Sony KD-55XE9005 or something else

[roccles]

I spent the weekend looking online and in the shops and am nearly ready to pull the trigger on the Sony KD-55XE9005 currently available for £1099 in Currys and John Lewis.

Before I buy just wondering if anyone has any feedback on this model or if I would be better off with something else.

What I will be using it for
Sky Q (non UHD) / Netflix (HD) / Amazon Prime video
Playstation 4
Viewing distance approx 2.5 metres
60 inch max (I measured gap for 65 but it will be to big I think 55 is the ideal size)

Cheers

 

[Chris1712]

It's about as good as LCD gets, but it's still LCD. At 55" I'd be going for OLED when a good deal pops up. I have the 65XE9005 and whilst it's brilliant it still pains me that it's not OLED, but at 65" the price difference is ludicrous.

 

[roccles]

It's about as good as LCD gets, but it's still LCD. At 55" I'd be going for OLED when a good deal pops up. I have the 65XE9005 and whilst it's brilliant it still pains me that it's not OLED, but at 65" the price difference is ludicrous.

Thanks for the feedback that what I had read regarding PQ from the reviews. Would love an OLED but £1100 is really pushing my budget anyway. Am I right in think £1700 for the LG OLED is about the lowest they come?

 

[stoofa]

Keep an eye out for the 9305 - which although Edge Lit is a better display.
Above that you enter the world of OLED - which I decided against.
If the 9305 doesn't drop (it did at Currys over the weekend, but no branches seem to have stock) then the 9005 is a very good choice.

 

[roccles]

Keep an eye out for the 9305 - which although Edge Lit is a better display.
Above that you enter the world of OLED - which I decided against.
If the 9305 doesn't drop (it did at Currys over the weekend, but no branches seem to have stock) then the 9005 is a very good choice.

Thanks I see that Currys currently have that model for £1198 but as you say I cant see it available anywhere. I wonder whether John Lewis would price match as they are still selling for £1498

 

[roccles]

To answer my own question John Lewis will not price match as it is unavailable for delivery or in my local store.

 

[Chris1712]

I actually picked the 9005 over the 9305, the edge lighting while brighter looks inferior to me on most content. The blooming on HDR Movies is pretty bad, plus ~900 nits from the 9005 is more than bright enough I don't see any benefit from 1500 odd the 9305 provides.

 

[stoofa]

I actually picked the 9005 over the 9305, the edge lighting while brighter looks inferior to me on most content. The blooming on HDR Movies is pretty bad, plus ~900 nits from the 9005 is more than bright enough I don't see any benefit from 1500 odd the 9305 provides.

I guess these things are always subjective
My brother purchased a 9005 about six months ago, loved it, raved about it and had all but convinced me to get one. I then went into RS and took another look at it, however also took a look at the 9305. It was a £300 premium to make that jump, so not exactly pocket change, however it just looked so amazing. No, not "night & day" but it looked to be that little bit better and also the DV support.
I took the plunge - £1400 (matched with C&M) and can say I couldn't be happier. I've certainly not seen any of the blooming on HDR movies/HDR Netflix that you're describing, far from it. The additional brightness makes the HDR performance that little bit better.
But as said - all very subjective.

 

[jpaul]

similarly, I thought 930 benefits, a few more nits, and dolby vision seem negligible ? (you are getting as many nits as an oled nonetheless)

not sure how much the new panasonics will be fx7[45]0, which have IPS panels, for good viewiing angles, will cost too, sub £1K ?

 

[Chris1712]

I guess these things are always subjective
My brother purchased a 9005 about six months ago, loved it, raved about it and had all but convinced me to get one. I then went into RS and took another look at it, however also took a look at the 9305. It was a £300 premium to make that jump, so not exactly pocket change, however it just looked so amazing. No, not "night & day" but it looked to be that little bit better and also the DV support.
I took the plunge - £1400 (matched with C&M) and can say I couldn't be happier. I've certainly not seen any of the blooming on HDR movies/HDR Netflix that you're describing, far from it. The additional brightness makes the HDR performance that little bit better.
But as said - all very subjective.

