Frequency Response Test — sweep 20 Hz to 20 kHz

Sweep the range

Tap a test to play it, and again to pause, at a moderate volume. Listen for where the sweep fades at each end, suddenly gets louder or softer, or makes something buzz. Use the slider to hold any frequency.

What a frequency response is

A frequency response shows how loud headphones or speakers play each frequency from 20 Hz to 20 kHz. A perfectly flat one plays every frequency equally; real ones roll off at the ends and have peaks and dips in between, which give them their character.

A sweep lets you hear it: the tone glides at a steady level, so anything louder or quieter comes from the speaker, the room or your ears. Without a calibrated microphone this is a listening test, not a measurement, and our hearing is weaker at the very bottom and top, so those always sound quieter.

Good to know

Our ears are most sensitive around 2 to 5 kHz; at 20 Hz or 16 kHz a tone must be much louder to sound as loud.
Most music has little energy above 16 kHz, and many MP3 and streaming encoders cut it off altogether.
Headphones are often tuned with a gentle bass lift and a dip in the upper mids on purpose: a perfectly flat headphone sounds thin to most listeners.
Measured frequency response needs a calibrated microphone or an ear simulator; by ear you hear the result through your own hearing.

Range	Frequencies	What lives there
Sub-bass	20–60 Hz	Rumble, kick drums, organ pedals
Bass	60–250 Hz	Bass lines, warmth
Midrange	250 Hz–2 kHz	Voices and most instruments
Presence	2–6 kHz	Clarity, where hearing is most sensitive
Treble	6–20 kHz	Air, cymbals, detail

How do I test the frequency response of my headphones?

Play the sweep at a moderate volume and listen for where it fades at each end and where it suddenly gets louder or softer. The octave bands make the same check in steps.

Why does the sweep get quieter at the ends?

Partly the headphones or speakers, partly your hearing: we hear the lowest and highest frequencies much less well than the middle.

Is this a real measurement?

It is a listening test. A measurement needs a calibrated microphone; here your ears and the live picture show what plays.

Mixes

Pick what you need. One tap to start, change anything and save it as your own.

Focus timer

Work in waves.

The Pomodoro rhythm: focus with calm sound in your ears, then take a real break. A soft bell marks every change, so you never watch the clock. Every fourth break is a long one.

25:00Focus · 1 of 4

Silence during breaks

Sound while you work

Breathe

Slow your breathing down.

Follow the circle and the sound: it rises as you breathe in and falls as you breathe out. Choose a rhythm, or set your own, and pick what plays underneath.

Ready

Sound while you breathe

Noise generator

Any color of noise, from deep brown to bright violet — and everything in between.

Brown noise

Noise volume

Spectrum · 20 Hz – 20 kHz

Sound science

The colors of noise

Same randomness, different tilt. Each color shifts energy between low and high pitches — here is what that sounds like.

White

0 dB / octave

Equal energy at every frequency. Because we hear in octaves, it sounds bright and hissy — the classic "TV static".

Pink

−3 dB / octave

Equal energy in every octave, so it sounds even to the ear. Steady rain, rustling leaves. A favorite for focus.

Brown

−6 dB / octave

Deep and warm, like a distant waterfall or a plane cabin. Masks voices and traffic without any hiss.

Grey

Equal-loudness curve

Shaped around how our hearing works, so every pitch seems equally loud. Balanced and soft.

Blue

+3 dB / octave

The mirror of pink: more treble than bass. Airy, crisp, like a light spray.

Violet

+6 dB / octave

Mostly treble, like hissing water. Sometimes used to mask high-pitched ringing.

Calm

Gentle tones to settle into: singing bowls, a slow warm drone, wind chimes tuned so every note fits.

Frequencies

Famous tones on pages of their own: hear them side by side, with honest facts.

Sound phenomena

How sound bends, shifts, rings and fools the ear, and why space is silent: hear it for yourself.

Nature

Rooms & travel

Animals & countryside

A purring cat, whales and dolphins, a nightingale in the dark, cowbells on a summer pasture. Wonderful in stereo.

For babies

Womb sounds are what a baby heard for nine months: a deep rush of blood flow, and the heartbeat.

Hearing and speaker tests

Check your ears, headphones and speakers, each test on a page of its own with a live picture.

Ear Age · 60 seconds

Test your ears.

Our ears lose the highest pitches first, and it starts early. Find the highest tone you can still hear and see the typical age for it.

Headphones on, quiet room
Set a comfortable volume on the 1 kHz tone
Don't turn it up when a tone disappears — that's the point

20,000Hz

Can you still hear it?

Hearing age test →

More ear tests

Check your headphones, find the deepest bass your setup can play, or play any pitch you like.

Headphones check

Left & right

Each ear should get its own side. It matters for 8D, binaural beats and every stereo sound here.

Headphones on, then tap a side.

Bass test

How low can you go?

Deep tones from 200 Hz down to 20 Hz, the bottom of human hearing. Mostly it tests your speakers or headphones.

Tone generator

Any pitch, 20 Hz – 20 kHz

Hz

Tone volume

Start quiet: high tones and square waves get tiring fast.

Take it to bed

An app without the app store.

Add Ears & Waves to your home screen and it opens like any app — full screen, with its own icon. Everything it needs is saved on your device, so it keeps playing on a plane, in a tent or with Wi-Fi off.

Preparing offline mode…

Works offlineNo streaming. Sound is computed on your device, forever.
Screen offKeeps playing with the phone locked. The timer fades it out gently.
PrivateNo account, no ads, no cookies. Your mixes stay on your device.

Frequency response test.