TechTvsSony X94K / X90K review: mainstream dreamThe X90K or X94K is a mainstream stunner that’s very good value indeedWhen you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission.Here’s how it works.(Image credit: Future)T3 VerdictDespite having none of the current crop of headline-grabbing TV technologies, the Sony X94K (and X90K too, for that matter) is money very well spent. It’s great to watch (as long as you’re sitting right in front of it) and a pleasure to use.Reasons to buy+High-contrast, vibrant, well-controlled images+Good user interface and smart TV implementation+Engrossing gaming experienceReasons to avoid-Not a great watch off-axis-Sound is nothing special-Some backlighting issuesWhy you can trust T3Our expert reviewers spend hours testing and comparing products and services so you can choose the best for you.Find out more about how we test.
TechTvsSony X94K / X90K review: mainstream dreamThe X90K or X94K is a mainstream stunner that’s very good value indeedWhen you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission.Here’s how it works.(Image credit: Future)T3 VerdictDespite having none of the current crop of headline-grabbing TV technologies, the Sony X94K (and X90K too, for that matter) is money very well spent. It’s great to watch (as long as you’re sitting right in front of it) and a pleasure to use.Reasons to buy+High-contrast, vibrant, well-controlled images+Good user interface and smart TV implementation+Engrossing gaming experienceReasons to avoid-Not a great watch off-axis-Sound is nothing special-Some backlighting issuesWhy you can trust T3Our expert reviewers spend hours testing and comparing products and services so you can choose the best for you.Find out more about how we test.
The X90K or X94K is a mainstream stunner that’s very good value indeed
When you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission.Here’s how it works.
(Image credit: Future)T3 VerdictDespite having none of the current crop of headline-grabbing TV technologies, the Sony X94K (and X90K too, for that matter) is money very well spent. It’s great to watch (as long as you’re sitting right in front of it) and a pleasure to use.Reasons to buy+High-contrast, vibrant, well-controlled images+Good user interface and smart TV implementation+Engrossing gaming experienceReasons to avoid-Not a great watch off-axis-Sound is nothing special-Some backlighting issues
(Image credit: Future)
(Image credit: Future)
T3 VerdictDespite having none of the current crop of headline-grabbing TV technologies, the Sony X94K (and X90K too, for that matter) is money very well spent. It’s great to watch (as long as you’re sitting right in front of it) and a pleasure to use.Reasons to buy+High-contrast, vibrant, well-controlled images+Good user interface and smart TV implementation+Engrossing gaming experienceReasons to avoid-Not a great watch off-axis-Sound is nothing special-Some backlighting issues
T3 VerdictDespite having none of the current crop of headline-grabbing TV technologies, the Sony X94K (and X90K too, for that matter) is money very well spent. It’s great to watch (as long as you’re sitting right in front of it) and a pleasure to use.
T3 Verdict
Despite having none of the current crop of headline-grabbing TV technologies, the Sony X94K (and X90K too, for that matter) is money very well spent. It’s great to watch (as long as you’re sitting right in front of it) and a pleasure to use.
Reasons to buy+High-contrast, vibrant, well-controlled images+Good user interface and smart TV implementation+Engrossing gaming experienceReasons to avoid-Not a great watch off-axis-Sound is nothing special-Some backlighting issues
Reasons to buy+High-contrast, vibrant, well-controlled images+Good user interface and smart TV implementation+Engrossing gaming experience
High-contrast, vibrant, well-controlled images
Good user interface and smart TV implementation
Engrossing gaming experience
Reasons to avoid-Not a great watch off-axis-Sound is nothing special-Some backlighting issues
Not a great watch off-axis
Sound is nothing special
Some backlighting issues
Why you can trust T3Our expert reviewers spend hours testing and comparing products and services so you can choose the best for you.Find out more about how we test.
Why you can trust T3Our expert reviewers spend hours testing and comparing products and services so you can choose the best for you.Find out more about how we test.
Like many of its rivals,Sonylikes to make a significant song and dance about its range-topping, cutting-edge televisions. But, like many of its rivals, Sony knows the action (that’s to say ‘sales’) is in the more mainstream, more affordable parts of the market. Which is what the X94K (or the X90K, depending on where you’re shopping) is all about. Which isn’t to say it’s not a contender for ourbest TVslist, just closer to thebest TVs under £1000list.
