Sony Bravia XR A95K Review

The A95K is the picture reviewers reached for when they wanted to show somebody what quantum dot OLED does. Dropping the white subpixel lets color hold its saturation as brightness climbs, so a neon sign or a low sun keeps its hue where a conventional OLED washes toward pastel, and Sony's processing is the best in the business at making ordinary broadcast material look deliberate rather than sharpened.

The acoustic surface system vibrates the panel itself, which puts dialogue where the mouths are instead of somewhere under the screen. Sony also shipped a stand that clips to the back or the front depending on whether you want the screen flush against furniture or raised for a soundbar. The problems are practical. Only two of the four inputs carry 4K at 120, and one of those doubles as the audio return, so a console and a soundbar leave a gamer counting ports.

Sony asked roughly a thousand dollars more than Samsung wanted for the same panel in the S95B, and reviewers said so plainly, which is why the value grade sits two steps under the picture grade. Two sizes only, and no larger option at all. Worth every bit of the image, hard to defend at list price.