Sony A80K OLED TV review

Summary

The only goal of the Sony Bravia XR A80K OLED is to provide a nearly flawless entertainment experience. Fortunately, it has no issue reaching that objective; in fact, given how excellent it looks and sounds, it’s almost a small surprise that this TV doesn’t cost more than it does.

Sony A80K OLED TV review

To be clear, the A80K costs a lot of money, but it is definitely worth it. This is one of Sony’s higher-end OLED TVs, so you would anticipate that it would be equipped with all of the company’s picture- and audio-enhancement technology. With such fierce competition, the A80K is undoubtedly among the finest TVs available, even if it isn’t the top in every category.

Review of the Sony Bravia XR A80K TV: Cost and Availability

The only TVs in Sony’s current lineup that have a typical OLED screen available in a range of medium and large sizes is the A80K series. The whole set of sets consists of:

$1,499.99 for the Sony Bravia XR-55A80K.
$1,999.99 for the Sony Bravia XR-65A90K.
$2,999.99 for the Sony Bravia XR-77A80K.

The 42- and 48-inch Sony A90K OLED is the smaller of the two available OLED TV sizes; for a bigger screen, you may choose the 83-inch A90J, which is a carryover from the previous model year. If you’re looking for the best OLED technology available right now, you should stay with an A80K TV since they should all function almost the same way, regardless of screen size.

Review of the Sony Bravia XR A80K TV: Design

The A80K’s screen, like that of other OLED televisions, is very thin, measuring at its narrowest a quarter of an inch from front to back. This is encircled on the top, left, and right by an even thinner black bezel, and on the bottom by a reflective bar that contains the Power light in the middle and the Sony logo on the lower left. A power button and a switch to activate the TV’s built-in far-field microphone are located just underneath the latter.

The 55-inch set, when not including the stand, weighs 39.5 pounds and has overall measurements of 48.38 x 28.13 x 2.13 inches. (Although the set may theoretically be moved by one person, we do not advise doing so if at all possible due to the set’s thinness.)

The control box on the back panel of the TV is adorned with a field of squares that are sliced out of the plastic, giving the device an additional dimension. Maintaining that design, a thin detachable cover keeps wires running out the side but blocking direct visibility of the ports (see the following part).

The stand is the only other significant part of the design; it is a two-piece, screw-free flat-footed device. Three configurations for the stand are available: a broad configuration, a narrow configuration, and an elevated position where the screen is raised about one inch above the surface to accommodate placing a soundbar directly below it. The TV may be mounted on the wall if that’s your preference; the back panel has 300x300mm VESA holes for that purpose.

Review of the Sony Bravia XR A80K TV: Ports

The power cord for the A80K fits into a socket on the back panel’s right side. The remaining ports are positioned on the left side, with the RS-232C and IR input jacks, Ethernet, two USB (one rated for 500mA, one for 900mA), S/PDIF optical audio out, composite video and S-Center speaker port, coaxial cable connector, four HDMI ports, and Ethernet.

Two of them make use of the more recent HDMI 2.1 protocol, which offers capabilities like Auto Low-Latency Mode (ALLM) and Variable Refresh Rate (VRR) along with a larger bandwidth of 48Gbps. (eARC is also supported by one of these ports.) Instead, the two remaining connectors follow the HDMI 2.0 specification. The restricted number of HDMI 2.0 connections on the A80K is disappointing, although not likely to severely effect too many people, since it is usual to find TVs with all of these connectors.

Review of the Sony Bravia XR A80K TV: Performance

The Cognitive Processor XR, a suite of features intended to enhance the sets’ color, contrast, clarity, and motion handling in order to better “preserve the creators’ intent,” is a feature shared by all of Sony’s Bravia XR TVs. I can’t tell for sure what most filmmakers of movies and TV series had in mind since I’m not a mind reader to Hollywood insiders, but I can say that everything I saw on the A80K looks amazing.

Titles like Disney’s Encanto, where the enchanted greens, blues, and violets of the opulent Colombian setting pop off the screen, made this instantly apparent. Additionally, Spider-Man: No Way Home masterfully combines the gritty reality of a universe gone awry with whirling magic and comic book hues.

However, in other cases, the influence can even be more significant in less noticeable areas. Top Gun: Maverick often adds flashes of blue sky and green trees to the sandy browns of its desert flight-range locations before diving inside for more personal, warmly lit sequences, and the A80K captures it all as one magnificent, seamless shot.

The predominant tones in Denis Villeneuve’s Dune are tans and blacks, and you can clearly see every little variation that gives the desolate sandscapes of the film a startling amount of unexpected life.

