{"id":568,"date":"2026-06-18T04:33:19","date_gmt":"2026-06-18T04:33:19","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.mickeydesigns.com\/home\/?p=568"},"modified":"2026-06-18T14:40:58","modified_gmt":"2026-06-18T14:40:58","slug":"audio-techniques-help-troubleshooting","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.mickeydesigns.com\/home\/audio-techniques-help-troubleshooting\/","title":{"rendered":"Audio Techniques | Speaker Test \u2014 Help &amp; Troubleshooting Guide"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Audio Techniques| Speaker Test \u2014 Help &amp; Troubleshooting<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<!-- Audio Techniques \u2014 Help & Troubleshooting -->\n<!-- Paste this into a Custom HTML block in WordPress -->\n\n<style>\n.at-guide { max-width: 800px; margin: 0 auto; font-size: 16px; line-height: 1.7; color: inherit; }\n.at-guide h2 { font-size: 1.4em; margin: 2em 0 0.5em; padding-bottom: 0.3em; border-bottom: 1px solid #e0e0e0; }\n.at-guide h3 { font-size: 1.1em; margin: 1.6em 0 0.4em; }\n.at-guide p { margin: 0 0 1em; }\n.at-guide ul, .at-guide ol { margin: 0 0 1em 1.5em; padding: 0; }\n.at-guide li { margin-bottom: 0.4em; }\n.at-guide code { font-family: monospace; font-size: 0.9em; background: #f4f4f4; padding: 2px 5px; border-radius: 3px; }\n.at-guide pre { background: #f4f4f4; border-left: 3px solid #ccc; padding: 1em; overflow-x: auto; border-radius: 3px; margin: 0 0 1em; }\n.at-guide pre code { background: none; padding: 0; }\n.at-guide table { width: 100%; border-collapse: collapse; margin: 0 0 1.5em; font-size: 0.95em; }\n.at-guide th { background: #f4f4f4; text-align: left; padding: 8px 12px; border: 1px solid #ddd; font-weight: 600; }\n.at-guide td { padding: 8px 12px; border: 1px solid #ddd; vertical-align: top; }\n.at-guide blockquote { border-left: 3px solid #ccc; margin: 1em 0; padding: 0.6em 1.2em; background: #fafafa; color: #555; border-radius: 0 3px 3px 0; }\n.at-guide blockquote p:last-child { margin: 0; }\n.at-guide a { color: inherit; }\n.at-guide strong { font-weight: 600; }\n.at-toc { background: #fafafa; border: 0.5px solid #ddd; border-radius: 4px; padding: 1rem 1.25rem; margin: 0 0 2em; }\n.at-toc h3 { margin: 0 0 0.6em; }\n.at-toc ol { margin: 0; }\n<\/style>\n\n<div class=\"at-guide\">\n\n<p>Welcome to Audio Techniques. This guide walks through what each tool does and how to fix the most common issues.<\/p>\n\n<div class=\"at-toc\">\n  <h3>Table of Contents<\/h3>\n  <ol>\n    <li><a href=\"#whats-in-app\">What&#8217;s in the app<\/a><\/li>\n    <li><a href=\"#getting-started\">Getting started<\/a><\/li>\n    <li><a href=\"#polarity\">Polarity (Test Signals)<\/a><\/li>\n    <li><a href=\"#noise-generator\">Noise Generator<\/a><\/li>\n    <li><a href=\"#tone-generator\">Tone Generator<\/a><\/li>\n    <li><a href=\"#rta\">RTA (Real-Time Analyzer)<\/a><\/li>\n    <li><a href=\"#general-troubleshooting\">General troubleshooting<\/a><\/li>\n    <li><a href=\"#privacy\">Privacy<\/a><\/li>\n    <li><a href=\"#contact\">Contact<\/a><\/li>\n  <\/ol>\n<\/div>\n\n<h2 id=\"whats-in-app\">What&#8217;s in the app<\/h2>\n\n<p>Audio Techniques has four tools, each on its own tab:<\/p>\n\n<ul>\n  <li><strong>Polarity<\/strong> \u2014 Plays calibrated test signals (Pink Noise, Sweep, Clicks, 1 kHz Sine) on both channels with a toggle to flip the right channel&#8217;s polarity. Used to check speaker wiring and phase alignment.<\/li>\n  <li><strong>Noise<\/strong> \u2014 A continuous noise generator with three flavors (White, Pink, Brown) and a volume slider.<\/li>\n  <li><strong>Tone<\/strong> \u2014 A sine or square wave tone generator from 20 Hz to 20 kHz, with one-tap frequency presets.<\/li>\n  <li><strong>RTA<\/strong> \u2014 A 31-band Real-Time Analyzer that listens through the microphone and shows the spectrum and the dominant frequency.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n<h2 id=\"getting-started\">Getting started<\/h2>\n\n<ol>\n  <li>Plug in (or pair) the speakers you want to test.<\/li>\n  <li>Set your device&#8217;s volume to a comfortable level <strong>before<\/strong> pressing Play \u2014 test signals can be loud.<\/li>\n  <li>Pick the tab for the job: Polarity for wiring checks, Noise\/Tone for source signals, RTA for measurement.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n\n<blockquote>\n  <p>Tip: The app&#8217;s audio session is set to mix with other audio, so you can play test signals over a track from another app if you want a reference.