With its price, screen-size and specification taken into account, the X94K (here reviewed in its 65-inch format) looks like it could be all things to all customers - certainly it’s possible to pay plenty more than this without making much of an on-paper upgrade. But then ‘on paper’ will only carry you so far…
Sony X94K: Price & Availability
The Sony XR-65X94K is on sale now, and in the United Kingdom it sells for £1299. The X94K is also available as a 55-inch (£899), 75-inch (£1699) and 85-inch (£2699) models.
Aside from a few minor differences (which we’ll deal with below), the X94K is an identical model to Sony’s X90K - so we’re quoting American and Australian prices for the X90K range instead. The XR-65X90K costs $1499 in the United States, with the 55-inch going for $1299, the 75-inch for $1899 and the 85-inch model costing $2799. Customers in Australia will have to part with AUD$2495 for the XR-6590K, while the 55-inch model is AUD$1995, the 75-inch version costs AUD$3995 and the 85-inch AUD$5495.
No matter where you’re shopping, that’s a lot of big-brand 4K TV for the money. Or, at least, it will be if the XR-65X94K’s performance is up to snuff…
Today’s best Sony XR-55X94K, Sony XR-65X94K, Sony XR-75X94K, Sony XR-85X94K, Sony XR-55X90K, Sony XR-65X90K, Sony XR-75X90K and Sony XR-85X90K dealsSony XR-65X90K$1,178$978ViewSee all pricesWe check over 250 million products every day for the best prices
Today’s best Sony XR-55X94K, Sony XR-65X94K, Sony XR-75X94K, Sony XR-85X94K, Sony XR-55X90K, Sony XR-65X90K, Sony XR-75X90K and Sony XR-85X90K dealsSony XR-65X90K$1,178$978ViewSee all pricesWe check over 250 million products every day for the best prices
Today’s best Sony XR-55X94K, Sony XR-65X94K, Sony XR-75X94K, Sony XR-85X94K, Sony XR-55X90K, Sony XR-65X90K, Sony XR-75X90K and Sony XR-85X90K dealsSony XR-65X90K$1,178$978ViewSee all pricesWe check over 250 million products every day for the best prices
Today’s best Sony XR-55X94K, Sony XR-65X94K, Sony XR-75X94K, Sony XR-85X94K, Sony XR-55X90K, Sony XR-65X90K, Sony XR-75X90K and Sony XR-85X90K deals
Sony XR-65X90K$1,178$978ViewSee all prices
Sony XR-65X90K$1,178$978ViewSee all prices
Sony XR-65X90K$1,178$978ViewSee all prices
Sony XR-65X90K
Sony XR-65X90K
$1,178$978View
$1,178$978
$978
See all prices
We check over 250 million products every day for the best prices
We check over 250 million products every day for the best prices
Sony X94K review: Features & What’s New?
(Image credit: Future)
(Image credit: Future)
It’s probably easiest to start with the differences between the X94K and the X90K equivalent - there aren’t many, and then we’ll be free to talk about everything they have in common.
The X94K, which in the UK is sold exclusively through branches of Currys and Sony Centre (as well as at sony.co.uk), has a mic built into the frame of the TV itself as well as featuring a mic button on the remote control. The remote control (or one of them, at least), is metal rather than plastic. And the A94K comes with a 24-month, 10-credit membership of Sony’s Bravia Core streaming service rather than the A90K’s 12-month, five-credit deal. In every other respect, the two models are identical.
(Image credit: Future)
(Image credit: Future)
Physical connectivity runs to four HDMI inputs (two of which are at full-onHDMI 2.1 standard, and one of which iseARC-enabled), three aerial posts for the pair of integrated TV tuners, an Ethernet socket and a pair of USB slots. There’s a digital optical output, plus a hybrid 3.5mm socket that can either be used for composite video or deploying the screen as the centre channel in a surround-sound set-up. Wireless connectivity, meanwhile, consists of Bluetooth 4.2 and dual-band Wi-Fi. The X94K is compatible withAppleAirPlay and HomeKit, and has Chromecast Built In too.
Sony X94K review: Performance
(Image credit: Future)
(Image credit: Future)
In between these extremes, the Sony is a vibrantly coloured watch, but with enough subtlety and nuance to keep colours convincing and naturalistic. It’s possible to overdrive things quite radically in the set-up menus, of course, but almost all the X94K’s picture presets keep the colour palette the right side of ‘vivid’.
