Why is the subwoofer's name spoken from the centre speaker?

The LFE channel only carries bass (the receiver cuts it off around 80–120 Hz), so speech sent to it would be inaudible. The name is announced from the centre, then the low rumble plays from the subwoofer alone.

All the sound comes from the two front speakers. What is wrong?

Something in the chain is downmixing to stereo: the player, the TV's audio output setting (set it to Bitstream/Passthrough/Auto instead of PCM or Stereo), an HDMI ARC link that only carries stereo PCM, or the receiver set to a stereo mode.

Why is there no DTS test file?

We test every file by decoding it again and measuring each channel. The only free DTS encoder available leaked the surround-right signal into the subwoofer channel and played the LFE about 7 dB too quietly, so a DTS file made with it would give a wrong result. We would rather leave DTS out than publish a misleading test.

Can I use this to calibrate speaker levels?

Roughly: every main channel plays the same pink noise at the same level, so with an SPL meter app you can bring them close. For exact calibration use your receiver's built-in test tone or room correction (Audyssey, YPAO, Dirac), which accounts for its own bass management.

What about Dolby Atmos height speakers?

Atmos height channels cannot be made with free tools; these files cover the 5.1 and 7.1 bed. If your system reports Atmos with Dolby's own demo discs or streams, the height speakers are handled by the receiver's decoder.

5.1 & 7.1 Surround Sound Test Files

Speaker test files for home theatre receivers, soundbars, TVs, Plex/Jellyfin/Kodi and car head units. Each speaker in turn says its name (“Front left”, “Center”…) from its own position and then plays 2.5 seconds of pink noise on its own, clockwise from front left, with the subwoofer last. The videos show a room diagram with the speaker that should be playing lit up, so you can play them from a USB stick or a media server and see at once whether a channel is missing, swapped or downmixed.

What these files actually are

Every file was decoded again after encoding and measured channel by channel: in each segment only the named speaker carries sound (the subwoofer segment also has the spoken name in the centre). There is no DTS file: the only free DTS encoder we could test leaked the surround-right channel into the subwoofer and played the LFE about 7 dB low, which is exactly the error this test exists to find. Voice: eSpeak NG; noise: pink noise at −20 dBFS RMS.

5.1 test video, AAC 5.1 (MP4) — plays in browsers, phones, most TVs

MP4 · 1 MB VirusTotal report

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5.1 test video, Dolby Digital AC-3 640 kbps (MP4)

MP4 · 3 MB VirusTotal report

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5.1 test video, Dolby Digital Plus E-AC-3 640 kbps (MP4)

MP4 · 3 MB VirusTotal report

Download
5.1 Dolby Digital AC-3 audio (.ac3)

AC3 · 2.6 MB VirusTotal report

Download
5.1 Dolby Digital Plus E-AC-3 audio (.eac3)

EAC3 · 2.6 MB VirusTotal report

Download
5.1 AAC audio (.m4a)

M4A · 651 KB VirusTotal report

Download
5.1 FLAC lossless (.flac)

FLAC · 1.3 MB VirusTotal report

Download
5.1 Opus (.opus)

OPUS · 318 KB VirusTotal report

Download
5.1 PCM WAV, 16-bit 48 kHz (.wav)

WAV · 19 MB VirusTotal report

Download
7.1 test video, AAC 7.1 (MP4)

MP4 · 1.3 MB VirusTotal report

Download
7.1 test video, FLAC 7.1 (MKV) — Plex, Jellyfin, Kodi

MKV · 2.2 MB VirusTotal report

Download
7.1 AAC audio (.m4a)

M4A · 859 KB VirusTotal report

Download
7.1 FLAC lossless (.flac)

FLAC · 1.7 MB VirusTotal report

Download
7.1 Opus (.opus)

OPUS · 380 KB VirusTotal report

Download
7.1 PCM WAV, 16-bit 48 kHz (.wav)

WAV · 32 MB VirusTotal report

Download

Are these files safe to download?

Every sample file is generated by us — no executable code, no macros. Files are served over HTTPS from our CDN, each with a SHA-256 checksum so you can verify your download and a link to an independent VirusTotal scan report.

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Specs

5.1 order: Front left → Center → Front right → Surround right → Surround left → Subwoofer (LFE), 34 s
7.1 order: Front left → Center → Front right → Side right → Rear right → Rear left → Side left → Subwoofer (LFE), 43 s
Channel layout in the file: 5.1: FL FR FC LFE SL SR (AAC and Opus: FL FR FC LFE BL BR, the same surround speakers). 7.1: FL FR FC LFE BL BR SL SR
Test signal: Spoken channel name, then 2.5 s pink noise at −20 dBFS RMS; LFE: pink noise low-passed at 80 Hz
Sample rate: 48 kHz (WAV and FLAC 16-bit)
Video: 1280×720 H.264, 25 fps, speaker diagram synced to the audio

How to use it

1 Pick the format your device or app should handle: AC-3 or E-AC-3 for TVs, soundbars and HDMI ARC/eARC, AAC for phones and browsers, FLAC 7.1 MKV for Plex, Jellyfin and Kodi. When in doubt, start with the AC-3 MP4.
2 Copy it to a USB stick or your media server, or open it in the player you want to check. Set the receiver or soundbar to its normal mode (Dolby/Straight/Direct), not a virtual-surround or stereo upmix mode.
3 Play it and stand in the listening position: each name must come from the speaker the video lights up. Check the receiver display too; it should show the incoming format (Dolby Digital, PCM 5.1/7.1, etc.).
4 If a speaker is silent, the device has downmixed or the output is set to stereo; if two names are swapped, swap those speaker wires or the receiver's speaker assignment; if the subwoofer is silent, check the sub's power, crossover and the LFE setting.

Common use cases

New home theatre or soundbar

Confirms every speaker is wired to the right terminal and that the rear and side pairs are not swapped.

TV and HDMI ARC/eARC passthrough

Shows whether the TV passes Dolby Digital or Dolby Digital Plus through to the soundbar, or converts it to stereo PCM on the way.

Plex, Jellyfin, Kodi and Android TV boxes

Tells you whether a player sends 5.1/7.1 untouched or transcodes and downmixes it, codec by codec.

Car audio and USB playback

Many head units and TVs play only some codecs from USB; trying the files one by one shows which ones they support.

Frequently asked questions

Why is the subwoofer's name spoken from the centre speaker?: The LFE channel only carries bass (the receiver cuts it off around 80–120 Hz), so speech sent to it would be inaudible. The name is announced from the centre, then the low rumble plays from the subwoofer alone.
All the sound comes from the two front speakers. What is wrong?: Something in the chain is downmixing to stereo: the player, the TV's audio output setting (set it to Bitstream/Passthrough/Auto instead of PCM or Stereo), an HDMI ARC link that only carries stereo PCM, or the receiver set to a stereo mode.
Why is there no DTS test file?: We test every file by decoding it again and measuring each channel. The only free DTS encoder available leaked the surround-right signal into the subwoofer channel and played the LFE about 7 dB too quietly, so a DTS file made with it would give a wrong result. We would rather leave DTS out than publish a misleading test.
Can I use this to calibrate speaker levels?: Roughly: every main channel plays the same pink noise at the same level, so with an SPL meter app you can bring them close. For exact calibration use your receiver's built-in test tone or room correction (Audyssey, YPAO, Dirac), which accounts for its own bass management.
What about Dolby Atmos height speakers?: Atmos height channels cannot be made with free tools; these files cover the 5.1 and 7.1 bed. If your system reports Atmos with Dolby's own demo discs or streams, the height speakers are handled by the receiver's decoder.