7.1 Surround Sound Test

This 7.1 surround sound test plays all eight channels one by one and announces each from its own position, so you can confirm that the side pair, the rear pair, the center and the subwoofer all work and are not swapped. The voice says "front left", "center", "front right", "side right", "rear right", "rear left" and "side left", and the subwoofer plays three low pulses. Because systems disagree on which pair is side and which is rear, a switch lets you swap them and test again. It also works as a 7.1 surround sound test online for virtual 7.1 gaming headsets: when the readout shows 8 outputs, each name should seem to come from a different place around your head.

How to run the 7.1 surround sound test

1. Look at Outputs reachable. A 7.1 system or a virtual 7.1 headset should show 8.
2. Press Check each speaker and answer for each channel. Walk to a speaker if you cannot tell which one spoke.
3. If the side and rear names come from each other's speakers, turn on Swap side and rear pairs and run the check again.
4. Use Noise and Play all to compare levels. All seven speakers should sound equally loud at your seat.
5. Press Copy results to keep the verdict, including the swap setting you used.

What the results mean

Side and rear speakers are swapped

In a 7.1 stream, channels five to eight carry the rear pair and the side pair, and not every system orders them the same way. Windows orders them rear then side, which is what this test plays by default. If "side left" comes from behind you, turn on Swap side and rear pairs: the test remembers the setting. When the swap is in your wiring, connect the side speakers to the Surround terminals and the rear speakers to Surround Back. Games use the same channel order, so get the wiring right rather than leaving the swap on.

The rear speakers are silent

• The receiver uses those amplifier channels elsewhere. Many 7.1 and 9.2 receivers let you assign the surround back amplifiers to a second zone, to height speakers or to bi-amping the fronts. Set them to Surround Back in the speaker setup menu.
• The receiver is set to 5.1. With Surround Back set to None, the rear channels fold into the sides.
• Windows is set to 5.1. Run the Configure steps in the Sound control panel again and choose 7.1 Surround, with both the side and rear pairs ticked.
• The signal is 5.1. If Outputs reachable shows 6, the browser and the system are sending six channels. Check the HDMI connection and the speaker setting.

A 7.1 headset sounds like stereo

Virtual 7.1 has to be switched on, and Windows has to send eight channels to it. If every name sounds as if it comes from between your ears, work through these:

1. Open the headset's app, such as Razer Synapse, Logitech G HUB, SteelSeries GG or HyperX NGENUITY, and turn on its surround or spatial setting.
2. Make sure the headset's 7.1 device is the default output. Some headsets add a second device just for surround.
3. Or use Windows: open Settings, then System, then Sound, select the headset, and set Spatial audio to Windows Sonic for Headphones.
4. Reload this page and check that the readout shows 8 outputs, then run the check again.

Even when it works, virtual surround is better at left and right than at front and back. Sides and rears that sound alike are normal, which is why the spatial audio test headphones quiz is a useful second check.

7.1 from a PC or a console over HDMI

A computer sends 7.1 as eight channels of PCM, which needs HDMI into the receiver or an eARC connection. Optical and ARC carry only two channels of plain audio. On an Xbox, open Settings, then General, then Volume and audio output, and choose 7.1 uncompressed for HDMI audio. On a PlayStation 5, choose Linear PCM under the audio output format setting. The receiver's display should show PCM 7.1 or a multichannel signal during the test.

Using the 7.1 test file

Open Test files and download the 8 channel FLAC. It announces the format, then each speaker in the same order as the test here, with three noise bursts after each name, and ends with the subwoofer channel. Play it in VLC or the Windows Media Player app on a computer set to 7.1, or from a USB stick on a receiver that reads FLAC. For a 5.1 system, the 5.1 surround sound test has a 6 channel file and an AC-3 version.

What the 7.1 test cannot do

The browser reaches only the channels your system offers, and it cannot detect where a sound came from in your room, so the result relies on your answers. It does not send height channels: those need a Dolby Atmos or DTS:X source, which the dolby atmos test explains. It cannot set speaker distances or levels: use the receiver's calibration microphone for that, then the subwoofer tester to check the crossover and phase.

7.1 surround test questions