Sony’s second-generation OLED flagship, the A9F, is coming at a superb time – simply as Samsung and LG have stepped up their video games with the Samsung Q9FN QLED and LG E8 OLED, Sony has fired again with an exceptional OLED of its personal.
Not like the aforementioned TVs from the competitors, nonetheless, the Sony A9F OLED doesn’t solely increase the picture high quality bar, courtesy of Sony’s new X1 Final chipset, it sounds nice too, due to an upgraded Acoustic Floor audio system.
The A9F is a poster boy for Sony’s new Master Series TVs, an appellation to indicate premium efficiency, and is joined by the Z9F, a excessive efficiency LED-LCD TV, which is an replace on the much-lauded Sony Bravia Z9D.
At Sony’s current world Grasp Sequence launch in New York, we had an opportunity to spend some high quality time with the A9F, evaluating numerous features of its function spec, and benchmarking it towards opponents and comparable Sony screens.
Whereas our demos with Sony’s next-gen display we have been restricted, what we noticed was sufficient to get us salivating for a evaluate pattern all our personal.
Worth and launch date
The A9F is obtainable in two display sizes, 55- (XBR-55A9F) and 65-inches (XBR-65A9F) – nonetheless we frolicked with the latter. Costs have but to be introduced for both mannequin, however we’re fairly assured each will land with hefty worth tags.
Design
The A9F adopts the identical lean again design as its predecessor, the Sony Bravia A1E OLED, though there are adjustments to the kickback stand. As a consequence it doesn’t appear to lean fairly thus far again and the set can be wall-mounted, if most popular.
By way of design, the largest enchancment comes within the implementation of Sony’s vibrating sound tech, Acoustic Floor Audio+, that provides a 3rd on-screen actuator to create a centre channel between the earlier stereo configuration. Additionally included is a second bass driver, successfully making a three.2 sound system. All three actuators are included into the lean again stand, together with the dual bass drivers.
The improve sounds outstanding. Dialogue is evident and locked to the display, and the extra bass driver provides weight. There was additionally clear channel guidance round our 65-inch display.
The sound system additionally has a line enter, which lets you use the display as a centre channel in a multichannel sound system. The execution is odd, as all of the drivers are aggregated as one, and should be reamplified by the set’s personal amplifier modules. To demo this, we have been handled to clips from The Best Showman, with the display appearing as centre, after which in contrast with a normal centre speaker situated under the display.
This association is quite cute, notably as a compromise answer when you’ll be able to’t accommodate a bodily centre speaker. Nevertheless there are apparent tonal variations throughout the L/C/R. The set’s personal amplification, optimistically quoted at 98W, additionally makes it unattainable to make use of if the remainder of a house cinema is working at reference degree. Nonetheless, as a tweak on a front room encompass format, it’s quite helpful.
Efficiency
Image high quality typically had us gasping. The X1 Final chipset introduces some new processing wrinkles which amplify present image element with out including any undesirable edge enhancement. Object-based Tremendous Decision and Object-based HDR Remaster work on particular person components within the image, with out amplifying all the body. The top result’s an image that pops with element and nuance.
There’s additionally a brand new Pixel booster at play, designed to carry coloration and distinction.
The set helps HDR10, HLG and Dolby Imaginative and prescient and its HDR efficiency seems to be to be on par with the older A1.
Operationally, the brand new A9F would appear to be a barely totally different beast to its predecessor and Sony has completed properly to remodel a few of its picture presets. Cinema Professional mode has been changed with a brand new model of Customized, for instance, which options Reference settings, however permits for personalisation.
Sony at all times performed its ‘lens to front room’ card, rightly extolling the truth that its is concerned at each degree relating to film making. However this 12 months it’s taken a leaf from the Panasonic playbook, and is admittedly going to city on the ‘creators intent’ angle. The phrase was dropped at each alternative.
It additionally staged a number of demonstrations of the set working alongside a Sony BVM-X300 pro-OLED monitor, with a view to show simply how shut it might get to studio grade photos.
The A9F’s means to resolve close to black element was hammered residence by a shadowy scene in Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon. Provided that lots of our A9F demos have been staged in close to whole darkness, the panel typically appeared to fade fully; such was its inky authenticity.
Additionally new, and unique (in the intervening time) to Sony’s Grasp Sequence, is a Netflix Calibrated Mode. This practice preset can solely be equipped to the set’s inside Netflix app and supposedly optimizes the display for the absolute best Netflix picture, by mimicking the settings on Netflix mastering displays.
Misplaced in House Govt Producer Zack Estrin was available to endorse the initiative. However so far as we might make out, the setting isn’t pushed by metadata and is principally only a generic recipe – so our expectations, at this level, are low.
Apparently, Sony made little or no of the truth that the display may even land with the brand new Android Oreo TV OS. Given how inelegant Android has been up to now, that is really a quite thrilling prospect. Actually the brand new UI seems to be far cleaner and extra manageable than what we’ve skilled thus far. It’s a particular step ahead.
Early verdict
There are a number of real cause to get very excited by the A9F: The debut of the X1 Final processor seems to herald a major evolution in image processing, which not solely makes 4K shine but additionally makes lesser sources diamond sharp. And, on prime of that, the arrival of Acoustic Floor Audio+ lends this Sony a sonic edge that nobody can match. May that make the A9F the brand new king of OLED? We received’t have lengthy to attend to search out out.
- Will the Sony A9F be part of our listing of the best 4K TVs? Solely time will inform…