The audio equipment test suite is a guided hub for checking speakers, headphones, earbuds, subwoofers, surround systems, microphones and wireless latency. Every diagnostic runs in your browser with the Web Audio API. Nothing is installed or uploaded, and each test opens as its own page.
How to use it
- Start with the symptom finder if you have a complaint. The “What are you troubleshooting?” cards map common problems to the right test: tinny earbuds go to the 50 Hz vs 500 Hz seal check, one speaker sounding louder goes to the polarity and balance test, delayed audio behind video goes to the latency test. The Diagnostic Wizard offers the same routing as a guided question tree.
- Check wiring and channels first. Run a left, right and centre channel check before any frequency work, because a swapped or shorted connection invalidates every later result.
- Sweep the transducer next. The Speaker Test covers stereo imaging, polarity and driver distortion; the Headphone Test covers sub-bass extension from 10 Hz, driver matching and treble limits; the Earbud Test checks tip seal and nozzle blockage.
- Work through bass management. The Subwoofer Test sweeps 10–160 Hz for cabinet rattles, crossover seams and room cancellation dips, then you set the crossover where the satellites and sub meet.
- Verify discrete channels in surround systems. The Surround Sound Test identifies FL, C, FR, RL, RR and LFE routing one channel at a time and checks centre-channel speech clarity.
- Measure latency and sync last. The Audio Latency Test quantifies Bluetooth and soundbar delay, and the AV Sync Test dials lip-sync error against ITU-R BT.1359-1 tolerances.
- Finish with microphones. The Microphone Test shows live level and waveform, while the Mic Quality Test measures noise floor, clipping and signal-to-noise ratio.
A diagnostic order that isolates faults
Audio faults are easiest to find when you change one link in the chain at a time, in the order the signal travels: source, wiring, transducer, room, then timing. Skipping ahead is how a channel swap ends up being diagnosed as a driver fault, or a room mode as a defective subwoofer.
| Order | What you are checking | Test to run | What a pass looks like |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Channel assignment and polarity | Speaker Test or Headphone Test | Correct side, focused centre, no level drop when summed to mono |
| 2 | Driver and seal behaviour | Earbud Test, plus speaker and headphone sweeps | No rattle or buzz at any level; bass holds together at 50 Hz |
| 3 | Low-frequency integration | Subwoofer Test | Even output across 10–160 Hz, no boom or null at the crossover |
| 4 | Multichannel routing | Surround Sound Test | Each speaker identifies itself in the right position, LFE included |
| 5 | Timing and sync | Audio Latency Test, AV Sync Test | Dialogue stays aligned; Bluetooth delay is a known number in ms |
| 6 | Microphone input | Microphone Test, Mic Quality Test | Healthy level without clipping, noise floor well below speech |
Reading results without over-trusting them
- A buzz that stays put is usually the room, not the driver. If the rattle comes from the same place in the room wherever you stand, suspect furniture, window trim or a loose panel; if it follows the speaker cone at every volume, suspect the driver or its mounting.
- Room modes dominate below 300 Hz. Standing waves can produce peaks and nulls of 10 dB or more, so a “weak subwoofer” is often a listening-position null rather than a hardware fault. The room modes guide explains the arithmetic.
- Small speakers have hard limits. Laptop and phone drivers cannot reproduce 20–40 Hz at useful level, so a missing low tone can be physics rather than damage; see why smartphones cannot reproduce 20 Hz.
- Bluetooth delay is a moving target. Codec choice, operating system and buffer state all change it. ITU-T G.114 (One-way transmission time) treats up to 150 ms of one-way delay as acceptable for most voice applications, which is a useful yardstick for calls but not for gaming or lip sync.
- Headphone design changes what you will hear. Open-back models roll off below roughly 35 Hz, closed-back cups can trap standing waves, and an in-ear seal leak of half a millimetre can cost up to 20 dB of bass. The headphone guide covers matching a pair to the job.
- Check your own hearing before condemning the gear. Play the same tone on headphones and on speakers; if it is missing on both, run the hearing tests before replacing hardware.
Accuracy, limits and troubleshooting
- Everything runs locally. No installation, no account, and no audio leaves the browser; microphone tests ask for permission and release the stream when you stop.
- These tests cannot see physical damage. A torn surround, a rubbing voice coil or a cracked solder joint can measure cleanly at low level. Combine the sweeps with a visual inspection and a gentle push test on the cone.
- Absolute loudness needs a calibrated meter. The tests work in dBFS, which describes the digital signal. Sound pressure in the room depends on amplifier gain, speaker sensitivity and distance.
- Laptop speakers and built-in microphones limit the extremes. Use headphones or external gear when you need to check below 100 Hz or above 10 kHz.
- Change one thing at a time. Note the setting, the position and the result before you move to the next stage, or you will chase your own adjustments.
- Start every test at a low level. Sweeps and noise are full-band signals, and a level that was safe for speech can be loud for a 60 Hz sine.
- If a test will not start, check the basics. The tab must not be muted, the output device must be the one you expect, and microphone tests need browser permission.
Related tools
- Speaker Test: stereo wiring, polarity, imaging and driver sweeps.
- Headphone Test: driver balance, sub-bass extension and treble limits.
- Subwoofer Test: low-frequency sweeps, cabinet rattles and crossover integration.
- Surround Sound Test: discrete 5.1 and 7.1 channel identification.