WringA two-minute bass test
Open the online tone generator, select a sine wave and set the volume low. A steady sine tone is a better bass test than a song: there's one pitch and nothing else, so any buzz, rattle or drop in level comes from the speaker or the room, not from the recording.
Start at 100 Hz, then step down: 80, 60, 50, 40, 30 and 20 Hz. At each step, raise the volume slightly only if you have to, and watch for two things: the frequency where the tone gets noticeably quieter, and any noise riding on top of it. Then slide slowly back up to about 200 Hz. A rattle that shows up at one spot and fades on either side is a resonance, usually something loose rather than a broken speaker.
- Test one device at a time in a quiet room.
- Take your headphones off while you change the frequency or waveform.
- Stay on sine. Square and sawtooth waves add harmonics, sound much louder and hide what the bass itself is doing.
What a healthy speaker should do
How low a speaker can go depends on its size, so the same test gives different results on different devices. Judge the result against the device itself, not against the 20 Hz lower limit of human hearing.
- Cellphone and laptop speakers: very little below about 200 Hz, and almost nothing at 100 Hz. That's physics, not a defect. On a phone, listen for a clean tone with no buzz rather than for depth.
- Headphones and earbuds: a good seal usually lets them reach 30 Hz or lower. Weak bass from earbuds is most often a poor fit, so try another ear tip size before blaming the driver.
- Small Bluetooth speakers: they often fade out somewhere between 60 and 100 Hz. Bigger ones go lower.
- Subwoofers: they handle the range below roughly 80 Hz. A working sub should play 30–40 Hz cleanly at a moderate level, and many go lower.
How to test a subwoofer
Play 40 Hz at a low level, then raise the volume slowly. Put your hand near the cone or the port: you should feel air moving even when the sound is hard to hear. If nothing moves, check the power, the cable, the subwoofer's own volume knob and the sub or LFE setting on the receiver, soundbar or car stereo before you blame the sub.
Next, step from 80 Hz down to 30 Hz and walk around the room while it plays. Bass that booms in one spot and nearly vanishes in another is normal: the room itself boosts and cancels low frequencies. Moving the sub or your seat makes more difference than any setting.
Speaker manufacturer SVS calls 80 Hz the most common crossover frequency and the THX standard. If your receiver ran an automatic setup, keep what it chose. If you set it manually and hear a bump or a gap around the crossover, adjust the subwoofer level until the main speakers and the sub blend.
Check left, right and the balance setting
Bass that seems to come from only one side is often a setting, not a broken speaker. Run the left and right speaker test first. If one side is quiet or missing in your headphones, check the balance slider and mono audio.
On iPhone, go to Settings > Accessibility > Audio & Visual and check Balance and Mono Audio. On Android, open Settings > Accessibility and look for audio adjustment, where you can change the balance or combine both channels. Names and menus vary by manufacturer.
Rattle, buzz or silence: what the result means
Most results fit one of five patterns. Find yours before you buy anything.
- A rattle at one frequency only: something is resonating. On a phone it's often the case or a loose cover; in a car it's a panel or door trim. Hold the tone at that frequency and press on parts until the rattle stops.
- A buzz at every frequency on a cellphone speaker: usually lint, dust or debris in the grille. See how to clean a phone speaker safely.
- Muffled or crackling sound after the phone got wet: there may still be water in the grille. Try the water eject sound and read why a speaker crackles after water.
- Distortion only at high volume: most small speakers hit their limit in the bass first. Turn it down; it isn't a defect.
- No sound at any frequency: start with the volume, mute, Bluetooth and output settings. Our guide to a speaker with no sound goes through them in order.
Bass test on your cellphone with Wring
A browser can only use the phone's regular stereo output. It can't choose the earpiece or the bottom speaker on its own. The Wring app for iPhone and Android adds a speaker test that plays the speakers separately or together on compatible phones, a tone generator and a dB meter, plus Water Eject and Dust Clean for a wet or dusty grille.
Wring is free with ads and usage limits; Pro removes both.
What not to do
A steady test tone wears out your ears faster than music at the same level, and bass feels quieter than it is. The American Speech-Language-Hearing Association warns that sounds at 85 dBA can damage hearing after about 8 hours, and that louder sounds do it faster.
- Don't test at full volume. Start low and raise the level only as far as you need to hear the tone.
- Don't hold a phone speaker against your ear while a tone plays.
- Don't keep a subwoofer at a level where you hear clacking, slapping or a hard thud. That's the cone hitting its limit, and it can damage the driver.
- Don't loop deep tones for minutes on a small speaker. A short test tells you all you need.
When to take it to a repair shop
Have the device checked if a phone speaker still buzzes at every frequency after careful cleaning and drying, if a speaker makes a scraping sound even at low volume, or if a subwoofer has power but produces nothing at any frequency even though the cable and settings check out. A scraping voice coil or a torn cone can't be fixed with sound. For phones still under warranty, contact Apple or your phone's manufacturer before opening anything.
Quick answers
What frequency makes a good bass test? 40 Hz for a subwoofer and 60–100 Hz for headphones and Bluetooth speakers. For a phone speaker, sweep from about 100 to 300 Hz and listen for buzzing, not depth.
Why can't I hear 20 Hz? Most speakers can't play it at a useful level, and many people feel 20 Hz more than they hear it. That's normal.
Can a bass test damage my speakers? Not at moderate volume. Damage comes from high levels held for a long time, especially deep tones on small speakers.
Is there a free bass test online? Yes: the tone generator plays any frequency from 20 Hz to 20 kHz right in your browser, with nothing to install.