, so it works with Bluetooth earbuds, gaming headsets and wired headphones alike.
How to test your headphones
- Put on your headphones the right way round (look for L and R markings) and set the volume low.
- Play Left, then Right. Each chime should be heard only in that ear.
- Play Alternate to hear the sound switch sides every second; it should never come from both.
- Run the polarity test and the sweep to check both drivers match and nothing buzzes.
Speaker or headphone troubleshooting
- No sound at all: check the system output device and volume, the tab is not muted (right-click the tab) and Bluetooth headphones are connected.
- Sound on one side only: try another cable or headphone jack. If the left/right test plays from the wrong side, the headphones are on backwards or the channels are swapped in your audio settings.
- Thin sound and weak bass: run the polarity test. If “out of phase” sounds fuller, one speaker is wired with + and − reversed.
- Rattles at a certain pitch: play the sweep or hold a tone at that frequency to find the loose part.
Why use this headphone test
- Instant left and right checkHard-panned chimes make a swapped or dead side obvious in seconds.
- Catches reversed driversThe polarity test reveals a driver wired backwards, which plain left/right tests miss.
- Balance controlPan a steady tone to compare loudness between ears.
- No download or driverRuns in Chrome, Edge, Firefox and Safari on Windows, macOS, Linux, ChromeOS, Android and iPhone.
When to run a headphone test
- One earbud quieter. Compare sides with the balance slider and a 1 kHz tone.
- New headphones. Confirm both drivers work before the return window closes.
- Gaming headsets. Check positional audio will come from the right side.
- Bluetooth issues. See whether audio switches to mono in headset (call) mode.
Checking a whole setup? Run the mic test, webcam test, keyboard test, mouse test, gamepad tester, sound test, dead pixel test and refresh rate test, or browse all device tests.
Example: sound only in the right earbud
Left plays nothing and Right works. Swap earbuds between ears: if the problem follows the earbud, its driver or battery is at fault. If it stays on the same side, check your system’s mono audio and balance settings (accessibility settings on both Windows and macOS).
What to expect from the result
Spatial audio, virtual surround and equaliser apps can blur left and right; turn them off for the test. Bluetooth headsets using the hands-free profile during calls switch to low-quality mono.
Headphone Test questions
How do I test left and right on headphones?
Play Left and Right in the left/right test. You should hear each chime only in that ear. If they are reversed, check you are wearing the headphones the right way round.
Why is sound only coming from one earbud?
Common causes are a dead earbud battery, a damaged cable or jack, mono audio turned on, or a balance setting moved to one side. Swap the earbuds between ears to find out which.
Does this headphone test work with AirPods and Bluetooth?
Yes. The sounds are generated by your browser and sent to whatever output device your system uses, including AirPods, Galaxy Buds and other Bluetooth headphones.
What is the headphone polarity test?
It plays noise in both ears, then with one ear inverted. In phase should feel centred inside your head; out of phase feels wide and odd. If they sound the other way round, a driver is wired backwards.
How loud should I set the volume?
Low. Start with system volume around 20–30% and raise it slowly. Very high and very low tones can be uncomfortable or damaging at high volume.