- Feb 5, 2025
- 6
- 3
- 25
For over 25 years, I have remained loyal to the Sony brand, drawn to its unwavering commitment to superior product quality, reliability, long-lasting durability, and minimal repair issues, particularly in the TV lineup.
I’m eager to share my hands-on experience with the Sony Bravia 9 TV K-85XR90. While this television boasts exceptional picture quality and impressive video capabilities, my assessment has revealed several key areas that necessitate significant enhancements and refinements.
Picture Quality: A Double-Edged Sword
The TV's picture quality is exceptional, but it comes with a caveat. To fully appreciate its capabilities, the TV must be placed in a closed, dark room. Any ambient light will cause reflections on the screen, reminiscent of a mirror. To address this, Sony should incorporate a 100% haze factor, similar to their professional display model BZ 53L/BZ 50L.
Audio Quality: A Missed Opportunity
Despite boasting multiple speakers with 70W output, the audio quality is average at best. The primary issue lies in the speaker placement – all speakers are placed in the back panel, back-firing, causing sound waves to bounce off the decorum cardboard/acoustic panel, resulting in a dry, dull, and low-quality sound output. The sound settings are also confusing and not user-friendly, catering more to traditional users who prefer low, quiet sound effects rather than those seeking a cinematic experience.
The Immersive Audio Paradox: Separating Reality from Hype
Despite the proliferation of advanced speaker technologies, such as surround firing, beam firing, and object-based audio, the promise of cinematic, immersive sound remains elusive. In reality, even with genuine Dolby Atmos and DTS: X content, the immersive sound experience falls short of expectations. Poor dialogue intelligibility in action scenes and low-pitch vocals, hard to hear, understand, and follow, no matter you tweak in all sound settings like voice zoom, dialogue enhancer, equalizer, etc… In essence, the immersive audio experience often devolves into a familiar old-school stereophonic effect-a far cry from the stated cinematic experience-“ Cinema is Coming Home “!
Calibration Mode
Netflix and Prime Video's Calibration Modes are touted as unique selling points, offering users a personalized viewing experience. However, our experiences suggest that these calibration modes are not foolproof and require manual fine-tuning to achieve optimal results. Hence, room for improvement exists in calibration mode algorithms and user interface.
Home Screen UI Junkie/Laggy
This is another irritating factor as the TV Home Screen UI is slow, lag, and unresponsive. I've been experiencing persistent issues with my Sony Bravia 9 K-85XR90 for over a couple of months. Specifically, while navigating through Netflix and Sony Picture Core, the system frequently freezes for several seconds, displaying black screens with album art. Moreover, when pausing content on Netflix and attempting to return to the home screen, the TV often becomes unresponsive, requiring a minute or more to recover.
Additionally, I've encountered error messages (image enclosed) that necessitate a full restart of the TV. Despite regular cache clearance and even a factory reset, these issues persist. Notably, these problems only occur when streaming from the TV's built-in apps on the home screen, whereas using external devices like Apple TV 4K and Fire TV Cube to access the same apps yields no such issues.
Connectivity Limitations
The TV's connectivity options are limited, with only two HDMI ports supporting 2.1. Furthermore, the Ethernet connectivity speed is capped at 100 Mbps, a significant drawback.
Conclusion:
At its premium price point, the Sony Bravia K-85XR90 falls short in several areas. To make it a game-changer, Sony must address these shortcomings...
Improve screen reflectivity with a 100% haze factor
Redesign speaker placement for better sound quality
Simplify sound settings for a more user-friendly experience
Home Screen UI could be significantly improved with refined software/firmware updates
Increase HDMI ports with 2.1 supports
Upgrade Ethernet connectivity speed
By implementing these changes, Sony can create a truly exceptional TV that justifies its premium price.
I’m eager to share my hands-on experience with the Sony Bravia 9 TV K-85XR90. While this television boasts exceptional picture quality and impressive video capabilities, my assessment has revealed several key areas that necessitate significant enhancements and refinements.
Picture Quality: A Double-Edged Sword
The TV's picture quality is exceptional, but it comes with a caveat. To fully appreciate its capabilities, the TV must be placed in a closed, dark room. Any ambient light will cause reflections on the screen, reminiscent of a mirror. To address this, Sony should incorporate a 100% haze factor, similar to their professional display model BZ 53L/BZ 50L.
Audio Quality: A Missed Opportunity
Despite boasting multiple speakers with 70W output, the audio quality is average at best. The primary issue lies in the speaker placement – all speakers are placed in the back panel, back-firing, causing sound waves to bounce off the decorum cardboard/acoustic panel, resulting in a dry, dull, and low-quality sound output. The sound settings are also confusing and not user-friendly, catering more to traditional users who prefer low, quiet sound effects rather than those seeking a cinematic experience.
The Immersive Audio Paradox: Separating Reality from Hype
Despite the proliferation of advanced speaker technologies, such as surround firing, beam firing, and object-based audio, the promise of cinematic, immersive sound remains elusive. In reality, even with genuine Dolby Atmos and DTS: X content, the immersive sound experience falls short of expectations. Poor dialogue intelligibility in action scenes and low-pitch vocals, hard to hear, understand, and follow, no matter you tweak in all sound settings like voice zoom, dialogue enhancer, equalizer, etc… In essence, the immersive audio experience often devolves into a familiar old-school stereophonic effect-a far cry from the stated cinematic experience-“ Cinema is Coming Home “!
Calibration Mode
Netflix and Prime Video's Calibration Modes are touted as unique selling points, offering users a personalized viewing experience. However, our experiences suggest that these calibration modes are not foolproof and require manual fine-tuning to achieve optimal results. Hence, room for improvement exists in calibration mode algorithms and user interface.
Home Screen UI Junkie/Laggy
This is another irritating factor as the TV Home Screen UI is slow, lag, and unresponsive. I've been experiencing persistent issues with my Sony Bravia 9 K-85XR90 for over a couple of months. Specifically, while navigating through Netflix and Sony Picture Core, the system frequently freezes for several seconds, displaying black screens with album art. Moreover, when pausing content on Netflix and attempting to return to the home screen, the TV often becomes unresponsive, requiring a minute or more to recover.
Additionally, I've encountered error messages (image enclosed) that necessitate a full restart of the TV. Despite regular cache clearance and even a factory reset, these issues persist. Notably, these problems only occur when streaming from the TV's built-in apps on the home screen, whereas using external devices like Apple TV 4K and Fire TV Cube to access the same apps yields no such issues.
Connectivity Limitations
The TV's connectivity options are limited, with only two HDMI ports supporting 2.1. Furthermore, the Ethernet connectivity speed is capped at 100 Mbps, a significant drawback.
Conclusion:
At its premium price point, the Sony Bravia K-85XR90 falls short in several areas. To make it a game-changer, Sony must address these shortcomings...
Improve screen reflectivity with a 100% haze factor
Redesign speaker placement for better sound quality
Simplify sound settings for a more user-friendly experience
Home Screen UI could be significantly improved with refined software/firmware updates
Increase HDMI ports with 2.1 supports
Upgrade Ethernet connectivity speed
By implementing these changes, Sony can create a truly exceptional TV that justifies its premium price.
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