This spatial audio test moves a sound around your head so you can hear how well your headphones, your system and your own ears place sounds in 3D. Your browser filters the sound with a head related transfer function, the same idea behind spatial audio, Windows Sonic and Dolby Atmos on headphones, and the view from above shows where the sound should be. Let it circle, fly past or pass overhead, or click anywhere to put it there. Then the quiz plays eight sounds from random directions and scores how close you get, including how often front and back swap. It works as a 3D audio test on any headphones, from AirPods and other earbuds to gaming headsets, and it pans across real surround speakers on a 5.1 or 7.1 system.
How to run the spatial audio test on headphones
- Put on headphones the right way round. Listen on should say Headphones.
- Press Play moving sound. With Circle, the sound should travel around your head, not just from ear to ear.
- Try Fly past and Overhead. Overhead moves the sound from in front, over your head and down behind you, and the height readout follows it.
- Click anywhere in the circle to stop the motion and place the sound there. Drag to move it. On a keyboard, the arrow keys turn and move it, and Page Up and Page Down change its height.
- Press Start the quiz. After each sound, click where you heard it. The green dot then shows the real direction and the orange dot your answer.
- Press Copy results to keep your score.
Close your eyes while the sound moves. Seeing the dot pulls the sound towards it, and the quiz is more honest with your eyes shut until you answer.
What the results mean
| Readout | What it tells you | Typical result with headphones |
|---|---|---|
| Direction | Where the sound is placed, clockwise from straight ahead | Left and right clear at any speed |
| Height | How far above or below ear level it is placed | Changes are subtle with a generic head model |
| Quiz score | Sounds you placed within 30 degrees | 5 to 8 of 8 |
| Front and back mix-ups | Sounds you heard on the mirror side, front for back | 0 to 3. More is common and not a fault |
| Rendering | How the sound is being made | Headphones, 3D, or a speaker layout |
A high score with few mix-ups means the generic head model suits your ears and your headphones pass the sound cleanly. A low score with many mix-ups is common and says more about the model than about your headphones, unless left and right are also wrong.
The sound stays inside your head
Some people never hear 3D sound outside their head with a generic model, and that is normal. Before you blame the headphones, check these:
- Mono or one-sided audio. If the sound only grows louder and quieter instead of moving, mono audio is on or one side is weak. The left right audio test finds that in seconds.
- Double processing. Windows Sonic, Dolby Atmos for Headphones, Apple Spatial Audio for stereo or a headset's virtual surround all add their own 3D processing. Turn them off to judge the page on its own, then on to compare.
- The sound. Steady tones are hard to place. Noise, Clicks and Voice carry the most direction cues.
- The fit. Earbuds that sit loosely lose some of the high frequency cues that place sound outside the head.
Front and back sound the same
This is the most common result. The cues that separate front from back come from the folds of your own outer ear, and a generic model only fits some people. In real life you turn your head a few degrees and the brain sorts it out at once, which a browser cannot follow. Head tracked spatial audio on AirPods and some other earbuds does follow your head, and Apple's personalised spatial audio scans your ears with the iPhone camera. Both reduce mix-ups noticeably.
Left and right are reversed
If the quiz answers are mirrored left to right, the headphones are on backwards or the channels are swapped. Check the L and R marks, then run the headphone test to confirm each side.
Height barely changes
Height is the weakest cue in any headphone 3D system, because it also depends on your own ear shape. Use Overhead: most people hear the sound rise and pass over, but a sound at a fixed height above you often seems to sit in front instead. Real height needs speakers above you, which is what the dolby atmos test covers.
Spatial audio settings on your device
- iPhone and iPad with AirPods: open Control Center, touch and hold the volume slider, then press Spatial Audio and choose Off, Fixed or Head Tracked.
- Mac with AirPods: click the AirPods or Sound icon in the menu bar and choose a Spatial Audio mode. It needs a Mac with Apple silicon.
- Windows: open Settings, then System, then Sound, select your headphones and set Spatial audio to Windows Sonic for Headphones. Dolby Atmos for Headphones needs the Dolby Access app.
- Android: look for Spatial audio in the sound or Bluetooth settings. Samsung calls it 360 Audio for Galaxy Buds.
Spatial audio on speakers
Switch Listen on to Speakers. When your browser reaches 6 or 8 outputs, the sound pans around your real 5.1 or 7.1 speakers, which is a good way to check that a surround system blends smoothly from speaker to speaker. With two speakers, a sound can only move between them, and sounds behind you play from the front. Check the speakers one by one first with the surround sound test.
What a 3D audio test in a browser cannot do
The browser uses one generic head model, so it cannot match your own ears, and it cannot follow your head movements. It cannot see whether your system's spatial audio is on, so turn it on and off yourself to compare. Speakers above you are not reachable from a web page, so height only works on headphones here. The quiz measures how well this rendering suits you, not your hearing.
Spatial audio test questions
How do I know if spatial audio is working?
The sound should seem to sit outside your head: in front of you when the dot is in front, behind you when it is behind. With head tracking on a supported device, a sound placed in front stays put when you turn your head. If everything sits between your ears, the 3D effect is not reaching you.
Why does the sound seem to be inside my head?
Ordinary stereo always sounds inside the head, and 3D sound made for someone else's ears often does too. Close your eyes, try the Voice and Noise sounds, and turn your system's own spatial audio off so it does not process the sound twice.
Can I test AirPods spatial audio with this page?
Yes, but know what you are testing. This page makes its own 3D sound and sends it as stereo. Apple's Spatial Audio for stereo, set to Fixed or Head Tracked, adds its own processing on top. Try the page with Spatial Audio off and then on, and keep whichever places the sound better.
What is HRTF?
A head related transfer function describes how your head and outer ears change a sound depending on where it comes from. Your browser filters the test sound with a generic set of these measurements, which works well for left and right and less well for front, back and height.
Why do front and back sound the same?
Front and back mix-ups are the most common result with a generic head model, because the cues that separate them come from the shape of your own ears. Turning your head is how you tell them apart in real life, which is why head tracking helps.
Does spatial audio work on speakers?
Not the headphone kind. Switch Listen on to Speakers: with 5.1 or 7.1 the sound pans around your real speakers, and with two speakers it can only move between them.