It’s particularly adept where skin-tones and textures are concerned, with great fine-detail retrieval, a stack of textural information and the wide-ranging nature of the colour palette making the differences in shade and complexion from one person to the next completely obvious.
(Image credit: Future)
(Image credit: Future)
In all but the most trying circumstances, the X94K draws edges with assurance and handles motion equally confidently. It’s possible to nudge the Sony to the edge of its comfort zone with some properly slow panning shots, extensive depth of field or similarly testing content, but even then the X94K is tenacious. Even when displaying televised football, when on-screen motion can be strongly at odds with the direction of camera-movement, and where motion of various speeds is contained in a single shot, the Sony resists smearing or obvious frame-filling gallantly.
Switch to somePlaystation 5content and, while ‘Game’ mode can coarsen the Sony’s previously smooth edge-definition just a little, the Sony remains colourful, high-contrast and packed with detail. The X94K accommodates all of the PS5’s clever features, and input lag of less than 9ms means its responses are razor-sharp too.
Lower-resolution content is handled with assurance - and unless you’re determined to watch a lot of 4:3 1980s content, the Sony’s a confident upscaler. Detail levels drop away, of course, and edge-definition becomes less positive, but the X94K’s never less than watchable.
Sound, it’s safe to say, is a success of the rather more qualified type. No one’s expecting miracles from an unassisted flatscreen TV, of course, even if it is (like the X90K) packing 30 watts of power and four drivers. To be fair, the Sony isn’t as flat or unyielding in the way it sounds as many price-comparable competitors, but it’s equally fair to say it sounds undemonstrative and undynamic no matter the on-screen circumstances. Sony seems pleased with its ‘XR Surround’ audio feature that attempts to force an impression of 3D audio from the TV’s driver array, but in practice it results in a larger, vaguer and no more satisfactory presentation - different, rather than in any way better. Budget for one of thebest soundbarsthen, eh?
Sony X94K review: Design & Usability
(Image credit: Future)
(Image credit: Future)
Aside from the ability to position its slender feet towards the edge or closer to the centre of the frame, there’s nothing unremarkable in the design of the XR-65X94K - which is only sensible, and undoubtedly how the vast majority of customers will want it.
As is par for the Sony course, build quality is beyond criticism and the standard of finish - even if some of the plastics used in the construction of this screen don’t look or feel anything special - is impressive too. Dimensions of 834 x 1452 x 72mm (HxWxD) mean the X94K isn’t the most compelling wall-mounting option around - but the ability to deploy its feet in one of three positions (‘standard’ or ‘soundbar’, with the feet 1174mm apart, or ‘narrow’, when they’re just 331mm apart) means it’s easy enough to position the Sony securely on a surface.
(Image credit: Future)
(Image credit: Future)
It’s a similarly predictable story where usability is concerned - Sony knows exactly what it’s doing where ergonomics and user interfaces are concerned, after all. Set-up menus are clear, reasonably concise, and are just as suitable for users who want a deep-ish dive into picture performance as for those who would rather just turn the TV on and get watching it.
The smart interface is courtesy of Google TV, and while it’s just as assertive here as in any other application, it’s at least logical to navigate and quite alert when it comes to making recommendations. Every worthwhile streaming service and catch-up TV app is represented (as well as quite a few less worthy alternatives), and each is the best version of itself.
Sony provides two little remote controls. As mentioned previously, the X90K gets a full-function handset (which means ‘too many buttons, all too small’) and a stripped-back, major-functions-only alternative - they’re both plastic-bodied. Consumers who hunt down the X94K variation can enjoy the tactile luxury of a metal version of the more pared-back handset, which might or might not be a significant point of difference. If using a remote control seems a bit retrograde, though, the Sony is compatible with both Google Assistant andAmazon Alexavoice control.
Sony X94K review: Verdict
(Image credit: Future)
(Image credit: Future)
No, it doesn’t sound great, and no, it doesn’t look particularly good if you’re viewing off-axis. But even the relative poverty of its sound can be safely explained away.
If you’re after a big, accomplished TV without breaking the bank, the Sony X94K (or X90K if that’s where you’re based) demands careful consideration.
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