GROUP TESTMID-RANGE TELEVISIONS

See my ends?

The bezels around the screen are incredibly slim, and thanks to their black finish they disappear altogether when the TV is off.

Dedicated follower of bashin’

Of the two remotes, one feels cheap with buttons galore; the other offers a much nicer user experience.

What’s the story?

With LED-backlit LCD screens having reached proper maturity, the glamour has gone… but this tech now tends to offer authentic value, simply because it’s stuck around long enough to be developed and finessed. The X85L is a great case in point: it’s one of the genuine price/performance sweet spots in Sony’s lineup.

Design-wise it features nothing but what’s essential to hold its components together, and looks all the better for it. It’s a good one for wall-hanging – being very slim indeed – but if you’re using the blade-style feet, you’ll appreciate that they can be attached in a couple of different positions.

As with the rest of the Sony range, the smart interface here is provided by Google TV, for every major catch-up and on-demand app. This means Google Assistant voice control is available; it also supports Chromecast and AirPlay.

Is it any good? The significant new feature for this ‘L’ incarnation of the X85 is local dimming, which allows it to put real distance between the darkest and brightest elements of scenes. You get lovely wide contrasts, and the backlighting is really well controlled: it keeps blooming and haloing to a bare minimum while offering deeper black tones than your average backlit LCD panel can muster.

Sound is served up by a two-channel 20W setup that’s capable of making sense of Dolby Atmos soundtracks. There’s an auto-calibration system available – one that doesn’t take long to optimise the output to the room – but it’s fair to say the sound of the X85L is nothing like as likeable as its picture. If a television could say “Buy a soundbar”, it’s all you’d hear from this one.

So the Sony doesn’t set out to rock your socks off like some rivals do – but what it lacks in ‘shock and awe’ it more than makes up for with refined, natural and nuanced images… and that will ultimately make it easier and more enjoyable to live with over time.

£899 / go.stuff.tv/SonyX85L

Key specs

● 55in 3840x2160 120Hz LCD ● HDR10, Dolby Vision, HLG ● Google TV ● 1228x 784x336mm, 17.4kg (including stand)

STUFF SAYS The added ‘L’ brings improvements to a TV that was decent already ★★★★★

[ Words Simon Lucas ]