Sony is the first TV manufacturer to introduce a QD-OLED (Quantum Dot OLED) TV. The Master Series Bravia A95K is the flagship of Sony’s 2022 TV lineup and pushes the boundaries when it comes to absolute picture quality.
We had a first contact, and it knocked our socks off.
Based on an early demo of the set (a pre-production model, it’s worth pointing out), held at Sony’s Weybridge UK headquarters, we can confirm that it delivers a level of higher brightness and greater color volume than standard OLED panels.
The display also includes an upgraded version of the brand’s Cognitive Processor XR, tuned to harness the potential of QD OLED panels, and a revised version of Sony’s Acoustic Surface Audio+ technology.
So, does it hold up to the hype? So far, that’s absolutely the case.
Price and availability
Sony has yet to officially confirm the price of the A95K. But overall, the display, which will come in 55-inch and 65-inch screen sizes, is expected to launch at around £3,000/$3,000 and £4,000/$4,000, respectively.
Expensive? Certainly, but we’d expect a hefty premium on QD-OLED flatscreens, especially since the technology is new and production yields will almost certainly be relatively low.
As for availability, it’s reasonable to expect a rollout between April and June, but with shipping delays, it may not be available in some territories until later in the year.
Design and features
The A95K definitely has designer good looks. The panel is reminiscent of Sony’s original A1 OLED, which had a similar angled monolithic design; this proved a bit divisive with buyers at the time. There is no visible mount holding the glass, and only a thin bezel surrounding the image. The screen sits almost flush to the floor. Look around the back and you’ll see the counterweight bracket doing all the work.
There is a 3 degree tilt on this model, indicating that it should be placed on a low AV cabinet for the best viewing angle. There is another installation option, where the bracket can be reversed, making it visible from the front. The idea here is that you can bring the whole thing closer to a wall if needed.
All inlets and outlets are hidden behind covers on the back, ensuring a sleek appearance from all angles. Significantly, only two of the display’s HDMI inputs are capable of supporting high frame rate 4K/120fps gameplay.
The set comes with a new, premium, slim, aluminum, backlit remote control. When you pick it up, the keys light up. It’s a nice magic wand, with dedicated keys for streaming services.
Also in the box is Sony’s new Bravia camera, which magnetically attaches to the top of the display and offers advanced video camera functionality.
Performance
Long story short: the QD-OLED panel technology lives up to the hype – the Sony A95K is bright for an OLED and boasts enormous color vibrancy.
For our comparison, a 65-inch A95K was placed next to a 2021 A90J OLED, which is no slouch in the picture stakes. A venerable Sony BVM-X300 pro mastering monitor served as the visual reference for the content.
Although QD-OLED is an evolution of the familiar OLED display family, it should be noted that they are quite different in structure: there is no requirement for the white sub-pixel, which is used in the OLED panels popularized by LG Display, to add brightness but limit the theoretical depth of colors possible.
Instead, a quantum dot filter allows the QD-OLED panel to combine high brightness with expanded color volume. In short, the Sony A95K can deliver sensationally deep, vivid reds and glorious greens.
To stretch the new panel in our demo, a variety of test footage was used, including live-action scenes from Cruella (primarily to show color fidelity) and Monster Hunter (to reveal game-level performance). black and band/dimming prowess). Running in its custom picture preset, the A95K proved an almost identical match to the professional mastering monitor, in all tests.
That said, however, while the A95K clearly outperformed last year’s non-QD OLED model, the differences were subtle, as required by the cinema preset.
Coincidentally, the previous day I had looked at LG’s incoming G2 OLED, featuring LG Display’s latest OLED panel with heat-dissipating technology – and that model had similar advantages over its 2021 friends and relatives. Would Sony QD-OLED and the LG G2 be so far apart in their respective cinema modes? We didn’t have them side by side, but I guess not.
Where QD-OLED really started to take off was when Sony effectively let it go, running it in Standard and Vivid modes; these proved a marriage made in AV heaven. Bespoke demo images of a country wedding looked stunning.
In Standard mode, the A95K’s images really started to pop, not so much in terms of specular HDR highlights, but overall average image level. The A95K has a clear advantage over regular OLED TVs in this regard, and positions QD-OLED as a viable alternative for bright rooms/living rooms to the best LED models.
Likewise, Vivid has further improved the screen’s red and green performance. He looked garish but fantastic.
The catch, of course, is that not many people will choose to view (live action) content in Vivid mode. And if you’re a serious home cinema enthusiast, I’ll bet your natural inclination will be to see the Custom Calibrated Cinema and Netflix modes of the set, and here the panel’s potential is left largely untapped.
Audio quality
This is one area where the jury is still out, as our demo session with the set didn’t include the chance to put it through its paces. But I’m optimistic it will sound good.
Sony rates the Acoustic Surface Audio Plus sound system on the A95K at 2.2, compared to 3.2 on the cheaper A80K. The brand claims that this shortfall is largely due to the changes in actuators used, necessitated by the QD OLED panel; apparently the new panel structure makes a difference in their implementation.
On the plus side, Sony says the A95K’s actuators are slightly larger and more powerful than the A80K’s units. Let’s take this literally.
The set also features a center speaker mode, which allows the TV sound system to function as a center speaker in a multi-channel audio system.
First verdict
In many ways Sony’s QD-OLED A95K is ahead of the game. When it comes to picture quality, it has the headroom to elevate performance beyond the mastering standard and offers a level of visual durability that we have never seen before. Unleashed, it is surprisingly good.
But is it really worth the price premium over more conventional displays, particularly if 4K streaming services are the default content? In truth, we won’t know the answer to that question, at least until we have some of the best of 2022 on our test rig. Real-world viewing differences may be less obvious than you think.
What we can confirm though is that the Master Series A95K looks to be a standout TV and an early favorite for the screen of the year.
- Looking for something earlier? Check out our guide to the best TVs available right now