Sony’s XBR models are usually its best and most expensive – the latter of which is definitely a fact for the Sony KDL-52XBR9. As for being one of the best, the KDL-52XBR9 may not match the LED-lit KDL-55XBR8, but offers a ton of excellent features of its own to justify its price and status as a flagship model.
Design
With its invisible speakers and a slim, black frame bordered by a shiny silver strip and interrupted only by the white glow of the Sony logo – which can be disabled – and a pair of indicators, the Sony KDL-52XBR9 is a
Sony KDL-52XBR9
more attractive set than its XBR predecessors, which sport side-mounted or bottom-suspended speakers and thick frames. The matching stand still doesn’t swivel but remains simpler and more stylish, nonetheless.
Unfortunately, the clicker that comes with it remains as the same as that of previous models – a rather large piece which sports a faint blue backlight. In spite of its size, the buttons are small and mostly crowded at the top portion and around the main cursor control, making them hard to reach. The PS3-like on-screen menu is more user-friendly, with the picture settings and other more important controls grouped together, a shortcuts menu and helpful explanatory text, although there are two or three menu options too many, making the straightforward menu system of Samsung’s flagship models more desirable.
Screen/Picture Clarity
XBR models have been known to excel in terms of providing superb picture quality, and the KDL-52XBR9 does not disappoint. Its black levels, though not as impressive as those on LED-lit models, are deep enough to match the best a conventional LCD can produce while the rest of the colors, especially the primary ones, are rich and generally accurate, with only a barely perceptible tinge of blue in dark areas. Its matte screen handles reflections exceptionally well, too.
Like most of Sony’s expensive HDTVs, the KDL-52XBR9 comes with a 240Hz refresh rate, that allows it to deliver excellent motion resolution. Unfortunately, to see its full effects, you have to engage both the dejudder processing and antiblur mechanism, which cannot be engaged or turned off individually. It passed all resolution tests with flying colors, as expected.
Features
The features of the Sony KDL-52XBR9 are pretty much the same as those of the KDL-52Z5100, which means it also offers interactive widgets, built-in capability to access online videos, like those on YouTube or Amazon Video on Demand and DLNA compatibility which allows you to stream photos, music and videos from your computer network. There are also plenty of picture controls available, such as three picture modes, four aspect ratio modes and four color temperature presets, while its connectivity suite consists of four HDMI inputs – three on the side panel and one on the rear – a PC input and a USB port to name a few.
While the KDL-52XBR9 may not be as good as the KDL-55XBR8, it certainly holds its own – as much as a conventional LCD HDTV can do against an LED-lit model – and it is much less expensive, too. True, its price is still quite steep, but its amazing picture quality, sleek style and numerous features will give many buyers reasons to make room for the Sony KDL-52XBR9 in their budget and in their homes.
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