“Remarkably vivid, detailed picture quality”
There are pros and cons.
Cons.
It might be easy to overlook the fact that Sony is bringing its first mini-LED backlit TVs to market in 2022. We don't know when or how much, but we will update this review as soon as Sony publishes that information.
The Sony X95K TV is the company's best 4K mini-LED backlit TV, and expectations are high. Will it deliver black levels like the ones seen on the TV? Let's find out.
The feet included with the X95K are a slimmed-down version of what we have seen in the past. They can be positioned toward the far ends of the TV for a wider stance, or in a pair of receptacles toward the center to fit on a narrower media stand.
Plastic panels on the back of the TV are used to hide the TV's connection bay and cable management. Like the A95K, the X95K has a connection port for a direct connection, and it also has an add-on version of the Bravia cam. When the X95K arrives on my test bench, I will focus on the Bravia cam being not ready for me to test at the time of evaluation.
The X95K has a scaled-down remote with fewer buttons and helpfully backlit. The new remote has a black brushed metal face. It has a small speaker on the back of it that emits a sound when you ask the assistant to find your remote. The power button on the back of the TV can be used to turn on this feature.
Two of the four HDMI inputs on the X95K are capable of supporting 4K 120Hz and the other supports eARC.
As is the case with all Bravia TVs, the X95K has a built-in built-in for access to what is being referred to publicly as NextGen TV.
The X95K runs the smart TV platform very well. The user menus are easy to navigate, and the TV is responsive to remote clicks, which makes daily use of the TV great. The X95K supports both HomeKit and AirPlay 2 since it is a Google TV.
The anti-glare system was effective when I used it. I didn't run it through any stress tests and I didn't shine a bright lightbulb directly behind my head to see how bad the reflection was. I didn't find myself frustrated by glare.
After a factory reset and confirmation that the TVs will update to when buyers set them up at home, I ran tests using Calman Ultimate software and an Xrite i1 Pro. I will get into the measurement results and performance in a moment.
I put the TV into a picture preset mode, and while I did cycle the peak brightness setting through all its available options, I took the results from it.
The next two sections look at test results and design principles. If you really want to know what I thought of the X95K's picture quality, you can skip ahead.
After adjusting the white balance, the peak brightness was just under 1,500nits. Like most TVs, the brightness rose as it moved from a small window up to a 10% window size, then began to get dimmer as the white window got larger.
The average picture level on the X95K is very good.
When I ran the peak luminance stability test, it hung out at 1,400 nits for about 30 seconds, without any noticeable dimming. The greyscale errors were already ridiculously low without any adjustment to the white balance.
When I looked at the color, I could see that it was similar to what I saw when I checked the color. The color gamut coverage was at about 85%. I was expecting a little better coverage from the TV, but it was pretty good. I will be testing this again later this year, and I am looking forward to seeing how the mini-LED QLEDs are.
The TV had peak highlights. Outside of the test patterns, I think the TV was over 1,500 nits. Sony's processing is coming into play. Sony's chip doesn't game peak brightness readings when it recognizes a test pattern like some other TVs do. When I watched TV, I was very impressed by the highlights.
The average picture level on the X95K is very good. It has a very high brightness image that punches well above most of the other TVs I have tested.
Sony TVs tend to achieve impressive performance by using fewer backlight dimming zones than other TV brands that use as many local dimming zones as they possibly can. I have found that there is some credence to Sony's stance that it isn't how many zones you use, but how you use them. I have seen cases where a high density of dimming zones has resulted in impressive black levels, well-mitigated halos, and a minimum of backlight bloom. I was wondering if Sony should do the same thing.
Sometimes Sony's approach has played to my personal preferences, and sometimes it hasn't. I was surprised that the Z9J performed as well as it did with as few dimming zones as it did. The X90J might have performed better with more dimming zones. I thought that the position would be somewhere in the middle.
The stakes seem to be even higher when mini-LED backlighting comes with many more backlights for Sony to control. I think Sony made the right tradeoffs, resulting in a Goldilocks mini-LED backlit TV.