Similarly, The Batman might easily seem to be a disorganized jumble because to its reliance on the delicate interaction of dark hues broken up by dazzling light. However, the A80K brings out every detail, making the black-cowled Caped Crusader stand out against a nighttime Gotham skyline.

The A80K frequently seems to be able to do everything. Add to that its exceptional upscaling abilities (Mission: Impossible—Fallout looked almost as good in 1080p as it did in 4K native resolution) and the superb viewing angles you associate with OLED, where there is hardly any color degradation regardless of viewing positions.

Review of the Sony Bravia XR A80K TV: Test findings

Using an X-Rite i1 Pro spectrophotometer, a SpectraCal VideoForge Pro pattern generator, and Portrait Displays’ Calman calibration software, we perform a battery of technical tests to investigate a TV’s performance in greater detail than just relying on our visual perception. See how we test TVs for additional information.

Here, too, the A80K performed quite well, although it faced fierce competition from two other OLED models: the class-leading (and almost industry-leading) LG C2 and the Samsung S95B.

The Sony’s 232 nit brightness in our SDR testing was substantially lower than the Samsung’s 329 nits, but on par with the LG’s 228 nits. Furthermore, having the lowest Delta-E value among the three (lower values are better), the LG outperformed the Sony and Samsung in terms of color accuracy. Its SDR colors also skewed somewhat toward oversaturation, whereas the others were essentially accurate.

The story was very much the same with HDR. The Samsung consistently outperformed the Sony in the closest-to-calibrated settings, with the Sony’s brightness being noticeably lower. Sony, however, was somewhat behind Samsung and ahead of LG C2 in terms of support of the larger Rec. 2020 color gamuts and UHDA-P3.

That’s fairly good, especially since the A80K costs a little less at the 55-inch screen size we tested. It’s even more surprising when you consider that the A80K’s image quality is really much better than the S95B’s due to minor screen imperfections.

Whether evaluated by the meter or the eye, the A80K is a sophisticated performer feature for feature and dollar for dollar.

Review of the Sony Bravia XR A80K TV: TV audio quality is harsh and unpredictable. Even the greatest alternatives in this area fall short in many ways. This isn’t the case with the A80K, however, since it employs Acoustic Surface Audio+—a technology that Sony also utilizes in its high-end sets—to make the screen a functional component of the speaker system.

Everything you hear has advantages. Action films with intricate, multi-layered sound, like Top Gun: Maverick, are powerful; they are loud, sure, but the layers are so evident that there is never any mushiness when the music, sound effects, and speech all happen at once. (Although the A80K supports Dolby Atmos, its 3D sound, thanks to Sony’s XR Surround, is very immersive.)

Although bass is a difficult component of The Knife’s “Silent Shout,” most TVs struggle with it; nonetheless, the A80K provided clarion tones and a distinct, distortion-free pounding throughout. We tested the opposite end of the frequency range with a soprano solo track, and it was just as good. The climactic high B-flat at the end rang a pristine silver right up to the top of the volume range; at its worst, we could only pick up on the smallest error in the sound production at the uppermost extreme (95 or higher).

If you leave the screen and the integrated sound hardware alone, you’ll be losing out on very little, even if you may want to upgrade your home setup with one of Tom’s Guide’s top soundbars.

Review of the Sony Bravia XR A80K TV: Gaming

Input lag is the weak area of the Sony TVs that are now on the market. Using a Leo Bodnar 4K Lag Tester, we measured the A80K and obtained a value of 16.2ms. That number, which is consistent with what we’ve seen from other Sony TVs, isn’t terrible (we give anything under 20 ms a passing grade), but it’s also not up to speed with the newest models from companies like LG and Samsung, which easily surpass the 10 ms threshold that we set as the cutoff for excellent gaming.

However, the A80K has a ton of additional gaming features. Many begin with those HDMI 2.1 connectors, which provide very smooth playback in even the busiest of circumstances with 4K resolution at 120Hz. And Assassin’s Creed Valhalla did look and feel amazing, with its snow-covered, reflecting mountains that seemed to be radiating cold and its crucial coastline attacks that are as fluid, hectic, and thrilling as you could imagine.

However, the PS5 and A80K work in unique harmony to enable more features. The PS5’s settings are optimized by Auto HDR Tone Mapping to fully use the TV’s capabilities. Furthermore, Auto Genre image Mode—a near relative of ALLM—will make sure you always have the appropriate image mode selected for anything else you may be attempting to view.

