Headphone Test: Left and Right, Bass, and Frequency Check (Free)
Four quick sound checks that run in your browser. Find out if left and right are swapped, how low your headphones go, and how high you can still hear.
Short answer: press Left, then Right. If each sound comes from the matching ear, your channels are fine. Then try the bass and sweep tests to see what your headphones (and your ears) can actually reproduce. Nothing is uploaded or recorded. The sounds are made in your browser.
Turn your volume down to about a quarter before you press anything. Then raise it slowly.
1. Left and right
2. Bass
3. Frequency sweep (20 Hz to 20,000 Hz)
4. Wiring (polarity)
What each test tells you
- Left and right: the sound should come from only one side. If it is swapped, the cable or earbuds are in the wrong ears, or a setting is flipped. If one side is silent, try another device before you blame the headphones.
- Bass: most earbuds fade out below about 40 to 50 Hz, and laptop speakers fade out much higher. Hearing 30 Hz as a hum or pressure is a good sign. A poor seal is the most common reason bass is weak, so try a bigger ear tip first. See why your IEMs sound thin.
- Frequency sweep: people hear from about 20 Hz to 20,000 Hz at best, and the top end drops with age. Many adults stop hearing the sweep somewhere around 14,000 to 17,000 Hz. That is normal, and it is your ears, not the headphones.
- Wiring (polarity): In phase should sound centered, inside your head. Out of phase should sound wide and hard to place. If In phase sounds wide and strange, one side of your headphones may be wired backwards.
If something sounds wrong
- Distortion or rattling at low volume on the bass test can mean a damaged driver. Compare against a second pair before you return anything.
- Quiet overall, even at full volume, is often a power problem with high-impedance headphones. Read impedance and sensitivity explained and do you need a DAC or amp.
- Bluetooth adds its own processing. If a test sounds odd over Bluetooth, try a wired connection to narrow it down.
Is this headphone test safe for my ears?
Yes, if you start quiet. Turn the volume down before you press a button, then raise it slowly. Never turn it up to hear the top of the sweep.
Why can't I hear the highest frequencies?
Hearing above about 15,000 Hz fades for most adults over time. Not hearing the top of the sweep is normal and does not mean your headphones are broken.
Does this work on a phone?
Yes. It runs in any modern browser. Phone speakers cannot play deep bass, so use headphones for the bass test.
Do you record anything?
No. The test only plays sounds. It does not use your microphone and sends nothing to us.