- \n
- What: Ultra HD LCD TV, Full Array Local Dimming (4 x 6 segments)<\/li>\n
- Screen size: 55 inch (139 cm), flat<\/li>\n
- Connections: 4x HDMI (2x v2.0, 2x v2.1, 4K HFR, eARC and after future firmware update: VRR, ALLM), 1x composite video, 1x stereo mini jack, 1x optical digital out, 2x USB (1x 3.0), 1x headphones, 3x antenna, Bluetooth 4.2<\/li>\n
- Extras: HDR10, HLG, Dolby Vision, Dolby Atmos, WiFi (802.11ac) built-in, Android TV (9.0 Pie), Chromecast, Airplay 2, USB \/ DLNA media player, dual DVB-T2 \/ C \/ S2 tuner, CI + slot , voice control, X1 4K HDR processor<\/li>\n
- Dimensions: 1,231 x 780 x 340 mm (including foot)<\/li>\n
- Weight: 17.5 kg (including foot)<\/li>\n
- Consumption: 116 \/ 0.5 watt (Energy label A)<\/li>\n
- List price: 1,300 euro<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
Sony KD-55XH9005 – Design<\/h2>\n
A beautiful black frame with a fine accent line in metal color, elegant dark silver feet, this Sony looks very handsome.\u00a0It will be a stylish addition to the living room.<\/p>\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.stereoindex.com\/tech\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/11\/Sony-KD55XH9005_design.jpg\")
<\/a><\/p>\nThe extremely slim feet will hardly be noticed when you sit in front of the device.\u00a0On our test model, you can only mount it in one position, which is relatively close to the ends of the device.\u00a0However, there are also design variants of the XH90 where you can mount the feet in a second, narrower position, just like on the XH95.\u00a0Incidentally, the feet slide into the chassis and do not need to be screwed on.\u00a0Yet the TV is very stable.<\/p>\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.stereoindex.com\/tech\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/11\/Sony-KD55XH9005-feed.jpg\")
<\/a><\/p>\nSony KD-55XH9005 – Connections<\/h2>\n
The XH90 series is the big exception in Sony’s 2020 line-up, as it is the only 4K device that comes out with\u00a0HDMI<\/strong> 2.1<\/strong>\u00a0connections that support 4K @ 120 HFR, VRR, ALLM and eARC.\u00a0Although that apparently takes some doing with Sony.\u00a0For example, the XH90 launched without any HDMI 2.1 features and only received support for 4K @ 120, HFR, and eARC via a recent firmware update.\u00a0For VRR and ALLM it remains to wait for a future update.\u00a0The device has four HDMI connections, ports 3 and 4 are the HDMI 2.1 ports.\u00a0They are not marked as such, so make no mistake.<\/p>\n
In addition, the KD-55XH9005 is equipped with two USB connections, a composite video input, optical digital output and headphone output.\u00a0You can also connect wireless headphones via Bluetooth.<\/p>\n
Sony KD-55XH9005 – Ease of use and smart TV<\/h2>\n
The XH90 series has yet another first in house.\u00a0It is equipped with a newer chipset.\u00a0The MediaTek MT5895 uses the same quad-core ARM Cortex-A73 CPU, but it is clocked slightly higher (1800 instead of 1500 MHz) and is equipped with 3GB RAM (compared to 2.5GB on the previous platform).\u00a0The new GPU is the Mali-G52.<\/p>\n
We were already satisfied with Sony’s performance in Android 9 (Pie).\u00a0This new chipset gives a slight improvement to that.\u00a0In the 3D Mark benchmark Sling Shot Extreme, the newcomer scores 1,177 against 707 on the A9, for example.\u00a0That seems like a major improvement, but it does not matter much for ease of use.\u00a0And for Android gaming?\u00a0A device like the Nvidia Shield scores 3964. The new chipset will certainly not break any pots in that area, but again: in daily use it performs well.<\/p>\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.stereoindex.com\/tech\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/11\/Sony-KD55XH9505-menu.jpg\")
<\/a><\/p>\nThe menu key (gear wheel) calls up a ‘Quick settings’ bar at the bottom of the screen that you can customize just like the inputs.\u00a0This year, the entire menu for image and sound was redesigned.<\/p>\n
The settings are still organized in categories such as ‘Brightness’ or ‘Motion’, but the settings below them now expand when you click on them.\u00a0We find that just a bit less clear.\u00a0A good improvement is the addition of an image and some explanatory text for each setting.<\/p>\n
Functions<\/h3>\n
The XH90 is equipped with a dual TV tuner for digital TV (DVB-T2 \/ C \/ S2) but has only one CI + slot.\u00a0Watching and simultaneously recording another channel is therefore only possible with channels that are not encrypted.\u00a0In addition to Chromecast, you can also use Apple Airplay 2. The TV is also compatible with Apple Homekit.\u00a0Sony has provided an excellent media player that knows how to handle all major video and sound formats.<\/p>\n
Sony KD-55XH9005 – Image processing<\/h2>\n
If you switch from the XH95 to the XH90, that also means a slightly less powerful image processor.\u00a0The XH90 series uses the X1 4K HDR.\u00a0The image processing remains very good, although we do see differences.\u00a0For example, the noise reduction is clearly less strong.\u00a0This meant that the ‘low’ setting was often not sufficient for both settings to eliminate noise sufficiently.\u00a0You can of course opt for ‘car’ with the risk that the TV sometimes works a little too enthusiastically.\u00a0The main shortcoming in our opinion is the lack of Super bit mapping, the technique that Sony uses to eliminate color bands in soft color transitions.\u00a0That’s a strong point for Sony, and the XH90 has to do without it.\u00a0In our Game of Thrones scene, that was painfully clear.<\/p>\n
Sony KD-55XH9005 – Gaming, Reflections and Viewing Angles<\/h2>\n
The XH90 series does not use X-Wide Angle film, so you have to take into account the fairly limited viewing angle that is so typical for VA panels.\u00a0Especially contrast leads below the viewing angle, and certainly in extreme HDR images you can see the segments of the backlight very well.<\/p>\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.stereoindex.com\/tech\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/11\/Sony-KD55XH9005_reflections.jpg\")
