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Device Tests

Speaker Tester

Speaker Tester is part of Toolspire and is ready as soon as this page loads. Check that both speakers work and that nothing rattles. Play a steady tone on the left, the right or both, then run a sweep from low bass to high treble.

Runs in this tabFreeNo account

On this page

What you can do here

Left and right

A tone that should come from only one side. If it comes from the other, the plug or the balance is reversed.

Five reference tones

Bass, the note A4, speech range, clarity and treble — enough to hear a rattle or a missing driver.

Log sweep

Glides from low to high so a buzz at one frequency is easy to catch.

Safe volume

The loudest setting is still a modest sine, and every tone fades in and out instead of clicking.

The sequence

How to test your speakers

  1. 1

    Put headphones on

    Headphones make left and right obvious. Desk speakers work too — sit in the middle.

  2. 2

    Set a comfortable volume

    Start near 40%. A test tone is louder than it looks.

  3. 3

    Play Left, then Right

    You should hear each side on its own. If both ears hear “Left only”, the balance or the cable is wrong.

  4. 4

    Run the sweep

    Listen for a buzz, a drop-out or a frequency that is much louder than the rest.

Worth knowing

  • Speaker Tester on Toolspire: plays a sine tone at 250 Hz, 440 Hz, 1 kHz, 4 kHz and 8 kHz, plus a 6-second sweep from 80 Hz to 8 kHz.
  • Can send the tone to the left channel, the right channel, or both, so a dead earpiece or a reversed headphone plug shows up at once.
  • The loudness slider is capped well below full scale. A pure tone sounds much louder than a song at the same setting.
  • Sound is generated with the Web Audio API in this tab. Nothing is recorded and nothing is uploaded.
  • Works with built-in speakers, headphones, USB DACs and Bluetooth headsets in current desktop and mobile browsers.

What each tone is for

ToneListen for
250 HzBass and rattles in a loose panel or a phone case.
440 HzA familiar musical A. Useful as a level match between two speakers.
1 kHzThe middle of speech. A speaker that is weak here sounds muffled on calls.
4 kHzConsonants and detail. Missing treble shows up here first.
8 kHzAir and hiss. Many small laptop speakers barely reach this.

Only one side plays

  • Balance — Windows: Settings → System → Sound → the speaker → right-hand pane, or the volume mixer. Mac: System Settings → Sound → Output → Balance.
  • The plug — a headphone jack that is not pushed all the way in often drops one channel.
  • Mono accessory — some Bluetooth headsets and phone earpieces are mono. The test will still play, but left and right will sound the same.
  • The app — if a call app is holding the output in “voice” mode, quit it and play the tone again.

FAQ

Questions about Speaker Tester

Where does Speaker Tester run?

Speaker Tester runs in this tab on Toolspire. What you type or drop in is not sent to us and is not stored on a server.

How do I test my left and right speakers?

Choose Left and play any tone, then Right. Each tone should come from only that side. Choose Both to hear them together.

Why is the test tone so loud?

A pure sine has all of its energy at one frequency, so it sounds sharper than music at the same volume. The slider never reaches full scale, and you can turn it down before you press play.

The sweep buzzes at one point. Is the speaker broken?

A short buzz often means something loose — a grille, a desk, or a phone case — vibrating at that frequency. Hold the speaker and try again. A tone that disappears entirely can mean a damaged driver.

Does this test record my room?

No. It only plays sound. It does not open the microphone, and it does not upload anything.

Why do left and right sound the same on my phone?

The phone’s own speaker is usually a single driver. Plug in headphones to hear a real stereo image.

Keep going

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