Sony XR65X90L 65 inch TV: In-Depth Review and Customer Opinions

The Sony X90L is a 65-inch 4K LED TV that was released in 2022 as an entry in Sony's premium X90 series. This TV line is known for delivering excellent picture quality and robust smart TV features at a more affordable price point compared to Sony's high-end offerings.

The X90L has a sleek, minimalist design with thin bezels and two detachable feet stands. It supports advanced features like full-array local dimming, Dolby Vision HDR, and the X1 4K HDR processor for upscaling lower resolution content. Key specifications include:

• 65-inch screen size
• 3840 x 2160 4K resolution
• 120Hz native refresh rate
• Full-array LED backlight with local dimming
• Uses Sony's X1 4K HDR processor
• Dolby Vision, HDR10, and HLG HDR support
• Google TV platform for apps and smart TV services
• Works with Amazon Alexa and Google Assistant
• 4 HDMI ports, 2 USB ports

With its competitive price point and high-end features, the X90L is designed to appeal to buyers who want excellent 4K picture quality without paying for the most premium Sony models.

Design

The Sony X90L has a sleek, minimalist design with an ultra-thin profile and small bezels surrounding the screen. At just 2.79 inches thick, this 65-inch TV can mount flush to the wall and practically disappear when not in use.

The bezels framing the top, sides, and bottom edges of the screen are only 0.39 inches thick. This creates a nearly all-screen look when viewing content, without thick black borders getting in the way. Sony calls their thin bezel design a "dead front" aesthetic.

Overall, the thin profile and barely-there bezels give the X90L a very modern and streamlined appearance. The TV looks like a premium, high-end model despite its mid-range price point. The minimalist design allows the excellent 4K picture to take center stage, without unnecessary distractions.

In comparison, the Hisense 65R6G has a slightly thicker profile at 2.83 inches deep. However, it still has an attractive slim design that won't protrude far from the wall. The bezels are a bit thicker than the Sony at 0.43 inches, but still reasonably small and not overly noticeable.

The overall aesthetic of the Hisense 65R6G is a bit more basic and utilitarian than the sleek Sony X90L. The plastic construction looks more budget-friendly than premium. But the minimal bezels and slim depth still allow it to blend nicely into most living room decors without drawing too much attention.

For the price, the Hisense delivers good design with slim bezels and profile. But the Sony clearly has a more sophisticated, high-end aesthetic. Its incredibly thin bezels and streamlined dimensions make a bolder style statement. The X90L's design fully justifies its higher cost for buyers who want that cutting-edge, ultra-modern look.

In the end, both TVs have attractive slim designs that look great mounted to a wall. The Sony X90L pushes the envelope further with its barely-there bezels and impressively thin depth. But the more affordable Hisense still holds its own with a minimalist style that outperforms other budget models. For the money, it delivers a nicely modern look and feel.

Picture Quality

The Sony XR-65X90L delivers excellent picture quality with its advanced display technologies. The 65-inch 4K LED screen produces vibrant colors and deep blacks thanks to Sony's unique Cognitive Processor XR chip.

This processor analyzes and enhances color, contrast, and clarity in real time for a lifelike viewing experience. The XR Contrast Booster precisely controls the LED backlight for increased brightness in highlights and richer blacks in shadow details.

Viewing angles are also impressive on the X90L. The VA panel maintains its color accuracy and contrast at wide angles so everyone can enjoy a great picture. The X-Wide Angle technology reduces color shifting when viewing the screen off-center.

To guarantee color accuracy, Sony incorporated their unique Triluminos Pro color system in the X90L. It produces a vast spectrum with more shades and hues for incredibly natural looking images. The TV also supports a wide color gamut covering 95% of the DCI-P3 standard for rich cinematic colors.

Overall, the picture quality of the 65-inch Sony X90L is outstanding. The advanced video processing and display technologies produce an incredibly realistic, immersive viewing experience. If you're looking for an alternative 65-inch 4K TV, check out the SAMSUNG QN65Q60C. This QLED TV from Samsung also delivers excellent picture quality with deep blacks and vibrant colors. It uses a quantum dot layer and advanced dimming technology for enhanced contrast and brightness. The 4K Quantum Processor automatically upscales lower resolution content for sharp detail. It also applies machine learning to optimize the picture based on the content source. Like the Sony X90L, the QN65Q60C supports HDR content with a wide color gamut for realistic images. It covers over a billion shades of color and 100% of the DCI-P3 standard used in cinema. If viewing angles are important, the Q60C also maintains its picture quality at wider angles so more people can enjoy the show. While the Sony X90L is an impressive LED TV, the Samsung QN65Q60C is a comparable high-end 65-inch 4K QLED option to consider as well.

Sound Quality

The Sony XR65X90L has impressive sound performance thanks to its Acoustic Multi-Audio setup. It features two 10W speakers and two 15W subwoofers for a total 40W audio output.

The built-in subwoofers provide powerful bass that brings action scenes and music to life. Explosions and sound effects have a thumping impact. The dedicated bass speakers prevent the mids and highs from getting lost, resulting in a balanced sound profile.