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n<h2 id=\"polarity\">Polarity (Test Signals)<\/h2>\n\n<h3>What the buttons do<\/h3>\n\n<ul>\n  <li><strong>Polarity: Normal \/ Flipped<\/strong> \u2014 Toggles the right channel between in-phase (&#8220;L:+\/- R:+\/-&#8220;) and inverted (&#8220;L:+\/- R:-\/+&#8221;). The status line under the button always shows the current state.<\/li>\n  <li><strong>Pink Noise \/ Sweep \/ Clicks \/ 1 kHz Sine<\/strong> \u2014 Plays the selected signal in a loop. Only one signal can play at a time; tapping a new one stops the previous.<\/li>\n  <li>A button turns <strong>red<\/strong> while its signal is playing and <strong>green<\/strong> when stopped.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n<h3>How to use it<\/h3>\n\n<ol>\n  <li>Press <strong>Pink Noise<\/strong> (or Clicks \u2014 clicks are often the easiest to hear polarity on).<\/li>\n  <li>Stand centered between the two speakers.<\/li>\n  <li>With <strong>Polarity: Normal<\/strong>, the sound should appear to come from directly between the speakers \u2014 focused and &#8220;in your head.&#8221;<\/li>\n  <li>Toggle <strong>Polarity: Flipped<\/strong>. If the image becomes diffuse, vague, or seems to come from behind\/outside the speakers, your speakers are wired correctly. If the image <em>tightens up<\/em> when flipped, one of your speakers is wired out of phase.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n\n<h3>Common issues<\/h3>\n\n<p><strong>I only hear sound from one side.<\/strong><br>\nThat&#8217;s normal in flipped mode for a moment if your wiring is reversed \u2014 but if it stays one-sided in <em>both<\/em> normal and flipped, check that your device&#8217;s Mono Audio setting is off (Settings \u2192 Accessibility \u2192 Audio\/Visual \u2192 Mono Audio) and that audio balance is centered (same screen, Balance slider).<\/p>\n\n<p><strong>Nothing plays when I tap a signal button.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n<ul>\n  <li>Make sure the silent\/ring switch on your iPhone isn&#8217;t muting media (it shouldn&#8217;t, but worth checking).<\/li>\n  <li>Raise the volume with the hardware buttons while the signal is playing.<\/li>\n  <li>If you have Bluetooth headphones connected, audio is going there, not the speakers.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n<h2 id=\"noise-generator\">Noise Generator<\/h2>\n\n<h3>Controls<\/h3>\n\n<ul>\n  <li><strong>Type<\/strong> \u2014 White (flat spectrum), Pink (\u22123 dB\/octave, the standard for audio testing), Brown (\u22126 dB\/octave, deeper rumble).<\/li>\n  <li><strong>Volume<\/strong> \u2014 0\u2013100%. Starts at 50%.<\/li>\n  <li><strong>Play \/ Stop<\/strong> \u2014 Big button at the bottom.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n<h3>Tips<\/h3>\n\n<ul>\n  <li>Pink noise is the right choice for most room measurement and speaker comparison work.<\/li>\n  <li>If you need to test sub-bass response, Brown noise concentrates energy in the lows.<\/li>\n  <li>White noise sounds hissy because human hearing is more sensitive to highs \u2014 that&#8217;s expected, not a bug.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n<h3>Common issues<\/h3>\n\n<p><strong>Noise sounds distorted or crunchy.<\/strong><br>\nLower the in-app Volume slider. If your device&#8217;s master volume is already high, the combined signal can clip on small speakers.<\/p>\n\n<p><strong>Volume slider doesn&#8217;t seem to do anything.<\/strong><br>\nMake sure the device&#8217;s hardware volume isn&#8217;t at the floor (or ceiling). The in-app slider scales the signal <em>before<\/em> the system output.<\/p>\n\n<h2 id=\"tone-generator\">Tone Generator<\/h2>\n\n<h3>Controls<\/h3>\n\n<ul>\n  <li><strong>Frequency display<\/strong> \u2014 Large readout in Hz or kHz.<\/li>\n  <li><strong>Frequency slider<\/strong> \u2014 Logarithmic, 20 Hz to 20 kHz.<\/li>\n  <li><strong>Presets<\/strong> \u2014 One-tap shortcuts: 50, 100, 200, 440, 500, 1k, 2k, 4k, 8k, 10k Hz.<\/li>\n  <li><strong>Waveform<\/strong> \u2014 Sine (pure tone) or Square (rich in odd harmonics).<\/li>\n  <li><strong>Volume<\/strong> \u2014 0\u2013100%.<\/li>\n  <li><strong>Play \/ Stop<\/strong>.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n<h3>Tips<\/h3>\n\n<ul>\n  <li><strong>440 Hz<\/strong> is concert A \u2014 useful for instrument tuning.