I think it's pretty much down to if you prefer watching in daylight / 'normal' room light or dim / no lights. For me watching HDR movies was high on the list of priorities, and because the XE9305 is vertically backlit (no idea why they did this!) scope movies suffer more blooming (which is ofcourse 99% of movies!).

Here's a comparison (screengrabs from HDTVTest so not the best quality, but you get the idea).

 

[roccles]

Cheer guys, think I will go for the 9005 unless the 9305 drops to a similar price in the next day or so and then i will weigh up the pros and cons of both.

 

[stoofa]

I dunno - cannot really see from those pictures what is going on
Sometimes I'm convinced people purposely look for fault in a situation that will never arise - those people who put up full white, grey of black screens desperately looking for a fault, a situation they will never be in when using the set normally.
This blooming, what, if we slow down the world we suddenly see some?
Anyway OP - 9005 is a fantastic bit of kit, was going to be my purchase until about a month ago and if that is the route you decide to take, you will not be disappointed. Just don't ignore the 9305 - the Currys price was the lowest I think it's ever been, but they are now sold out and won't get any more as it's discontinued, other sites may follow suit.

 

[J1nxy]

I just purchased the 55xe9005 to replace a faulty 58dx802 which went back. With the discounts I got and the vouchers I had through work it’s ended up being a decent buy. Will get it setup and configured and see how I get on, tempted by the Xbox one x offer that expires tomorrow as well with 100 off.

 

[Bigpig]

I dunno - cannot really see from those pictures what is going on
Sometimes I'm convinced people purposely look for fault in a situation that will never arise - those people who put up full white, grey of black screens desperately looking for a fault, a situation they will never be in when using the set normally.
This blooming, what, if we slow down the world we suddenly see some?
Anyway OP - 9005 is a fantastic bit of kit, was going to be my purchase until about a month ago and if that is the route you decide to take, you will not be disappointed. Just don't ignore the 9305 - the Currys price was the lowest I think it's ever been, but they are now sold out and won't get any more as it's discontinued, other sites may follow suit.

Blooming, haloing is one of the easiest things to spot in real life viewing and quite annoying as well as greybars and touchlight effects.

Anything over 50inc and you pushing Edge lit TV’s pass their limit.

Then again if you have used nothing but Edgelit then you are prob used to the defects.

I’m no TV guru but you don’t need to throw up test patterns to notice the above.

 

[stoofa]

*Edited*
Actually - I see no reason to post. I'll just delete it this way.
I'm not in the mood for trolls attempting to attack a purchase decision - why people need to do that is a mystery to me. And then telling me what I can and cannot see on said unit *confused*
Seems to be the OLED crew justifying their own purchase over LCD - insecurities etc.

 

[Bigpig]

Just looked at one review and it’s mentions haloing and bloom in dark scenes.

I see that I have hit a nerve so I just leave it at that.

 

[5punk3monk3y]

A couple of days ago I was stood in front of the 9005 9305 and the b7v, I was going to purchase the 9305 but RS was out of stock they had the 9005 but I stumped for the b7v (due to telling me that they had the 9305 in stock and driving a fair distance to collect they knocked £200 off it) I previously had an edge lit Sony 4k but it developed a fault.

No matter what anyone says the only set that gets close to an oled is the zd9 the 9305 and 9005 suffer from haloing and blooming on high contrast images just watch anything with headlights central in the screen surrounded by darkness the image suffers it is an inherent with LCD displays plus OP if you sit off center with a Sony TV due to it being a VA panel these issues are amplified.

However If I was to choose between the 9005 and 9305 I would go still with the 9305.

 

[roccles]

Ok an update the XE9305 is now in stock at a Currys branch 30 miles away at £1198. So i could save 100 quid and pickup a 9005 in 10 minutes or take a drive and get the 9305.

I really cant decide!

 

[5punk3monk3y]

9305 it's more future proof with Dolby Vision.

It's a great buy at that price.

Oh and it has the xtreme processor in it which helps a lot with android tv

 

[J1nxy]

They've just pulled the xe9305 from their website...