Surround Sound Test
Play a test sound on each speaker of a stereo, 5.1 or 7.1 system, one channel at a time. See how many output channels your browser really gets, and try a virtual surround mode on headphones.
Detected output
Browsers only start audio after a click. Press the button (or any speaker below) and we read how many channels the browser can send to your current output device.
Speaker test
Start quiet and turn up slowly. The sub tone can be loud on a big system.
How to read this surround sound test
Is your 7.1 headset really 7.1?
Most "7.1 gaming headsets" have two drivers, one per ear. The surround comes from a USB dongle or app that takes a stereo or multichannel signal and filters it to sound as if it comes from around you. That is why this page usually reports 2 channels for them. Virtual surround can help with positional cues, but it is a filter, not extra speakers. The virtual mode here does the same trick so you can judge it yourself. Run the headphone test first to confirm left and right are correct.
Setting up 5.1 or 7.1 output
On Windows, open Control Panel, Sound, select your receiver or sound card on the Playback tab, press Configure and choose 5.1 Surround or 7.1 Surround. Over HDMI the receiver must be on and advertise multichannel PCM, or Windows only offers stereo.
On a Mac, open Audio MIDI Setup, select the output, press Configure Speakers, choose Multichannel and pick 5.1 or 7.1. Reload this page afterwards, since the browser reads the channel count when audio starts.
Swapped or silent channels
Click each speaker and check that the sound comes from the matching spot. Common faults: side and back pairs swapped in 7.1 (the receiver's back outputs are wired to the side speakers), centre and sub swapped on analog sound cards where the orange jack is wired the wrong way round, and left and right reversed at the speaker terminals. Fix it with the cables or the receiver's speaker setup rather than software. The sub plays a 40 to 80 Hz warble; if it is silent, check the crossover and that the receiver is set to "Subwoofer: Yes". The bass test shows how low it goes.
Browser limits
The browser can only use the channels the OS gives it. Chrome and Edge usually expose 6 or 8 channels when the device is set to surround, but some browsers cap output at 2, and Bluetooth is always stereo. This page sends plain PCM channels, not a Dolby or DTS bitstream, so a receiver should show PCM or Multi-channel while it plays. A 2 here does not prove your speakers are stereo, only that this browser gets 2 channels.
Related tools
- Headphone Test: left, right, balance and polarity checks
- Sound Test: quick check that your speakers work
- Bass Test: find how low your subwoofer goes
- Audio Blind Test: can you really hear the difference?
Frequently asked questions
What is the difference between 5.1 and 7.1?
5.1 is six channels: front left, front right, centre, subwoofer (LFE), surround left and surround right. 7.1 is eight: those roles, with the single surround pair replaced by back left and back right, plus side left and side right. In Real channels mode each button feeds one output index. Front left is channel 1, front right is 2, centre is 3 and the subwoofer is 4. On 5.1, surround left is 5 and surround right is 6. On 7.1, back left is 5, back right is 6, side left is 7 and side right is 8. Stereo is only front left and front right.
Why do the rear speakers come out of the front?
A normal stereo output cannot put sound in a rear speaker by itself. Real channels mode raises the output channel count as high as the browser allows and uses a channel merger so the button named on screen is the only channel that receives the sound. If that count is 2, surround, back, side and subwoofer buttons do not play. If the browser reports 6 or 8 channels but the operating system or the device is not in a surround mode, the extra channels are downmixed, so rear and side sound often comes from the front pair and the subwoofer may be quiet or missing. Set the playback device to 5.1 or 7.1, set the receiver the same way, then reload. Virtual mode does not solve this: it is a headphone simulation into the left and right channels only.
How do I stop the sound?
Press Stop to silence the current sound and cancel a cycle. Pressing the speaker that is already playing also stops it, unless a cycle is running, in which case that press cancels the cycle and plays that speaker again. Stop cycle stops the cycle too. Leaving the page stops playback and closes the audio context. Nothing plays when the page loads. The first click on Detect channels, a speaker or Cycle all speakers creates the audio context and resumes it if it is not already running.
Why is the subwoofer button silent?
In Real channels mode the subwoofer button plays a 40 to 80 Hz tone on channel 4 only. It is not copied onto the front speakers. The browser must report at least 4 output channels, the receiver needs the sub turned on, and the volume on this page has to be above zero. On a stereo output the button refuses to play and shows a message. In Virtual mode that same button is the low tone placed straight ahead in the headphone mix, not a discrete LFE channel. Pink noise and the voice chirp never replace the sub tone.
What does virtual mode do?
Virtual mode is for headphones. It places each speaker around you with an HRTF panner and sends the result to the left and right channels only. It does not test real centre, rear, side or subwoofer cabinets. Use Real channels mode for a speaker layout. A press lasts about two seconds.
What does the detected channel count mean?
After a click, the page reads how many channels the browser will send to the current output. 2 is stereo, 6 is 5.1 and 8 is 7.1. A 2 here does not prove the speakers are stereo. It means this browser was given two channels. Chrome and Edge usually report 6 or 8 when the device is set to surround. Some browsers stay at 2, and Bluetooth is stereo. The count is taken when audio starts, so change the OS layout and reload before you test again.
What if the wrong speaker plays?
Each button drives one channel index. On 7.1, back left and back right are channels 5 and 6, and side left and side right are channels 7 and 8. If those pairs are swapped, the OS speaker layout or the speaker wires do not match that order. Centre and sub swapped usually means the analog centre/sub jack is reversed. This page does not remap channels. Fix it in the OS, the receiver or the cables, then reload.