Review of the Sony Bravia XR A80K TV: Smart TV interface

Google TV is still one of the greatest alternatives available and the preferred smart TV interface for Sony. It is true that integrating the strength and accessibility of Google’s search engine makes it simpler to locate what you’re seeking for, but it also makes it possible for you to easily integrate your Google activities on other computers and phones to build a more unified system.

The overall usability of the A80K is high due to its clear and simple UI. You can easily access Search (which can also be done with the TV’s microphone or the remote control), Live TV, Movies, Shows, Apps, your own content library, and a selection of Sony’s own carefully chosen studio, branded, and marketing materials via a menu bar at the top of the home screen. Below this bar, you’ll find a section called “Top picks for you,” which is filled with recommendations from the different content providers you follow; underneath that, you’ll find a bar labeled “Your apps”; beneath that, “Continue watching”; and lastly, a number of collections of releases that are either well-liked or tailored to your own preferences. Finding something to watch is never difficult, and Sony’s suggestions seem particularly relevant and even terrific (at least mine do), in contrast to many other businesses’ choices.

A80K buyers will get five credits toward the purchase of any film or television program they like, as well as a complimentary 12-month membership to Sony’s premium, in-house streaming service, Bravia Core. Of course, there’s no harm in kicking off your membership to take advantage of these freebies, but Bravia Core is a little lacking. As one would expect, a large number of Sony games make up its catalog, none of which are very interesting. If you’re not a huge fan of older films like Uncharted, Bullet Train, Lyle, Lyle, Crocodile, Whitney Houston: I Wanna Dance with Somebody, The Woman King, or Morbius, you might be better off choosing from our list of the best streaming services, which includes Netflix, Amazon Prime, and HBO Max.

Additionally, Sony’s Bravia Cam, a set-top camera that enhances TV functionality, is compatible with the A80K. Together with video chat, it also adds a few basic gesture controls and activates a setting that automatically modifies the image and sound according to the room’s characteristics at any given time (e.g., the number of people in the room and their seating arrangements). Though Sony promises software upgrades to let it to perform more in the future, adding a Bravia Cam to the A80K will cost $199.99, which is probably not worth it for most people. The A95K and Z9K come packaged with one.

Review of the Sony Bravia XR A80K TV: Remote control

With no significant functionality loss, Sony’s remote control has undergone a significant redesign for the newest generation of TVs. It is now smaller (1.5 inches vs 1.8 inches) and shorter (7 inches versus 9.3 inches) than its predecessor.

The TV, Settings, Inputs, Numbers, directional pad, Back, Home, Google Assistant, Volume and Channel controls, Mute, Play, Pause, and Guide are located underneath the Power button in the upper-right corner. Four shortcut keys for YouTube, Netflix, Disney+, and Amazon Prime Video are located underneath those.

Some people will definitely miss the 10-key pad, Color buttons, and a few specialty options (such DVR, Jump, Subtitle, and Record) that are no longer there. However, everything else has been arranged in a neater, more condensed manner, which further solidifies this remote’s reputation as one of the greatest. (The Premium variant, which comes with the A95K and A90K, adds features like button backlighting and a find-my-remote function; they certainly elevate the appearance of this remote, but the normal version works just fine without them.)

Conclusion of the Sony Bravia XR A80K TV review

While the Sony Bravia XR A80K is an excellent TV, there are some issues with it. For example, the Samsung S95B has (slightly) better colors and a brighter image. If you’re interested in gaming, it and the LG C2 both feature more HDMI 2.1 connectors and better specs.

Though it costs a lot more, the Sony A95K OLED is the greatest set now available from Sony, and this one is almost identical to the Sony Bravia XR A80J, which was its direct predecessor.

However, if you’re in the market for a new TV, the Sony Bravia XR A80K is a superb all-around package that you’ll eager to open with each use.

Should I buy the Sony A80K?

Sony A80K
Attributes	Notes	Rating
Features	Solid picture-quality enhancements, along with HDMI 2.1 features like 4K/120Hz, VRR, and ALLM.	4.5/5
Picture quality	Deep blacks, strong shadow detail, and rich color distinguish this set’s picture.	4.5/5
Sound quality	Powerful overall sound for a TV, including Dolby Atmos effects.	5/5
Design	Sony’s sleek One Slate design is enhanced here by a stand with adjustable height.	4.5/5
Smart TV and menus	The Google TV interface is fine, but picture adjustments mean digging through menus.	3.5/5
Gaming	A solid HDM1 2.1 feature set, with Sony’s Auto HDR Tone Mapping for PS5 games.	4/5
Value	A good overall value, but faces stiff competition from LG’s C2 series.	4/5