<\/a><\/p>\nWhat about the gaming qualities of the XH90?\u00a0Sony advertises the XH90 as a \u201cReady for PlayStation 5\u201d TV.\u00a0The HDMI 2.1 ports provide the full 48Gbps bandwidth, although it is now clear that models with 40Gbps bandwidth will also suffice (for example, the Xbox Series X itself also offers a maximum of 40Gbps).\u00a0In the meantime, it already supports 4K120.<\/p>\n
We still have to wait for VRR and ALLM, which will come via an extra firmware update.\u00a0Also keep in mind that you have to choose between Dolby Vision support or 4K120 support on input 3 and 4.\u00a0It is not possible to combine both.\u00a0We already saw a similar phenomenon on the\u00a0LG OLED48CX6LB,<\/strong>\u00a0where the use of AMD Freesync and Dolby Vision are mutually exclusive.\u00a0Whether that can ever be resolved is the question.\u00a0In any case, it means that Dolby Vision gaming in 4K120 on the Sony XH90 is impossible, although it remains to be seen if that is a likely scenario for the time being.\u00a0The Xbox Series X supports Dolby Vision and 4K120, but whether there will be games that use both is not yet clear.<\/p>\n
The input lag in the User image mode is 105.2 ms, which is too much for decent gaming.\u00a0In game mode, the lag drops to 21.2 ms, which is an excellent result, but has to give way to a lot of competitors who are often already below 15 ms.<\/p>\n
Sony KD-55XH9005 – Sound quality<\/h2>\n
The XH90 series offers ‘Acoustic Multi Audio’ but only on the 65 inch and larger models.\u00a0Our 55-inch model has to be a fairly typical 2x 10W sound solution, but it got the new X-balanced drivers, which provide more volume and a richer bass.<\/p>\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.stereoindex.com\/tech\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/11\/Sony-KD55XH9005_back.jpg\")
<\/a><\/p>\nWith that configuration, the XH90 shows a very decent result, although we miss some bass here and there.\u00a0The TV avoids overdriving of the drivers quite well, without ostentatious interfering with the sound.\u00a0There is Dolby Atmos support, but for a true Dolby Atmos experience, an external sound solution seems to be the better choice.<\/p>\n
[thescore]<\/p>\n
Conclusion<\/h2>\n
With the XH90 series, Sony wants to have a TV in the line-up that is ready for the PS5.\u00a0Before that, the KD-55XH9005 was equipped with two HDMI 2.1 ports, but all HDMI 2.1 features come via firmware updates.\u00a04K120 HFR is now possible, VRR and ALLM are all waiting.\u00a0However, the TV does not allow you to activate Dolby Vision and 4K120 at the same time, a combination that is possible with competitor LG.\u00a0And in the meantime, problems of loss of detail have been discovered when using 4K120.\u00a0It doesn’t really give the necessary confidence that the XH90 is ready for next-gen gaming.\u00a0Although we must admit that it is a bit of a mystery to what extent these limitations will also turn out to be real limitations.<\/p>\n
If we leave gaming aside for a moment, the KD-55XH9005 is a very capable mid-range.\u00a0It provides excellent contrast, and the local dimming algorithm works well, although it cannot deliver strong improvements due to the limited number of dimming zones.\u00a0It delivers a lot of clarity and even though the color range is just below what we expect for HDR, the HDR images are very beautiful.\u00a0In SDR, the images are rich and intense and thanks to its high brightness, it can also play its trumps well in a lot of ambient light.\u00a0The X1 processor does a great job.\u00a0The Sony interface combined with Android 9 and a handy remote guarantee excellent ease of use.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
With the new PlayStation 5 in sight, it makes sense that Sony would also want to offer a TV with HDMI 2.1 to support the latest gaming features.\u00a0The KD-55XH9005 must be that device.\u00a0We test this middle class. Sony KD-55XH9005 – specifications What: Ultra HD LCD TV, Full Array Local Dimming (4 x 6 segments) Screen […] More<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":10402,"featured_media":114541,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[641],"tags":[778],"class_list":{"0":"post-114532","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-tv","8":"tag-reviews"},"acf":[],"amp_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.stereoindex.com\/tech\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/114532","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.stereoindex.com\/tech\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.stereoindex.com\/tech\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.stereoindex.com\/tech\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/10402"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.stereoindex.com\/tech\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=114532"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.stereoindex.com\/tech\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/114532\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":465703,"href":"https:\/\/www.stereoindex.com\/tech\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/114532\/revisions\/465703"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.stereoindex.com\/tech\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/114541"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.stereoindex.com\/tech\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=114532"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.stereoindex.com\/tech\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=114532"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.stereoindex.com\/tech\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=114532"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}