Surround Sound Test
Play a tone on one 5.1 or 7.1 channel at a time.
Everything runs in your browser. No audio is ever uploaded.
Your device reports 2 output channels, so this page tests stereo.
Only two output channels are available here, so per-channel testing stops at left and right. A browser cannot address speakers the operating system does not expose: surround content is downmixed to stereo before it reaches your ears. To test all channels, connect the surround output directly and select it as the system output device.
Press a speaker on the map to send a tone to that channel alone, or run the cycle to hear every channel in order. If the sound comes from the wrong corner, the cable or the output assignment is swapped.
Audio starts on your first tap on Play, as required by your browser.
A surround sound test sends a tone to one speaker at a time so you can hear whether every channel is wired and assigned to the right corner. This 5.1 and 7.1 speaker test, also called a home theater channel test or a surround channel check, plays a 440 Hz tone per channel and 40 Hz on the subwoofer.
Every channel gets a 440 Hz tone, except the subwoofer channel, which gets 40 Hz because a subwoofer cannot reproduce anything higher. The cycle holds each channel for one second.
The browser can only address the channels your operating system reports, and it cannot tell whether a speaker is actually connected. A silent channel means either no speaker or a wrong assignment, and this page cannot tell the two apart.
Just checking left and right? Speaker Test
How to use it
- Check the line at the top of the page first. It reports how many output channels your device offers and which layout is being tested. If it says stereo, the operating system is not exposing your surround output yet.
- Sit in your usual listening seat, facing the front speakers, and set a moderate volume. Every channel gets the same level, so a channel that sounds quieter than the rest is telling you something.
- Press a speaker on the map to send the tone to that channel alone. The status line names the channel that is playing, so you can compare what you hear with what the page claims to be sending.
- Use Play every channel to walk the whole layout in order, one second per channel. That is the fastest way to find a silent speaker or two channels that answer in the wrong order.
- When the sound comes from the wrong corner, note the pair and swap them at the receiver or in the system output settings, then run the cycle again to confirm.
What you can use it for
Commissioning a new receiver. After running a setup wizard it is worth checking each channel by hand, because a wizard can happily assign a channel to a speaker that is not there.
Finding a swapped surround pair. Rear left and rear right crossed is the most common wiring mistake in a home theater, and it is nearly invisible with film sound but obvious with a single tone.
Checking the center channel. Dialogue lives almost entirely in the center speaker, so a center that is silent or reversed shows up as a film you keep turning up to follow.
Confirming the subwoofer is on the low frequency effects channel. The map sends 40 Hz there because a subwoofer cannot reproduce anything higher, so if the tone comes out of a main speaker instead, the assignment is wrong.
Testing after a cable change. Anything that involved pulling speaker cable out of a wall or a receiver deserves one pass through the map before you settle in for a film.
The channels in a 5.1 and 7.1 layout
| Channel | Where it sits | What it carries |
|---|---|---|
| Front left | Front left, angled in toward the seat | Music, effects on the left side of the picture, and half of the stereo image. |
| Center | Directly in front, above or below the screen | Almost all dialogue, plus anything happening in the middle of the picture. The busiest speaker in a film mix. |
| Front right | Front right, mirroring the left | Music, effects on the right side of the picture, and the other half of the stereo image. |
| Subwoofer | Anywhere on the floor, usually near a front wall | The .1 in 5.1: low frequency effects, roughly below 120 Hz, plus bass redirected from speakers that cannot carry it. |
| Surround left | Left of the seat, level with or slightly behind it | Ambience and effects that move past you on the left. In 5.1 it also does the work of the back left speaker. |
| Surround right | Right of the seat, mirroring the left | Ambience and effects that move past you on the right. |
| Back left | Behind the seat, on the left (7.1 only) | Effects that come from behind. With back speakers in place, the side pair can stay beside you where it belongs. |
| Back right | Behind the seat, on the right (7.1 only) | The other half of the rear field, which is what makes a flyover cross the room rather than jump. |
Accuracy and limits
A browser can only address the channels your operating system reports. If your computer is set to stereo output, this page can test left and right and nothing else, no matter how many speakers are in the room. Select the surround output as the system device first.
The page cannot see your speakers. It knows which channel it sent a tone to, not whether a speaker is connected there. A silent channel means either no speaker or a wrong assignment, and only your ears can tell those apart.
Bass management sits in the way. Many receivers redirect low frequencies from small speakers to the subwoofer, so the 40 Hz subwoofer tone can be correct even when the assignment is not, and a main speaker set to small will not play a low tone at all.
Frequently asked questions
How do I test a 5.1 surround system?
Play each channel on its own from the map and check that the sound comes from the matching corner: front left, center, front right, subwoofer, surround left, surround right. Then run the cycle once to hear the whole layout in order.
Why does the page say I only have two channels?
Because that is what your operating system is offering the browser. Surround audio is downmixed to stereo before the page ever sees it. Connect the surround output directly, select it as the system output device, and reload before testing again.
Why is my subwoofer tone so much quieter than the others?
The subwoofer channel gets 40 Hz because a subwoofer cannot reproduce anything higher, and a 40 Hz tone at the same electrical level always sounds quieter than 440 Hz. Judge it by feel and by whether the driver moves, not by loudness.
What is the difference between 5.1 and 7.1?
7.1 adds a back left and a back right speaker behind the seat, which lets the side pair stay beside you instead of covering both jobs. The page reads the channel count your device reports and shows the layout that matches.
One channel is silent. Is the speaker broken?
Not necessarily, and it is the last thing to check. Look at the cable, the receiver assignment and whether that speaker is enabled in the receiver setup first. Swapping the suspect speaker with a working one settles it in a minute.
Do I need a special app or file to test surround?
No. The tones are generated in your browser and routed to individual output channels, so there is no download and no multichannel file to find. You do need the surround device selected as the system output.