Check that every speaker of your home theater or gaming setup is connected to the right channel. Click a speaker on the diagram, or run the automatic test that walks around the room like an AV receiver, with spoken speaker names and live channel meters.
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Output channels: press a speaker to detectMode: not started
TV / screen
You
Click a speaker to play test sound from it, or run the automatic test.
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How to use the Surround Sound Test 5.1 / 7.1
Set your computer's speaker configuration to 5.1 or 7.1 (Windows Sound settings or macOS Audio MIDI Setup) and turn the volume down.
Choose the 5.1 or 7.1 layout that matches your speakers.
Click any speaker on the diagram. The first click also detects how many output channels are available and shows the result above the diagram.
Press Start speaker test to hear each speaker in turn with its name announced. The sound should come only from the speaker that is highlighted.
Fix what's wrong: swap cables if two speakers are reversed, check the receiver's speaker settings if one is silent, and use the swap option if the 7.1 side and back pairs are exchanged.
Speaker channels at a glance
Code
Speaker
Web Audio channel (5.1 / 7.1)
Typical position
What it plays
FL / FR
Front left / right
1 / 2
22-30° left and right of center
Music, effects, most of the stereo image
C
Center
3
Directly in front, above or below the screen
Dialogue (most important for movies)
LFE
Subwoofer
4
Front of the room, often near a front corner
Low-frequency effects (the ".1"), bass only
SL / SR
Surround (5.1) or side surround (7.1)
5 / 6
About 110° (5.1) or 90-110° (7.1)
Ambience and effects beside you
SBL / SBR
Surround back (7.1 only)
7 / 8
About 135-150°, behind you
Effects moving behind the listener
Channel numbers follow the Web Audio and Chrome order. Windows WAVE format puts back left and back right in channels 5 and 6 and the side pair in 7 and 8; use the swap option if your system follows that order.
Troubleshooting what you hear
Symptom
Likely cause
Fix
Every speaker plays the sound
Output is stereo, or the receiver's upmixer (Dolby Surround, DTS Neural:X, "All channel stereo") is on
Set the PC to 5.1/7.1 and the receiver to a straight or direct mode
Two speakers are swapped
Speaker wires crossed at the receiver, or side/back channel order difference
Swap the wires, or tick "Swap side and back channels" for 7.1 side/back pairs
One speaker is silent
Loose wire, speaker set to "None" in the receiver, or channel not available
Check connections and the receiver's speaker configuration
Center sounds from the fronts
Center speaker set to "None" or phantom center enabled
Enable the center speaker in the receiver or PC settings
Subwoofer silent
Sub off, low-pass set too low, or no subwoofer configured
Turn on the sub, set crossover to about 80 Hz, enable it in settings
Tips for an accurate test
Sit in your normal listening spot and close your eyes: you should be able to point at each speaker as it plays.
Use pink noise for level matching. Each speaker should sound about equally loud; a sound level meter app at the listening position helps.
Disable "spatial sound" (Windows Sonic, Dolby Atmos for Headphones) and audio enhancements while testing speakers.
Games and movies also need their own audio setting at 5.1/7.1, or they will send stereo even when the system supports more channels.
Frequently asked questions
Why does the test say my output has only 2 channels?
Browsers can only use as many channels as the operating system exposes for the output device. Headphones, Bluetooth speakers and laptop speakers are stereo. For true 5.1 or 7.1, set the playback device to a 5.1 or 7.1 configuration (Windows: Sound settings, then the device, then Configure; macOS: Audio MIDI Setup, Configure Speakers), connect by HDMI, optical with a supported format, or a multichannel audio interface, and reload the page.
Can a website really send sound to individual surround speakers?
Yes. The Web Audio API reports the output's maximum channel count, and when it is 6 or more the page can send discrete channels. This test routes each sound to one channel index with a channel merger, and the meters under each speaker show the level the browser sends on that channel.
What is the standard 5.1 and 7.1 channel order?
Web Audio and WAV files use front left, front right, center, LFE, then the surround channels: 5.1 is FL, FR, C, LFE, SL, SR. For 7.1, Chrome orders the last four as side left, side right, back left, back right, while Windows WAVE format lists back left and back right before the sides. If your side and back speakers sound swapped, tick the swap option.
Why is the subwoofer test sound so quiet or silent?
The LFE channel only carries bass (here, pink noise filtered below about 80 Hz, or a 50 Hz tone). Small speakers cannot reproduce it, so make sure a subwoofer is connected and enabled in your receiver's settings and that bass management is not set to send LFE to speakers that are too small.
Why does the voice come from all speakers?
The browser's speech engine always plays through the default mix and cannot be routed to a single channel. The voice only announces the name; the test sound that follows plays from that one speaker.
How should 5.1 and 7.1 speakers be placed?
Common recommendations (Dolby and ITU-R BS.775) put the front left and right at about 22-30 degrees either side of the center speaker, 5.1 surrounds at about 110 degrees, and in 7.1 the side surrounds at about 90-110 degrees and the back surrounds at about 135-150 degrees, all roughly at ear height and the same distance from the listener.
Are all the tools on FreeToolCabin tested for quality and accuracy?
Yes! Every tool on our site undergoes automated Q/A testing in real browser environments to ensure high precision, correct output, and zero errors. If you happen to spot a bug or have a suggestion, please contact us at [email protected] and our team will review it right away.