<\/li>\n  <li><strong>1 kHz<\/strong> is the standard reference tone for level calibration.<\/li>\n  <li>Square waves at low frequencies will sound much louder than sine waves at the same volume setting; turn the volume down before switching waveforms.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n<h3>Common issues<\/h3>\n\n<p><strong>I can&#8217;t hear high frequencies above ~12 kHz.<\/strong><br>\nThis is almost always normal. Adult hearing typically rolls off above 14\u201316 kHz. Small phone\/laptop speakers also struggle to reproduce the top octave. Test on good headphones if you want to confirm.<\/p>\n\n<p><strong>The tone has clicks when I change frequency.<\/strong><br>\nThe slider re-targets the oscillator continuously and small discontinuities can produce a tick. Use the preset buttons for clean jumps, or move the slider slowly.<\/p>\n\n<h2 id=\"rta\">RTA (Real-Time Analyzer)<\/h2>\n\n<h3>What it shows<\/h3>\n\n<ul>\n  <li><strong>Peak Frequency<\/strong> \u2014 The loudest band the analyzer is hearing right now (or <code>---<\/code> when too quiet).<\/li>\n  <li><strong>Spectrum<\/strong> \u2014 31 third-octave bands from 20 Hz to 20 kHz. Bars are green at low levels, yellow as they get louder, red when hot, and <strong>white on the band containing the peak<\/strong>.<\/li>\n  <li><strong>Start \/ Stop Analyzer<\/strong> button.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n<h3>First-time setup<\/h3>\n\n<p>The first time you press <strong>Start Analyzer<\/strong>, iOS will ask for microphone permission. Tap <strong>Allow<\/strong>. Without it, the RTA can&#8217;t receive any audio.<\/p>\n\n<h3>How to use it<\/h3>\n\n<ol>\n  <li>Press <strong>Start Analyzer<\/strong>.<\/li>\n  <li>Speak, clap, or play a tone \u2014 bars should respond.<\/li>\n  <li>Use the Tone or Noise tab from another instance, or play a reference track on another device, and watch the spectrum.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n\n<h3>Common issues<\/h3>\n\n<p><strong>All bars stay flat \/ Peak shows <code>---<\/code>.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n<ol>\n  <li><strong>Microphone permission<\/strong> \u2014 Go to Settings \u2192 Audio Techniques \u2192 Microphone and make sure it&#8217;s enabled.<\/li>\n  <li><strong>Another app is using the mic<\/strong> \u2014 Phone calls, FaceTime, or some recording apps can hold the microphone exclusively. Close them and try again.<\/li>\n  <li><strong>Bluetooth headset with a mic<\/strong> \u2014 When AirPods or other headsets are connected, iOS will route the mic to that device. If the headset mic is muted, occluded, or the headset is in your pocket, the RTA hears nothing. Disconnect the headset to use the device&#8217;s built-in microphone.<\/li>\n  <li><strong>Case or finger covering the mic<\/strong> \u2014 On iPhone the bottom mic is small. Make sure nothing is over it.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n\n<p><strong>The RTA picks up its own output and loops.<\/strong><br>\nThe RTA shares the audio session with the generators. If you start the Noise or Tone generator on the same device while the RTA is running, the mic will hear what the speaker plays. This is by design \u2014 it&#8217;s how you&#8217;d measure room response. To avoid it, play the reference signal from a <em>different<\/em> device.<\/p>\n\n<p><strong>Peak frequency seems off by a little.<\/strong><br>\nThe displayed peak is the FFT bin center, which has finite resolution (\u2248 21 Hz per bin at 44.1 kHz sample rate). Expect small differences from a known input tone, especially at very low frequencies.<\/p>\n\n<p><strong>RTA stops responding after a phone call or after switching audio routes.<\/strong><br>\niOS interrupts the audio session for calls and sometimes when headphones are plugged in\/out. Press <strong>Stop Analyzer<\/strong> and then <strong>Start Analyzer<\/strong> again to re-arm the input.<\/p>\n\n<h2 id=\"general-troubleshooting\">General troubleshooting<\/h2>\n\n<h3>No sound at all<\/h3>\n\n<ul>\n  <li>Check the device&#8217;s volume with the hardware buttons.<\/li>\n  <li>Disconnect Bluetooth or wired headphones if you expect to hear the device&#8217;s speaker.<\/li>\n  <li>On iPhone, check the silent switch (though media playback should still pass through it for this app).<\/li>\n  <li>Quit the app fully (swipe up in the app switcher) and relaunch.