Sony Bravia 9 TV; K-85XR90: A Critical & Honest Review…

[Harish_Hyderabad_India]

This is flagship grade Sony!
There is an Anti Reflective coating on the panel. I don't know if there is much more you can do over whats already there.

For what is a very expensive TV, applying the pro series tech will inflate the cost by a factor or two. Minimum.

The TV has very well placed speakers. It is infact one of the better ones. I'm not quite sure under what conditions and source material you had playing to comment. At this price point, TV sound is sort of second fiddle. 9.9 out of 10 who buy this TV will have a sound bar paired to it.

The TV also has auto calibration for the audio, like an AV Receiver. It can analyze the room and make improvement. I'm not sure if you had run this. Then again, all of this is pointless in a TV Showroom. It will never get it right as the environment itself ain't right.

More and more folks are ditching ethernet and connecting over wifi. The AX standard is as fast (Possibly faster) than Gigabit, so why bother with wired ethernet. For what the TV is designed to do, Wifi Ax will exceed the needs of the TV, as far as data transfer speeds go.

Its a pretty awesome TV in its own right. I can't comment on how it stacks up with the best from the Koreans.

Through rigorous testing, I have conclusively identified a significant flaw in the S B 9 TV's calibration mode with Netflix. Using my setup, comprising the S B 9 TV, HT-A7000 soundbar, SA SW5 subwoofer, and SA RS5 surround speakers, I conducted a comparative analysis.
In the first scenario, I played the Red Notice trailer on Netflix using the S B 9's built-in calibration mode. The audio output from the surround speakers (SA RS5) was notably subpar, characterized by a blooming and muffled sound.
In the second scenario, I played the same content through an Apple TV 4K, keeping all other settings unchanged. The results were striking: the audio from the SA RS5 surround speakers was crisp, clear, and audibly superior.
These findings unequivocally demonstrate a shortcoming in the S B 9 TV's calibration mode with Netflix, resulting in compromised audio quality. This issue is not inherent to the hardware, as evidenced by the improved performance when using an Apple TV 4K.

 

[sandeepmohan]

To be honest, all these calibration modes are Marketing nonsense that most TV manufacturers use. Not that you can't achieve perfect image quality without them.

These modes should ideally adhere to picture quality. It should not come in the way of the Sound. You should escalate this with Sony, though, with a better sample set instead of using a Trailer which runs for about 2 minutes.

You should also check if the same is observed when "not" using the calibration mode.

 

[Harish_Hyderabad_India]

To be honest, all these calibration modes are Marketing nonsense that most TV manufacturers use. Not that you can't achieve perfect image quality without them.

These modes should ideally adhere to picture quality. It should not come in the way of the Sound. You should escalate this with Sony, though, with a better sample set instead of using a Trailer which runs for about 2 minutes.

You should also check if the same is observed when "not" using the calibration mode.

That's what I intended to say...! TV is an audio-visual device and a perfect Calibration Mode should result not only the best picture quality but audio too. If a layman calibrate it shouldn't be perfect but when a global giant calibrate it should be perfect on dot. It doesn't matter whether it's a two minutes trailer or a full length movie...all it matters is flaws in the configuration.

 

[sandeepmohan]

That's what I intended to say...!

Your review is largely picking on all the negative aspects of the TV and faulting it for that.
A critical honest review should also talk about its positives. You've hardly elaborated on any.
If I go by what you're saying, this TV is no better than any of Sony's budget grade LED tv's.

 

[Harish_Hyderabad_India]

Your review is largely picking on all the negative aspects of the TV and faulting it for that.
A critical honest review should also talk about its positives. You've hardly elaborated on any.
If I go by what you're saying, this TV is no better than any of Sony's budget grade LED tv's.

 

[Harish_Hyderabad_India]

With all due respect, I can understand your concern, sir… First and foremost, I’m not at all negative to find faults with this TV. Facts can’t be hindered, debated, or dismissed. It’s quite evident in my title line of the post with the words Critical & Honest. Next, let me elaborate once again, here we go…

I strongly disagree with the notion that my review is unbalanced. As a matter of fact, I have meticulously highlighted the TV's shortcomings to provide a realistic assessment of its performance. My observations are based on six months of hands-on experience, and I stand by my findings.

Rather than glossing over the TV's flaws, I believe it's essential to acknowledge and address them. By doing so, I aim to provide a transparent and honest evaluation that helps consumers make informed decisions.

I'm confident that my review accurately reflects the TV's capabilities and limitations. I will not compromise the integrity of my assessment to artificially inflate the product's rating or appease those who may disagree.

I firmly believe that S's brand reputation is built on its commitment to excellence. As a loyal S enthusiast, I have always held the brand to the highest standards. I honestly believe no other TV brand comes close to S's caliber.