The X95K TV has a minimal bloom. I stress-tested the X95K with bright white caption down in the black letterbox bar area, a test which some might consider a little unfair, but I can't be the only one who watches at night. I found the X95K to have some bloom, but it was not significant.
The bloom was more significant than what would be seen on a QN90A. The X95K's average picture level and peak highlights were both brighter than the QN90A.
Is the X95K's performance better with more dimming zones? It is possible, but I doubt it. You run into the law of diminishing returns at some point. Adding zones may add more precise backlight control, but it won't fix the fact that there will always be some level of blooming on an LCD-based TV. I think that a TV with a brighter average picture level is better than a TV with a slightly dimmer picture.
I prefer the brighter option with a little more bloom. I understand that some people want a TV that is brighter than anOLED and that it gets as close to the blacks as possible. That kind of TV is what the company has been chasing for the past few years, and it is because we asked for it.
If you stop picking at nits, the X95K is an extremely impressive TV, no matter what your preferences are.
I couldn't help but compare the Sony A95K QD-OLED and the X95K in real time since I had the rare pleasure of having the X95K sitting in close proximity. I still found the X95K to be incredibly impressed despite the use of two completely different technologies.
I think the X95K has fantastic picture quality.
The X95K had the same color saturation, accuracy, and detail, but it had a lot more black levels and shadow detail. I expected the QD-OLED TV to beat the X95K, but it didn't. The realism of the images on the X95K was superior to what I have seen on most of the mini-LED backlit TVs.
I never felt like the X95K delivered anything other than a wholly satisfying image with tons of HDR punch, despite what could be considered a modest peak brightness measurement by today's standards. I felt like I could see more of what was captured by the creators of the content because of the bright highlights and shadow areas. I found that the X95K is able to pull off both of the attributes at the same time.
I think the X95K has fantastic picture quality. The race for the best mini-LED backlit TV is going to be very close this year. Customers will have a lot of options to choose from, but I have no doubt that the X95K will end up on most of the lists.
What is the bad stuff? The off-angle viewing experience on the X95K is not as good as it could be, even with Sony's X-Wide angle technology in play. The saturation, contrast, and color are all excellent when you sit down, but the more you travel the more those factors tend to decline.
The X95K only has two inputs with 4K 120 and the eARC port, which may be a limiting factor for some.
It appears that the TV's local backlight dimming gets turned off because of the engaging VRR on the X95K. I have been able to confirm this with Sony, and have learned the decision to do so was based on delivering the best experience for users, but I am not sure why. If I have an explanation, I will update this section.
I wasn't able to find much else in the time I had with the X95K. Motion looked smooth, especially cinematic content. I think Sony is giving users the best level of variable control to get a smooth moving picture without sacrificing the realism.
I think this is a TV that will need to be on my test bench for a full month so I can compare it to other TVs before I have a chance to see what limitations it has.
I think Sony will leave most of the competition in the dust when it comes to sound quality. The X95K sounds amazing. The X95K has even more bass support than before, and the fidelity has improved dramatically over last year's X95J. It will make a great center channel if you give it the job, but it stands up on its own, with great sound positioning around the screen, and good virtual surround sound effects.
I think the X95K will be great for playing video games. When I get a chance to test input lag, I think we will find it to be competitive if we come up short of the absolute lowest you can get. Will it be the most advanced option on the market? Absolutely not. It is going to offer an awesome experience for the vast majority of people who play games on consoles.
The Sony X95K is one of the best 4K TVs you can buy this year. The X95K is a shining example of what a modern TV is capable of, thanks to Sony's stellar processing and engineering.
If you want better black levels and contrast, an QD-OLED TV is necessary. The Q90B has a lot of promise for a brighter TV. The Sony X95K is one of the best 4K TVs you can buy. As our TV testing progresses, we will update this section.
The X95K should last well into the future because of its advanced mini-LED backlight system, powerful processing, and solid Google TV OS.
The X95K can be purchased from an authorized retailer for a one-year parts and labor warranty.
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