Audio Distortion Test
Play clean tones, level steps and a slow sweep to hear crackling, buzzing and rattles.
Bass and Subwoofer Test
Play low tones from 20 Hz to 250 Hz, one at a time or as a sweep, to hear how deep your speakers, subwoofer or headphones go and whether anything rattles.
Lower your volume before starting, especially with headphones. Nothing plays until you press a button.
60 Hz
Most laptop and phone speakers produce very little below 100 Hz. Keep the volume moderate: deep tones stress small speakers.
Presets
Waveform
Channel
Stopped
Runs entirely in your browser. Test results, audio and video never leave your device.
How to use the Bass Test
- Turn the volume down before you start. Deep tones can strain small speakers well before they sound loud.
- Keep Waveform on Sine, choose Left, Both or Right, press a preset such as 60 Hz, then press Play.
- Step down through the presets, or drag the Frequency slider, and note the lowest tone you still hear clearly from the speaker itself rather than as a buzz or rattle.
- Press Sweep 20 Hz to 250 Hz to hear the range rise over 12 seconds. Press Stop when the bass appears or something rattles; the frequency reached stays on screen.
What is a bass test?
A bass test plays low-frequency tones, usually from about 20 Hz to 250 Hz, so you can hear how deep a speaker, subwoofer or pair of headphones goes and where it starts to rattle or distort. It is a listening check: the lowest clear tone depends on the speaker, the room and the volume.
How to test a subwoofer
The page plays stereo only and sends nothing to the separate subwoofer (LFE) channel, so the subwoofer plays only the bass your system routes to it from the left and right channels.
- Switch the subwoofer on and set its own volume to a moderate level. A subwoofer in automatic standby may need a few seconds of sound to wake.
- On an AV receiver, bass management does the routing: set the front speakers to Small, or turn on the option that plays bass on both the subwoofer and the front speakers (the name varies by brand). A soundbar or PC speaker set with its own subwoofer splits the bass by itself.
- Play 40 Hz or 50 Hz, below common crossover settings such as 80 Hz. A working subwoofer should carry most of the sound; put your ear near it to confirm.
- If it stays silent, check its cable or wireless pairing and its volume. On a receiver, also try an ordinary stereo mode, because some direct listening modes bypass bass management.
- Press Sweep 20 Hz to 250 Hz and listen for the hand-over to the main speakers. A dip or a boom there can come from the crossover, the phase setting or the room.
What bass problems sound like
| What you hear | Likely cause | What to try |
|---|---|---|
| The tone fades out below about 100 Hz on a laptop or phone | Speaker size: small speakers play very little deep bass | Nothing is wrong. Use headphones or a larger speaker for deep bass |
| A buzz or rattle at one or two frequencies | A loose grille, panel or screw, or an object near the speaker vibrating | Hold the tone there and touch nearby objects and panels until the rattle stops |
| Bass gets much louder or quieter as you move | The room: reflections add up at some spots and cancel at others | Move the speaker or your seat; small moves can change bass a lot |
| Thin, weak bass from a pair of stereo speakers, with vague centered sound | One speaker wired out of phase, so the two cancel each other in the bass | Compare the two sides with the Speaker Polarity Test |
| A chuffing or whooshing sound at high volume | Air rushing through the port of a bass-reflex speaker | Lower the volume; some port noise at high levels is normal |
| Fuzz or scraping at every low frequency, even when quiet | A worn or damaged driver | Compare with another speaker, and use the Audio Distortion Test to judge whether it is blown |
What this test can detect
- The lowest tone your speakers, subwoofer or headphones play clearly, judged with Sine.
- Rattles and buzzing from loose parts, grilles or nearby objects at particular frequencies.
- A subwoofer that stays silent, often because of its settings, its connection or bass management.
- Port noise or distortion when bass is played loud.
- A difference in bass between the left and right speakers, using Left and Right.
How it works
The page generates each tone live with the Web Audio API and plays it as ordinary stereo; nothing is recorded or measured. The Frequency slider has 1,000 logarithmic steps from 20 Hz to 250 Hz, and Exact value (Hz) accepts any whole number in that range.
The sweep rises exponentially over 12 seconds, about 3.3 seconds per octave, and stops by itself at 250 Hz. Tones fade in and out over 15 ms to avoid clicks, and even at the top of the Volume slider the signal peaks about 9 dB below digital full scale.
Limitations
- Stereo only: the page sends nothing to a separate subwoofer (LFE) channel.
- The page cannot hear your speakers, so it cannot measure how low they go; the result is what you hear from where you sit.
- Hearing is least sensitive in the deep bass, so a 20 Hz or 30 Hz tone can seem silent even when the speaker plays it; you may feel it more than hear it.
- Keep the volume moderate. Long, loud low tones strain speakers and ears.
- Playback stops when the tab is hidden, for example when you switch tabs.
Frequently asked questions
Why can I hear a 30 Hz tone on my phone or laptop?
Usually you are hearing overtones, not 30 Hz itself. Triangle adds fainter tones at 3, 5 and more times the frequency, and a strained speaker or a bass enhancement effect adds tones at multiples of it; all of these fall where a small speaker can play. Use Sine at a moderate volume to judge the lowest note.
What frequency range counts as bass?
Roughly 20 Hz to 250 Hz. The part below about 60 Hz is often called sub-bass, and it is the range a subwoofer is mainly for. For tones above 250 Hz, use the Tone Generator.
Can a bass test damage my speakers?
It can at high volume. Below the frequencies a speaker is built for, its cone has to move much further for the same loudness, so a loud 20 or 30 Hz tone can push a small driver past its limit. Keep the volume moderate and turn down at once if you hear flapping, clicking or rattling.
Can I test the bass of headphones or earbuds?
Yes. Closed headphones and in-ear earbuds can play deep bass when they seal well against your head or ear canal; a loose fit loses much of it, so try another ear tip size if the low presets sound thin. To check that each side works, use the Headphone Test.