Audio Frequency Test

What this audio frequency test checks

Every speaker, headphone and pair of ears has a range: below a certain pitch the bass fades out, above another the treble disappears. This page lets you explore that range precisely and puts a number on both ends:

• Tone generator. Any frequency from 20 Hz to 20,000 Hz, to two decimals, with four waveforms and the musical note it corresponds to. You can send it to the left side, the right side or both.
• Sweep. A tone that glides between two frequencies of your choice, to find the note that makes a speaker, a desk or a car door rattle.
• Deepest bass. A guided check that finds the lowest tone your speakers or headphones really play.
• Highest tone. A guided check that finds the highest tone you can hear with your current headphones or speakers.
• WAV files. Any tone or sweep as a file, to play on a device that cannot open this page, such as a car stereo or a TV.

Every sound is generated live by your browser. Nothing is recorded and nothing is uploaded.

How to use the tone generator

1. Set a low volume on your device and on the page, then press Play tone. You can raise the volume while the tone plays.
2. Choose a frequency: type it, move the slider, use a preset, or fine-tune it with the −1 Hz, +1 Hz and octave buttons. The tone follows every change.
3. Pick a waveform. A sine is a pure tone, the only one with a single frequency. Square, triangle and sawtooth waves add overtones: they sound brighter and are easier to hear on small speakers. The page plays them a little quieter, so that they do not jump out louder than the sine.
4. Choose the output to check each side on its own.

A tone stops on its own after two minutes, so that a forgotten sound does not tire your ears or your speakers.

The guided checks

Each check starts with a 1 kHz tone: set a volume where it is clear but quiet, then start. The volume control is locked until the end of the check, so that every tone plays at the same level. The tones beep on and off on both sides, which makes them easier to tell apart from room noise or ringing in the ears. Answer each one; the first “No” ends the check.

Deepest bass

The check plays 125 Hz, then lower and lower tones down to 20 Hz. Count a tone as heard only if you hear a soft, deep hum. A buzz, a flutter or a rattle is the speaker struggling: answer “No”.

Human hearing is much less sensitive to very low tones, so at a quiet volume you may feel the deepest notes more than you hear them. Comparing two devices at the same volume is more telling than the number itself.

Highest tone

The check plays 8 kHz, then higher and higher tones up to 20 kHz. Do not raise the volume to catch a tone you cannot hear: high tones can harm your hearing before they become audible.

These ages are a rough guide: hearing varies a lot from one person to another, and noise exposure matters as much as age. The result also stops wherever your headphones stop. To tell your ears from your equipment, run the check again with other headphones.

Finding rattles and resonances

Every object has notes that make it vibrate. A slow sweep finds them:

1. Set the sweep from 20 to 200 Hz over 30 or 60 seconds: most rattles hide in the bass.
2. Play it at a moderate volume and listen to the speaker, its stand and the furniture around it.
3. When something buzzes, press Stop here. The frequency goes into the generator.
4. Fine-tune it with the −1 Hz and +1 Hz buttons until the rattle is loudest, then press or hold the parts around the speaker to find the one that vibrates.

The same method finds the frequency of a room’s “boom”, where one bass note sounds much louder than the others.

Frequency bands explained

The 50 Hz and 60 Hz presets match the frequency of the mains supply. If your speakers hum, play the preset of your country: a hum at the same pitch usually comes from a ground loop or a nearby power cable rather than from the speaker itself.

Troubleshooting

I hear nothing

Check that the tab is not muted, that the right output device is selected in your system settings, and that both volume controls are up. On iPhone and iPad, turn off silent mode: it mutes sound from web pages.

Bass tones are silent or only buzz

Small speakers cannot move enough air for deep notes. If larger speakers or headphones also stay silent, look for an equaliser, a “bass cut” or a “voice” mode in your system or audio app.

A square wave sounds louder than a sine

It contains overtones up to the treble, where the ear is most sensitive. The page lowers square and sawtooth waves to compensate, but how loud they seem still depends on the frequency and the speaker.

The sweep sounds uneven

Some notes come out louder than others because of the speaker and the room. Bluetooth headphones can also add their own processing. Try wired headphones to compare.

Frequently asked questions

Is this a hearing test?

No. It shows the highest tone you hear with your current equipment and volume, which also depends on your headphones. Only a professional hearing test, with calibrated equipment, can tell how well you hear. If the result worries you, see a hearing professional.

Why do low tones need more volume to be heard?

The ear is far less sensitive at the bottom of the range: a 30 Hz tone must be much stronger than a 1 kHz tone to seem as loud. That is normal, and it is why the bass check asks you to keep the volume set at 1 kHz rather than chase the deepest notes.

Can these tones damage my speakers or my ears?

At a moderate volume, no. Loud deep tones can push small speakers too far, and loud high tones can harm your hearing, especially with headphones. Start low, raise the volume slowly, and stop if a sound becomes unpleasant.

What are the WAV files for?

They let you play the same tone or sweep on a device that cannot open this page: copy the file to a USB stick for a car stereo or a TV, or use it in an audio app. Files are at a moderate level with soft fades; start playback with a low volume.

Is anything recorded or sent to TestrHub?

No. The sounds are created on your device and nothing is recorded. Saved results stay in your browser, and a result is only shared if you copy its link.

Which test should I run next?

The speaker test checks the left and right channels and plays white noise to reveal crackles. The microphone test checks the other direction: how your voice reaches your computer.