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n<h3>Audio is too quiet, even at max volume<\/h3>\n\n<ul>\n  <li>The in-app Volume slider on the Noise and Tone tabs is independent of the system volume. Make sure both are turned up.<\/li>\n  <li>Some Bluetooth speakers have their own volume control that is separate from the phone&#8217;s volume.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n<h3>The app crashes or freezes<\/h3>\n\n<ol>\n  <li>Force-quit (swipe up in the app switcher and flick the app away).<\/li>\n  <li>Relaunch.<\/li>\n  <li>If it persists, restart the device.<\/li>\n  <li>If it still persists, please email <strong>davemickey@mac.com<\/strong> with: your device model, iOS version, and what you were doing when it crashed.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n\n<h3>&#8220;This app needs microphone access&#8221; popup keeps appearing<\/h3>\n\n<p>You denied microphone access once and the RTA needs it. Go to <strong>Settings \u2192 Audio Techniques \u2192 Microphone<\/strong> and toggle it on. Then return to the app and press <strong>Start Analyzer<\/strong> again.<\/p>\n\n<h3>Background audio<\/h3>\n\n<p>The app is not designed to play in the background. Test signals, tones, and noise will stop when you switch to another app or lock the screen. This is intentional \u2014 running calibrated audio while you can&#8217;t see the controls is rarely what you want.<\/p>\n\n<h2 id=\"privacy\">Privacy<\/h2>\n\n<ul>\n  <li>The microphone is only used by the <strong>RTA<\/strong> tab, and only while the analyzer is running. Audio is processed on-device and is never recorded, stored, or transmitted.<\/li>\n  <li>The app does not collect analytics or personal data.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n<h2 id=\"contact\">Contact<\/h2>\n\n<p>Found a bug, have a feature request, or have a question this guide didn&#8217;t answer?<\/p>\n\n<p><strong>Email:<\/strong> info@mickeydesigns.com<\/p>\n\n<p>Please include your device model and iOS version \u2014 it helps a lot when diagnosing audio issues.<\/p>\n\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Audio Techniques| Speaker Test \u2014 Help &amp; Troubleshooting Welcome to Audio Techniques. This guide walks through what each tool does and how to fix the most common issues. Table of Contents What&#8217;s in the app Getting started Polarity (Test Signals) Noise Generator Tone Generator RTA (Real-Time Analyzer) General troubleshooting Privacy Contact What&#8217;s in the app &#8230; <a title=\"Audio Techniques | Speaker Test \u2014 Help &amp; Troubleshooting Guide\" class=\"read-more\" href=\"https:\/\/www.mickeydesigns.com\/home\/audio-techniques-help-troubleshooting\/\" aria-label=\"Read more about Audio Techniques | Speaker Test \u2014 Help &amp; Troubleshooting Guide\">Read more<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":469,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"elementor_header_footer","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[20],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-568","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-help"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.mickeydesigns.com\/home\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/568","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.mickeydesigns.com\/home\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.mickeydesigns.com\/home\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.mickeydesigns.com\/home\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.mickeydesigns.com\/home\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=568"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/www.mickeydesigns.com\/home\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/568\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":600,"href":"https:\/\/www.mickeydesigns.com\/home\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/568\/revisions\/600"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.mickeydesigns.com\/home\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/469"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.mickeydesigns.com\/home\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=568"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.mickeydesigns.com\/home\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=568"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.mickeydesigns.com\/home\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=568"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}