How to test your headphones
This page is set up for headphones and earbuds: the Left / Right test plays pink noise instead of a chime, and the Bass tab runs from 200 Hz down to 20 Hz, the range where the fit of an earbud or the seal of an earcup shows.
- Turn your device’s volume down before you put the headphones on. Raise it slowly once the sound plays: headphones sit right at your ears, so a level that is quiet on speakers can be loud here.
- Press Left, Right and Both. Each side should play on its own, and Both should sit in the centre of your head. Listen for the character of the noise as well as its level: both sides should sound the same.
- Press Alternate L/R and, on wired headphones, gently flex the lead where it enters the jack and where it joins each earcup. A crackle or a side that cuts out points to a broken wire or a worn jack.
- Open Sweep and press Start sweep. A tone glides from 20 Hz to 20 kHz; press Mark this frequency at any buzz, rattle or sudden drop. Set Channel to Left only, then Right only, to find which side it comes from.
- Open Bass and play the tones from 200 Hz downwards. Over-ear headphones and well-sealed earbuds usually carry on well below 50 Hz; the point where the tone turns into a faint flutter or silence is where your bass ends.
Reading the result
- One side silent: check the balance setting and Mono audio on your device first, then the cable or the earbud’s charge and connection.
- One side quieter: measure it with the headphone balance test, which matches the two sides in decibels and tells a fit problem from a hardware one.
- No bass, or bass that comes and goes when you press the earbud in: the seal. Change the ear tip size and test again.
- A rattle at one frequency on one side: a damaged driver, or debris against it. Clean the mesh and sweep that side again.
For a headset microphone, run the mic test next. Testing speakers instead? The full speaker test opens with the chime and the subwoofer range.