Sony Bravia XR A80k Review - Detailed Guide

Features

Pricing

The Sony bravia XR A80K is the only one in Sony’s existing range of offerings to offer an outmoded OLED panel at a variability of medium and large sizes. If you want a smaller OLED TV, the Sony A80K OLED comes in 42- and 48-inch sizes; for something larger, you have the choice of the 83-inch A90J, a relic from the preceding model year. For the up-to-date state-of-the-OLED-art otherwise, you’ll need to stick with one of the A80K TVs, which we all supposed to perform nearly identically, irrespective of screen size.

Design

Like most Sony bravia XR A80K stores, the A80K has an unbelievably slim screen: about one-quarter inch front to back at it’s thinnest. This is restricted on the left, right, and top by a black bezel that’s even thinner and on the bottom with a considerate bar that houses both a Sony logo on the lower left and the Power light in the center. Unwaveringly under the latter is a power button and a switch for motivating the TV’s combined far-field microphone.

The TV’s additional depth comes from the control box on the rear panel, which is ornamented in a field of squares cut into the plastic. A thin, detachable panel enduring that design obscures the ports (see the next section) from instant view, while still permitting cables to snake out the side. The only other main component of the design is the stance, which is a two-piece, flat-footed affair that needs no screws. The stand installed in three positions: one wide, one narrow, and one where the screen is raised another inch or so from the surface to permit you to position a soundbar just beneath it. Should you prefer to mount the TV on the wall, the 300x300mm VESA holes in the back panel provide that opportunity.

Ports

The Sony OLED 65 inch bravia XR A80K power cable plugs into a socket on the right side of the rear panel. All of the other ports are on the left-hand, facing nonstop out the side so as to be simply accessible: two USB (one rated for 500mA, one for 900mA), S/PDIF optical audio out, the composite video and S-Center speaker port, Ethernet, RS-232C and IR input jacks, the coaxial cable connector, and four HDMI ports.

Two of these use the newer HDMI 2.1 specification, offering a higher bandwidth of 48Gbps and features e.g., Variable Refresh Rate (VRR) and Auto Low-Latency Mode (ALLM). (One of these ports also supports eARC.) The remaining two ports stick to instead to the HDMI 2.0 standard. As it’s not unusual to see TVs with all HDMI 2.0 ports, the restricted number on the A80K is disappointing, if not appropriate to damagingly affect too many consumers.

Performance

All of Sony’s Bravia XR TVs are well-found with what the company calls Cognitive Processor XR, an assortment of functions designed to develop the sets’ color, contrast, clarity, and motion handling, consequently as to better “preserve the creators’ intent”. Not being a mind reader to Hollywood literati, we can’t say for assured what most makers of movie and TV shows had in mind, but we can report that the A80K makes the whole thing we watched on it look terrific.

This was proximately obvious with titles such as Disney’s Encanto, where the magical greens, blues, and violets of the rich Colombian setting detonate off the screen. And in Spider-Man: No Way Home, the comic-book colors and swirling magic attractively exist with the grittiness of a multiverse gone haywire. You can compare it with Element 65 inch 4K UHD Roku TV as well.

Audio

TV sound is complicated and demanding. It’s an area that even the best choices leave quite a bit to be anticipated. This isn’t factual of the A80K, nevertheless, which like Sony’s other high-end sets utilizes what the company calls Acoustic Surface Audio+ to transform the screen into an essential part of the speaker system.

The whole thing you listen to aids. Action movies with complex, layered sound, such as Top Gun: Maverick, are robust: loud, yes, but so obviously layered that there is never any mushiness when dialogue, music, and sound effects are all unfolding at once.

Bass is a hesitant block for most TVs, the A80K has no trouble with it; it’s a dangerous element of The Knife’s “Silent Shout,” but the A80K formed clarion tones and a definite, distortion-free thumping through. A soprano solo track we use to test the conflicting end of the frequency range was every bit as good, with the climactic high B-flat at the end ringing a pristine silver right up to the top of the volume range—only at the highest extreme (95 or higher) could we detect even the least misstep in the sound production, and that was minor at its worst.

Gaming

If the present generation of Sony TVs has a weak point, it’s with input lag. We restrained the A80K with a Leo Bodnar 4K Lag Tester and acquired a result of 16.2ms. Though that number, which is in line with what we’ve understood from other Sony TVs, isn’t bad, it’s also not on par with the newest sets from, say, LG and Samsung, which have no misfortune smashing the 10ms barrier we designate as the edge for great gaming.

There are quite of other gaming features on the Samsung class S90C OLED 4K smart TV with A80K, conversely. Many start with those HDMI 2.1 ports, which provide 4K resolution at 120Hz, for extremely smooth play in even the most panicky situations. Assassin’s Creed Valhalla considered and felt terrific, with its thoughtful, snow-choked mountains apparently radiating with cold and the coastal raids that are significant to its gameplay every bit as smooth, hysterical, and exciting as you’d hope.

But the PS5 has a singular synergy with the A80K that unlocks additional functionality. Auto HDR Tone Mapping enhances the PS5’s settings to take full benefit of the TV’s abilities. And Auto Genre Picture Mode, a close cousin to ALLM, will further ensure you’re always consuming the right picture mode for whatever else you may be trying to watch.

Interface

Google TV relics both Sony’s smart TV interface, one of the best choices on the market. Assimilating the power and ubiquity of Google’s search system makes it stress-free to find what you’re considering for, true, but it also permits you to incorporate your Google activities on other computers and phones to effortlessly create a more unified system.

The A80K as a whole is easy to circumnavigate, as the interface itself is clean and intuitive. A menu bar at the top of the home screen provides you easy access to Search Live TV, Movies, Shows, Apps, your personal content library, and a collection of Sony’s own curated studio, branded, and marketing materials. It’s never a task to find something to watch, and, unlike many other companies’ endorsements, Sony’s seem particularly relevant and even good (or at least mine do).

The A80K also supports Sony’s Bravia Cam, a set-top camera that magnifies the abilities of the TV. Furthermore, to video chat, it also improves a series of simple gesture controls and permits a setting that will mechanically adjust the picture and sound based on qualities in the room at any given moment. The A95K and the Z9K come bundled with one, but addition of a Bravia Cam to the A80K, you’ll require to shell out $199.99 — which perhaps isn’t value it for most people.

Remote Control

Sony’s remote control has established a major revamp for this present round of TVs, with the new one shorter (7 inches versus 9.3 inches) and narrower (1.5 inches versus 1.8 inches) than its predecessor, but with little utilitarian functionality lost.

Gone are the 10-key pad and Color buttons and a few particular controls (such as Jump, Subtitle, DVR, and Record), and some people will unquestionably miss this. But everything else has been organized in a neater, denser way that aids cement this remote as one of the best there is.

Conclusion

The Sony bravia XR A80K is an exceptional TV, but it’s not seamless. You can catch a brighter picture and (marginally) richer colors with the Samsung S95B, for instance. It’s the best Sony set there is and it’s virtually the same as its instant predecessor, the Sony Bravia XR A80J. But, if you’re shopping for a new exciting TV, the Sony bravia XR A80K is an outstanding package you’ll look forward to unwrapping every time you turn it on. You can find it easily through Best 65 Inch TV Black Friday Deals 2023.