ToneToolkit

Subwoofer Test

Sweep low frequencies to test a subwoofer or bass.

Everything runs in your browser. No audio is ever uploaded.

Bass frequency
Hz
Quick tones

Settings

-12 dB

Sweep settings

Curve
Download test tones

Each button builds a 5 second sine at -6 dBFS in your browser and saves it as a WAV file. Nothing is downloaded from a server.

Audio starts on your first tap on Play, as required by your browser.

Set a low volume, then pick a frequency or tap a quick tone. A healthy subwoofer should reproduce the lower tones smoothly without buzzing. Use the sweep to find your system's roll-off point.

A subwoofer test holds a low tone steady so you can hear and feel what your sub actually does. This bass test, also called a low frequency test or a sub bass tone test, runs from 10 Hz to 200 Hz, sweeps a range at your chosen speed, and hands you WAV files of the individual tones.

How to use it

  1. Turn the volume down before you press play. Low tones carry far more energy than they seem to, and a subwoofer at full power on a 20 Hz tone is one of the few things on this site that can genuinely damage a driver.
  2. Pick a frequency with the slider or tap a quick tone. The quick tones cover 20, 30, 40, 50, 60, 80 and 100 Hz, which is where most of the interesting behaviour lives.
  3. Press Play and raise the volume slowly until the tone is clearly present but comfortable. Stop raising it the moment you hear buzzing, cracking or the tone breaking up.
  4. Set a sweep and press Run sweep. Start, end, duration between 5 and 60 seconds, and a logarithmic or linear curve are all yours to choose. A slow sweep is how you find the point where your system gives up and where the room takes over.
  5. Download individual tones as WAV files if you want to test away from a browser, for example from a USB stick in a car or from a media player connected to the system.

What you can use it for

Finding the real low end of your system. Sweep 100 Hz down to 10 Hz at a moderate level and note where the tone thins out or disappears. That frequency, not the specification sheet, is what your subwoofer actually delivers in your room.

Hunting rattles. A loose grille, a light fitting, a window or a coin in a car door resonates at one particular frequency. Sweep slowly and walk around, then press on the suspects one at a time until the noise stops.

Mapping room modes. Below about 200 Hz the room decides as much as the speaker. Hold a tone and move around: places where the level collapses and places where it doubles are standing waves, and moving the sub or the seat helps more than any setting.

Setting the crossover. Play tones on either side of your crossover point and listen for a hole or a hump where the subwoofer hands over to the main speakers. It should be a seamless handover, not a bump.

Checking a car system. Bring the WAV files on a phone or a stick, park somewhere quiet and sweep. Doors, boot lids and trim panels announce themselves clearly, and it takes a few minutes.

What each band should sound like

BandWhat to listen for
20 to 30 HzFelt more than heard: chest pressure, rumble from explosions and pipe organs.
30 to 60 HzThe punch of a kick drum and the weight of a bass guitar.
60 to 80 HzUpper bass. Most music carries its strongest low energy here.
80 to 120 HzWhere a subwoofer usually hands over to your main speakers.
120 to 200 HzLower midrange. Too much here sounds boomy or boxy.

Accuracy and limits

What you hear below 80 Hz is your room at least as much as your subwoofer. Standing waves can add or remove more than 15 dB at one seat, so a dip is often a position problem rather than a hardware problem. Move a metre and listen again before you conclude anything.

This is a listening test, not a measurement. It has no reference microphone and no calibration, so it can tell you where something rattles or drops out, not how flat your response is. That needs a measurement microphone and software.

Phones, laptops and small speakers cannot reproduce these tones. What you hear from them below 60 Hz is usually the cabinet buzzing or a harmonic, not the tone itself. Use a real subwoofer, and be aware that headphones vibrate against your head in a way that is easy to mistake for output.

Frequently asked questions

What frequency should I test my subwoofer at?

Start around 40 to 50 Hz, where most music has its strongest low energy and almost any subwoofer performs. Then work downwards to find where it stops, and upwards to your crossover point to check the handover to the main speakers.

Can bass test tones damage my subwoofer?

Yes, if you are careless. A continuous sine at high level is far harder work than music, and very low tones push a driver beyond its travel while sounding deceptively quiet. Keep the level moderate, keep the runs short, and stop at the first sign of distortion or a mechanical knock.

Why can I feel 25 Hz but not really hear it?

Because hearing sensitivity falls steeply at the bottom of the range. Down there the sensation is largely physical: pressure in the chest, a rattling window, a vibrating floor. That is normal, and it is why the lowest band on the table is described by feel rather than by tone.

My subwoofer buzzes at one frequency only. What is wrong?

Almost always something resonating rather than the subwoofer failing. Run a slow sweep, note the frequency, hold it, and press on panels, grilles, shelves and nearby objects. If the buzz stops when you press, you have found it.

Where should the crossover be set?

Commonly between 80 and 120 Hz, depending on how low your main speakers reach. Play tones on both sides of your setting: if there is a hole, lower the crossover or raise the level; if it booms, you have overlap. Trust what you hear at your seat over any rule of thumb.

Can I use these tones to break in a new subwoofer?

A new driver does loosen slightly over the first hours of use, and ordinary music at moderate level does that job. A long, loud sine at one frequency does not help and heats the voice coil, so if you want to run something in, run music.

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