Dialogue comes through clearly and accurately due to the dedicated mid-range speakers. Voices sound natural without sounding harsh at high volumes. The sound projection is also good, with audio seeming to come directly from the screen.

The TV supports Dolby Audio formats, including Dolby Digital and Dolby Digital Plus. It upmixes stereo audio into simulated surround sound for a more immersive experience. There are several audio modes to choose from depending on the content, including Standard, Dialog, Cinema, Music, and Dolby Audio.

Volume levels can get incredibly loud without much distortion. The speakers handle high volumes well, filling even large rooms with powerful sound. The TV also has several audio enhancement features like DSEE Extreme upscaling and Night Mode volume leveling for quieter viewing late at night.

Overall, the audio performance matches the great picture quality. The dedicated speaker setup and Dolby support result in room-filling, detailed sound perfect for movies, TV shows, sports, and gaming.

Smart Features

The Sony XR65X90L runs on the company's proprietary Google TV platform, which provides a lot of smart features and apps.

Operating System

Google TV is based on Android TV, providing easy access to popular streaming apps and services. It has a simplified home screen interface that makes finding content easy. The remote has a dedicated Google Assistant button for voice controls.

Apps

Google TV gives you access to all the major streaming apps like Netflix, Disney+, Hulu, YouTube, Prime Video, etc. Sony also pre-installs some of its own branded apps for music, movies, and games. Popular Android apps are also available to download from the Google Play store.

Voice Control

The XR65X90L has hands-free Google Assistant built-in, which allows you to search for content, control TV functions, ask questions, and more using just your voice. The remote has a microphone to pick up voice commands. You can say things like "Launch Netflix" or "Turn off the TV in 10 minutes" to Google Assistant.

Gaming

The Sony X90L is a great option for gaming thanks to its low input lag, VRR support, and dedicated game mode.

Input lag measures how long it takes for a TV to process and display visual input from a game controller or PC. The X90L has an impressively low input lag of just 8.5ms in game mode. This quick response time means faster reactions and smoother gameplay without delay.

The TV also supports variable refresh rate (VRR) when connected to a compatible device like a PS5 or Xbox Series X. VRR synchronizes the TV's refresh rate with the GPU's frame rate output. This prevents screen tearing and stuttering during gameplay for a buttery smooth experience.

For even more optimization, the X90L has a dedicated game mode. This disables unnecessary processing to reduce input lag as much as possible. You can also customize picture settings like turning down sharpening which can cause input lag. With game mode enabled, the X90L becomes an incredibly responsive display for gaming.

Ports

The Sony XR-65X90L comes with a good selection of ports for connectivity.

HDMI

It has 4 HDMI ports, with HDMI 3 and 4 supporting 4K 120fps for high frame rate gaming. The HDMI ports are HDMI 2.1 compliant.

USB

There are 2 USB ports - 1 USB 3.0 and 1 USB 2.0. The USB 3.0 port allows fast transfer of media files from USB drives.

Other Connections

Other connections include:

• Composite video input
• Optical digital audio output
• Ethernet port
• Antenna/cable input
• 3.5mm headphone jack

The variety of ports allow you to connect different devices like gaming consoles, soundbars, hard drives etc. The HDMI 2.1 future proofs the TV for new devices and signals.

Remote Control

The X90L comes with Sony's minimalist remote control that fans of the brand will find familiar. The remote has an understated design with just a handful of buttons. These include power, volume, channel rocker, input selector, apps shortcut, and voice control.

The small size makes it easy to hold and use with one hand. The buttons have a nice tactile feedback and are laid out in an intuitive way. The remote lacks any number pad which helps keep it compact.

For voice control, there is a dedicated Google Assistant button that allows for handsfree operation. You can ask Google to launch apps, control smart home devices, and more. The TV remote also supports basic voice commands for Sony's Android TV interface. Overall the remote covers the basics well with a simple, uncluttered layout.

Pros

• The Sony XR-65X90L has excellent brightness, reaching around 1,400 nits peak brightness. This makes the TV viewable in bright rooms and helps HDR content really pop.
• For gaming, the X90L has a 120Hz refresh rate, VRR, and ALLM. The fast response time and low input lag provide a very responsive experience for console and PC gamers.
• The Google TV operating system is intuitive and feature-packed. It provides seamless access to all your streaming apps and services. The customizable home screen and hands-free voice controls via Google Assistant make it easy to find content.

Cons

The Sony XR65X90L has some drawbacks to consider.

• The built-in speakers are just average and lack the fullness you'd expect from a premium TV. There's no substitute for a good soundbar or surround sound system to get an immersive audio experience. The speakers will get the job done for casual TV watching but leave something to be desired for movies and gaming.

• Like most LED TVs, picture quality degrades at wider viewing angles. The image loses vibrancy and contrast the further you sit from directly in front. This isn't a major issue for smaller living rooms where everyone has a good central view. But in a large open concept space, some seats will get degraded picture. The XR65X90L doesn't have the ultra wide viewing angles of OLED.