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Audio testHow to Test Audio
Test both halves of your audio chain in one place: microphone in, headphones or speakers out.
Testing audio means testing both directions. Play a tone to check output, then speak into the mic to check input. Doing both isolates the fault in about thirty seconds.
How to Test Audio — how to do it
- Start with output
Open the Headphones panel and play the left, right and both-channel tones. If you hear nothing, fix output first — there is no point testing a microphone through dead speakers.
- Confirm the channels are the right way round
The panel lights up the side that should be playing. If the light and the sound disagree, your channels are swapped, usually by a reversed cable or a wrongly wired adapter.
- Run the frequency sweep
A clean sweep rises smoothly with no buzzing, no rattle and no sudden dropouts. A rattle at one point in the sweep is a physically damaged driver.
- Now test the input
Switch to the Level panel, start the microphone, and speak. You are checking that sound arrives, at a sensible level, without clipping.
- Record and compare
Record a sentence and play it back through the same headphones you just tested. If playback sounds correct, the whole chain is verified end to end.
Common audio faults and what they sound like
- A constant humMains interference. Move the cable away from power supplies and chargers, and avoid running audio leads parallel to power leads.
- Sound plays from the wrong deviceThe default output changed when you plugged something in. Set the correct playback device in your system sound settings.
- Audio stutters or dropsBluetooth congestion or a busy CPU. Move closer to the receiver, or test with a wired connection to rule the radio link out.
- Crackling on one side onlyA failing cable or a partly inserted plug. Push the plug fully home and wiggle it near the connector while a tone plays.
Testing in the right order saves time
Audio faults are almost always diagnosed backwards. People reinstall drivers before checking whether the cable is in the right socket. Work from the outside in: physical connection, then device selection, then app permission, then driver.
Because this page tests output and input separately, you can split the chain at its midpoint in one visit. If tones play but the microphone is dead, the fault is on the input side only, and everything you were about to do to your speakers is unnecessary.
Common questions
How loud should the test be?
About half volume. Loud sweeps hide the small rattles and buzzes you are listening for, and can damage small drivers.
I cannot hear the highest tones
Normal. Adult hearing typically rolls off above 14 to 16 kHz, and it declines with age. It does not mean the headphones are faulty.
Why does my mic sound worse when headphones are connected?
On Bluetooth, using the microphone forces a narrowband profile that also degrades playback. Wired headsets do not have this problem.
Should I test with music instead of tones?
Tones are better for faults because you know exactly what should be produced. Music is better for judging tonal balance once you know nothing is broken.
Related tests
Related guides: setting up monitoring, why laptop mics underperform, or getting a cleaner signal.
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