However, my concern lies in the fact that S's latest flagship model, the S B 9, falls short of its own exceptional standards. Despite its impressive other features, I find it lacking in overall picture & sound quality and calibration.

In reality, the viewing experience is often marred by eye-bleeding brightness, reflections, and poor calibration. Whether watching during the day or night, the issues persist. I fail to see the perfect equilibrium that S is renowned for. Does high brightness, and peak luminance simply make
it the flagship…? Crazy…! While watching a few movies/content, especially at nighttime, our eyes will literally bleed making us to just shut down the TV.

As I stated earlier, the S B 9's performance is, in my opinion, on par with S's budget-grade TVs. This is not a criticism of the brand as a whole, but rather a call to return to its own exceptional standards. S's flagship models should embody the pinnacle of innovation and excellence, not merely rely on extravagant brightness. (Will share my view, and opinion on this TV flagship, in the next reply, separately).

Finally, Bottom-line… It’s not simply to quote a premium price point with crazy taglines like flagship; the movie is coming home, ABCD, WXYZ…, bombarding the whole world with marketing gimmicks, spin and ultimately bulldozing on the heads of consumers. Hence, I reiterate…always it should be P = P (Price = Performance), this makes the equilibrium. The same I mentioned in my post, the last line to conclude is ’By implementing these changes, S can create a truly exceptional TV that justifies its premium price’.

 

[Harish_Hyderabad_India]

This is flagship grade Sony!
There is an Anti Reflective coating on the panel. I don't know if there is much more you can do over whats already there.

For what is a very expensive TV, applying the pro series tech will inflate the cost by a factor or two. Minimum.

The TV has very well placed speakers. It is infact one of the better ones. I'm not quite sure under what conditions and source material you had playing to comment. At this price point, TV sound is sort of second fiddle. 9.9 out of 10 who buy this TV will have a sound bar paired to it.

The TV also has auto calibration for the audio, like an AV Receiver. It can analyze the room and make improvement. I'm not sure if you had run this. Then again, all of this is pointless in a TV Showroom. It will never get it right as the environment itself ain't right.

More and more folks are ditching ethernet and connecting over wifi. The AX standard is as fast (Possibly faster) than Gigabit, so why bother with wired ethernet. For what the TV is designed to do, Wifi Ax will exceed the needs of the TV, as far as data transfer speeds go.

Its a pretty awesome TV in its own right. I can't comment on how it stacks up with the best from the Koreans.

Behold, the TV that's more mirror than the screen! Introducing the S B 9 where daytime viewing is a 50/50 split between your favorite shows and your living room decor...!
But wait, it gets better! Even at night, this TV has a knack for reflection – literally. Any ambient light in the room will turn your screen into a virtual mirror, complete with reflections of you, your furniture, and possibly even your snack-filled couch cushions...!!
And don't even get me started on dark scenes. It's like the TV is trying to recreate the room's ambiance – minus the ambiance. Dark colors? Forget about it! Your room's reflections will hijack the screen, leaving you wondering if you're watching a TV show or a surreal funhouse mirror...!!!
My six-month hands-on experience with this TV has been… shall we say, enlightening. Is it a flagship? More like a flagship of frustration! Crazy…, indeed!

 

[PixelCalibrator]

Hey,

Sorry, I didn't realize you were looking for calibration settings. However, I have to warn you – tweaking settings like white balance can actually make the picture worse rather than improving it. I’d recommend simply setting your TV to Filmmaker Mode or IMAX Mode, and adjusting motion smoothing to your preference (since everyone has different preferences). The truth is, proper calibration is done on a specific unit of a TV model. Even RTINGS mentions this when they share calibration settings – they provide them more as a reference, because each individual unit can have different deviations, even within the same model.

On the website I sent earlier, I believe there was also a article abt it: https://www.choose.tv/articles/disp...-discover-the-secret-of-the-perfect-image_AEQ

 

[Harish_Hyderabad_India]

Film maker mode is professional mode, right...Initially I tried in this only, then confined to cinema. I never tried with Imax mode.
Thank you for your inputs...

 

[vkalia]

I wonder to what extent adding an anti-reflective coating affect the picture quality - for a TV designed to provide the best quality, i can see the logic behind why Sony would choose to go for the best picture quality, with the expectation that the potential buyer would also do their best to get the most out of the TV. Some high-end speaker also tend to be very finicky and sound best when placement is optimized - ie, not at all spouse-friendly. . This is the direct analog of that. Although i get the frustration with buying a high-end TV and then having issues with it.

As for audio - ehh. TV audio is almost universally poor. There is only so much that DSP can do to overcome physics.