Surround sound test. One channel at a time.
Most online surround tests pan a stereo sound to imitate direction. This one asks the browser how many output channels the system offers, and when there are six or eight, sends a sound to each real channel in turn: front left and right, centre, the subwoofer, and the surrounds. You say which speaker it came from. With only two channels offered, it tests left and right and tells you how to set the system to 5.1 or 7.1.
One check · Your ears
Asks for: Sound on. It runs in its own window and nothing leaves this page.
In short
Surround sound test: the answer first
A surround sound test should play a sound on each real speaker, one at a time. This one reads how many output channels the system offers the browser and, with six or eight, sends a sound to each channel with nothing panned. With two, it tests left and right and says how to set the system to 5.1 or 7.1.
Reading your result
- The channel count comes first
- Two channels offered means the system is set to stereo, or the browser reports stereo. No page can play surround through a stereo output.
- Silent channels
- A cable, a speaker set to None in the receiver's setup, or a subwoofer switched off or turned down.
- Wrong speaker
- Swapped cables, or the system's own order for the surround pairs on 7.1.
What it measures
Measured here, not assumed.
- Channels offered
- The maximum channel count the system gives the browser's audio output, as AudioDestinationNode.maxChannelCount reports it.
- One real channel at a time
- The output is set to that many channels with discrete interpretation, and each sound enters a channel merger on one input only, so it leaves on one channel and nothing is panned or mixed.
- The subwoofer
- The LFE channel plays a 50 Hz tone, our choice: inside every subwoofer's range. Every other channel plays a burst of noise, which is easier to place by ear than a tone.
- Your answer per channel
- Right speaker, wrong speaker or nothing, for each channel. A page cannot hear the room, so your answer is the result.
If it fails
The usual failures, and what fixes each.
- The system offers two channels
- Windows: Settings, System, Sound, More sound settings, select the output, Configure, and choose 5.1 or 7.1. macOS: Audio MIDI Setup, select the output, Configure Speakers. Then reload this page.
- A channel is silent
- Check that speaker's cable at both ends, and that the receiver's speaker setup lists it; a speaker set to None gets no sound. For the subwoofer, check it is on and its level is not at the minimum.
- A sound comes from the wrong speaker
- Two cables are swapped, or the system orders the surround pairs differently. The system's own speaker test shows which.
Where a browser stops
What it cannot tell you.
- Whether a speaker is wired right, beyond what you hear. The page cannot hear the room.
- Dolby Atmos height objects, which a browser does not send.
- Speaker distances and levels. A receiver's own setup with its microphone does that.
- The order of the surround pairs on 7.1, which is the system's. Some systems swap the side and rear pairs.
Privacy
Nothing leaves this page.
The camera and microphone are read on this page and stopped as soon as they have been measured. The clip you can play back lives in the browser's memory and is discarded when you leave. The location check discards the position. The internet test sends random bytes to this site and nothing else. The result is stored nowhere unless you ask for it by email, and then only the fact that an email was sent is kept.
Questions
Surround sound test, answered
- How do I test 5.1 surround sound online?
- Set the system's output to 5.1, open the test, and play each channel. The page reads how many channels the system offers; with six it plays one sound on each, and you say which speaker it came from.
- Why does the test say only two channels?
- The system is giving the browser stereo. Set the output to 5.1 or 7.1 in the system's sound settings and reload. Some browsers report two channels whatever the device is set to; Chrome and Edge pass the system's count through on the systems they read it from.
- Is this real surround or simulated?
- Real, where the system offers it: each sound leaves on one output channel and nothing is panned. With two channels offered, the test says so and plays left and right only.
- Does it test 7.1?
- Yes, when the system offers eight channels. The surround and rear pairs come in the system's order, so trust your ears over the label.
- Can headphones play 5.1 surround?
- Stereo headphones have two drivers. Virtual surround software can simulate direction on them, but this test plays real channels and will show two.
Read next