Headphone Test

Go beyond left and right: check your headphones' balance, range and wiring.

  1. Put your headphones on and set the volume low.
  2. Work through the three checks below.
  3. Note anything that sounds uneven, missing or odd.

1. Balance

Play the hiss and drag the slider until it sounds centred in your head. A healthy pair centres close to the middle.

LR Centre

2. Frequency sweep

A tone glides from 20 Hz to 20 kHz over 20 seconds. Note where you first and last hear it, and listen for rattles or buzzing.

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3. Wiring (phase) check

"In phase" should sound focused in the centre of your head. "Out of phase" should sound wide, hollow and hard to place. If they sound the other way round, one side is wired backwards.

Pick a check to start.

Protect your ears

Test sounds can be louder than music at the same volume, especially at high and low pitches. Start quiet and only turn up slowly.

How the headphone test works

Each check plays a sound made by your browser. The balance check pans a soft hiss between the ears; if you have to move the slider far from the middle to make it sound centred, one side is weaker, which can mean a blocked earbud mesh, a worn driver or a damaged cable. The sweep shows your headphones' range: most play from about 20 Hz to somewhere between 15 and 20 kHz, though everyone's hearing fades at the top with age.

The phase check plays the same tone in both ears, either pushing both speakers outward together (in phase) or one out while the other moves in (out of phase). Correctly wired headphones make the in-phase tone sound solid and central.

For a quick left/right check

Use the sound test, which plays tones on each side separately.

Frequently asked questions

The balance centres well off the middle. What can I do?

Clean the earbud tips and mesh, check your system's balance setting (under Sound or Accessibility), and turn off mono audio. If it's still off, the headphones may need repair.

Both phase sounds seem the same.

Mono audio may be on, or you may be using speakers. The phase check only works with headphones in stereo.

I hear a buzz at certain frequencies.

Some buzzing in the deep bass is normal for small earbuds at high volume. Lower the volume and sweep again; buzzing that remains points to a damaged driver.