If you’re looking for a 55-inch TV and are primarily concerned about price, then the £1499 LG G5 or £1499 Samsung S95F are worth a look. Both are five-star players with great attributes.
But, if you can squeeze an extra £200 into your budget, then we think you should get the Sony Bravia 8 II for £1699 from Richer Sounds.
At first glance, it might look like Rich Sounds is selling it for £1799, but if you add it to your basket and enter the code ‘RSTV100’ at checkout, you’ll get an extra £100 off.
The 55-inch Sony Bravia 8 II is what we called “one of the best TVs money can buy”. And luckily, with an £800 launch price, it’s very affordable.
In our full review, we said, “The Sony Bravia 8 II is a truly special TV. Its combination of brilliant brightness, vibrant colors at all brightness levels, terrific shadow detail and razor-sharp sharpness combine to produce a picture of extraordinary intensity, depth and realism.”
The latest QD-OLED panel combined with Sony’s processing and custom heatsink results in the Bravia 8 II capable of being 25 percent brighter than the A95 QD-OLED predecessor in terms of maximum brightness.
This is a lively TV, in fact, that shines with colorful content, such as Spider verse movies, while still delivering a very realistic image. It’s also easy to use, thanks to Sony’s presets like Dolby Vision Dark, which we recommend for Dolby Vision content, or Professional for everything else.
What’s even more impressive is how all these things combine with Sony’s new AI processing to make the image look more solid and three-dimensional.
Sony has done an amazing job on the black transition, too, which means there’s a lot of shadow detail and ensures that the best aspects of black screens aren’t lost.
All this led our expert testers to say: “Overall, the key to the Bravia 8 II’s success is balance. Colors are vibrant, highlights are sharp and edges are sharp, but nothing feels exaggerated or inaccurate, meaning you never feel like you’re getting anything but the best versions of your movies and TV shows.”
In fact, the Bravia 8 II is also one of the best-sounding TVs we’ve tested, and that’s thanks to the same Acoustic Surface Audio+ setup as the A95L, which combines impressive directivity and range.
Our TV & AV editor still recommends adding a dedicated sound system, something like the Sonos Arc Ultra, for example. But, if you’re happy to stick with what the Sony Bravia 8 II has to offer, it’s more than adequate for basic viewing.
Characteristically, it is full. Of course, the QD-OLED panel is the top class, but there is also support for Dolby Vision and Atmos, as well as IMAX Enhanced certification. Standard HDR10 and HLG HDR formats are also available.
If you’re a gamer, while it supports 4K/120Hz, VRR and ALLM with Dolby Vision Game mode, there are only two full-bandwidth HDMI 2.1 sockets, and one of those doubles as an eARC port. For most devices, you will have to replace the cables.
Regardless, this is a fantastic TV at a fantastic price – at just £1699 for Richer Sounds coded, it’s hard to argue with.
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Read our full 55-inch Sony Bravia 8 II review
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