Left Right Audio Test
Check that your headphones or speakers play each stereo channel on the correct side. Play left, right or center, alternate between them, and run a polarity test on your speakers.
How it works
- 1Set a comfortable volume and press Left, Center or Right.
- 2Check each sound comes from the matching side, or use Alternate to switch automatically.
- 3For speakers, run the phase test and compare in phase with out of phase.
What this stereo test checks
Stereo audio has two channels, left and right. Music, games and films place sounds between them, so a swapped or missing channel spoils the picture: footsteps come from the wrong side in a game, or the guitar part disappears from a song. This left right audio test plays sound in one channel at a time, so you can confirm each one reaches the right ear or speaker.
Center plays the same sound in both channels at once. On headphones it should feel like it's inside your head, in the middle. On speakers it should come from the space between them, not from either box.
Beeps or noise
Beeps are easy to hear on any device. Noise bursts cover a wide range of frequencies, which makes it easier to judge where a sound comes from in a room and to notice if one speaker sounds duller than the other, for example because a tweeter has failed.
The speaker phase test
Speaker cables have a plus and a minus, and it's easy to swap them on one speaker. The system still plays, but one cone moves out while the other moves in, so bass cancels and the stereo image smears. Play the test in phase, then switch to out of phase. The out of phase setting should sound wider, thinner and hard to pin down. If the in-phase setting already sounds like that, swap the wires on one speaker and test again.
No files to download
All test sounds are generated live in your browser, so the test starts instantly and works for any headphones, earbuds, laptop speakers or sound system connected to your device.