Free headphone test · Works in any browser
Test your headphones. Ear by ear.
Put them on, turn the volume down, and check each side, a sound that moves across your head, and the bass.
Start with Left. Each button plays three short notes.
Stereo sweep
A pulsing tone travels from your left ear to your right over seven seconds. It should glide through the middle of your head without jumping or fading out.
Bass check
Three deep notes at 40, 60, and 90 Hz. Over-ear headphones and well-fitted earbuds play all three. If they sound thin, check the fit.
The sounds are made in your browser. Nothing is recorded or sent anywhere.
On a Mac? Green Room spots when your headset drops to call quality.
When a call app turns on a headset's mic, everything you hear drops to phone quality. Green Room tells you and offers your Mac's own mic, so your headphones stay in stereo. Free, with no account.
Wear them the right way first
Most headphones mark the sides with a small L and R inside the band, on the stem, or on the ear tip. Some use a raised dot on the left side so you can find it by touch. Check before you trust the left and right results.
Earbuds need a seal to sound right. If the bass check sounds thin, try a different ear tip size or a gentle twist as you put them in.
What your result means
- Left and right are swapped: flip the headphones around. If they were already on the right way, a setting or adapter is crossing the channels. Try them on another device to tell which.
- One side is silent: on a Mac, check the Balance slider in System Settings › Sound › Output. With a wired pair, wiggle the plug and the cable near each ear; sound that cuts in and out means a worn cable or jack. With wireless earbuds, put both back in the case for a few seconds, then try again.
- One side is quieter: clean the mesh or ear tip, then check the balance. Wax and dust muffle one side more than people expect.
- The sweep jumps from side to side: mono audio may be on in your accessibility settings, or a call app has the headset's mic on, which drops it to mono call mode.
More sound tests
Questions
One side of my headphones is quieter. Is it broken?
Not always. First check the Balance slider in your sound settings, then clean the ear tip or mesh, since wax and dust muffle one side. With wired headphones, wiggle the plug: if the sound cuts in and out, the cable or jack is the problem.
Why is the bass weak in my earbuds?
Earbuds need a seal to make bass. Try a larger ear tip, or push them in a little deeper with a slight twist. If the bass check gets much stronger when you press them in with a finger, the fit is the problem.
The moving sound jumps instead of gliding. What does that mean?
It should glide smoothly from left to right through the middle of your head. A jump usually means a mono setting is on, one side is much louder, or the headphones are using a call mode that drops stereo.
Does the headphone test work with AirPods and Bluetooth headphones?
Yes. Pick them as your output first. If the sound comes from your computer instead, choose the headphones in your sound settings, or pick them here in Chrome and Firefox.