If you're looking for superior overall picture quality, particularly in bright rooms, and want a gaming experience with excellent response times and low input lag, the Samsung QN95B is a solid choice. It comes at a premium price but offers a high-quality mini-LED backlit display, which enhances contrast and brightness, making it suitable for both dark and well-lit environments. It also supports advanced audio formats.
On the other hand, the Sony X85K is more wallet-friendly and also performs well in sports content. However, its picture quality in dark rooms is not as strong, and while it's good for gaming, it's not on par with the Samsung QN95B. The Sony model lacks local dimming as it uses standard LED backlighting, affecting its ability to produce deep blacks. It supports Dolby Vision, which the Samsung does not, which can be a draw if you consume a lot of content in this format. Give Feedback
this description is based on the product variant with some specs and product variant with some specs. At the time of writing, the variant with some specs cost some dollars and the variant with some specs cost some dollars.
Advantages of the Samsung QN95B (LCD)
Best in class for bright room
Good for dark room
Very good for gaming
Very good for movies & TV
Excellent for news, talk, & other TV
Excellent for cartoons & animation
Very good for use as monitor
Excellent reflections
Advantages of the Sony X85K (LCD)
Best in class for upscaling
Best in class motion processing
Key differences
Picture Quality
8.3/10
7.2/10
7.00/10
CONTRAST
7.50/10
8.3/10
COLOR VOLUME SCORE
7.4/10
miniLED FALD
PANEL TYPE
LED
VA
PANEL SUB-TYPE
VA
The Samsung QN95B (LCD) has very good picture quality, while the Sony X85K (LCD) has good picture quality.
Movies & TV
8.1/10
6.4/10
7.00/10
CONTRAST
7.50/10
7.2/10
BLACK UNIFORMITY
6.8/10
8.0/10
UPSCALING
10.0/10
Yes
HDR10 SUPPORT
Yes
Yes
HDR10+ SUPPORT
No
No
DOLBY VISION SUPPORT
Yes
The Samsung QN95B (LCD) is very good for movies & TV, while the Sony X85K (LCD) is only fair.
The Samsung QN95B offers superior contrast, local dimming, and black uniformity which are crucial for watching movies and cinematic TV, enhancing dark scene details and overall picture depth. Compared to that, the Sony X85K, despite having a slightly better contrast, lacks effective local dimming and has inferior black uniformity, which leads to less impressive dark scenes and a flatter image.
Gaming
8.8/10
7.5/10
8.3/10
RESPONSE TIME SCORE
7.6/10
10.0/10
INPUT LAG SCORE
7.3/10
8.0/10
MOTION PROCESSING
10.0/10
70.0/100
GAMING LOCAL DIMMING
0.0/100
9.3/10
GAME HDR BRIGHTNESS SCORE
7.3/10
The Samsung QN95B (LCD) is very good for gaming, while the Sony X85K (LCD) is good.
The Samsung QN95B offers superior gaming experience with very good response time and the best input lag performance, making it highly responsive for gaming. On the other hand, the Sony X85K provides good performance in both response time and input lag, but it does not match the Samsung's top-tier responsiveness.
News, Talk, & Other TV
9.0/10
8.2/10
10.0/10
SDR BRIGHTNESS SCORE
8.4/10
8.0/10
UPSCALING
10.0/10
The Samsung QN95B (LCD) is excellent for news, talk, & other TV, while the Sony X85K (LCD) is very good.
The Samsung QN95B excels in watching news and TV programs because it has a superior SDR brightness which ensures clear picture quality even in bright rooms, and its upscaling and color qualities right out of the box provide crisp images and accurate colors without needing adjustments. In contrast, the Sony X85K also performs very well with excellent upscaling that enhances lower resolution content, but it has a lower SDR brightness which might not be as effective in very brightly lit environments, and its color performance out of the box, while excellent, doesn't quite match the Samsung's.
Bright Room
9.8/10
7.4/10
6.8/10
VIEWING ANGLE
5.5/10
10.0/10
SDR BRIGHTNESS SCORE
8.4/10
9.4/10
HDR BRIGHTNESS SCORE
7.0/10
9.2/10
REFLECTIONS SCORE
7.3/10
The Samsung QN95B (LCD) is best in class for bright room, while the Sony X85K (LCD) is good.
The Samsung QN95B is better suited for bright rooms due to its superior SDR and HDR brightness, which means it remains visible and vivid even in well-lit conditions, and its outstanding reflection handling further improves visibility. In contrast, the Sony X85K, while still good in bright room conditions, doesn't match the Samsung QN95B in terms of brightness and is less effective at minimizing reflections, which can affect viewing quality in brightly lit environments.
Cost
$4,298
$2,298
$1,000
$2,000
$3,000
$4,000
$5,000
$6,000
$7,000
The Samsung QN95B (LCD) has a price of $4,298 and the Sony X85K (LCD) costs $2,298.
The Sony X85K (LCD) and Samsung QN95B (LCD) are both good for sports.
The Samsung QN95B and Sony X85K are good for watching sports due to their strong motion processing, which ensures smooth action on screen, and low response time, minimizing blur. The Samsung has an advantage with better reflections handling, suitable for bright rooms, whereas the Sony offers wider viewing angles, which is beneficial for large groups watching together. Both TVs, however, fall a bit short on gray uniformity, which is less critical but still relevant to sports viewing.
Cartoons & Animation
9.0/10
8.5/10
8.0/10
COLOR GAMUT SCORE
7.5/10
8.3/10
COLOR VOLUME SCORE
7.4/10
10.0/10
SDR BRIGHTNESS SCORE
8.4/10
9.5/10
COLORS OUT OF THE BOX SCORE
9.1/10
7.7/10
GRAY UNIFORMITY
7.5/10
Although they have very similar scores, PerfectRec considers Samsung QN95B (LCD) to be excellent for cartoons & animation, while the Sony X85K (LCD) is very good.
The Samsung QN95B is highly regarded for watching cartoons and animation because it delivers colors very accurately straight out of the box, which means less tweaking is needed for vibrant, true-to-life colors. Additionally, it has a wider color gamut, ensuring a broader range of colors is displayed, and superior SDR brightness, making it great for brightly lit rooms. In comparison, the Sony X85K is also a solid choice, with excellent color accuracy out of the box and good color gamut, but it may not be as bright as the Samsung, which could be a drawback in well-lit environments.
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How the Samsung QN95B (LCD) and the Sony X85K (LCD) compare to other TVs
"Picture quality is fantastic truly mind-bogglingly good. It also plays into the screen’s gorgeous color performance, as spectacularly rich, vibrant tones now look both more consistently natural and balanced. With its extreme brightness and vibrant Quantum Dot color system, the QN95B delivers a dazzling demonstration of just how much of a difference HDR can make to picture quality."
Get a great deal on the Samsung QN95B (LCD) or the Sony X85K (LCD)
About Samsung
Samsung, a South Korean electronics manufacturer, holds the title of being the largest global TV vendor in terms of units sold. They offer a diverse lineup of TV products that cater to various budget ranges. A notable achievement in recent years is the development of Quantum Dots, a technology that enhances color reproduction, resulting in richer and more vibrant hues. Samsung TVs are well-regarded for their high manufacturing quality and user-friendly software, making them an excellent choice for consumers seeking an intuitive viewing experience.
About Sony
Sony stands as a highly experienced and widely trusted TV manufacturer, earning a reputation that surpasses all others. A Japanese company, Sony has been making TVs for far longs than it has been making Playstation game consoles. Sony's high-end TVs are often regarded as the ultimate choice for videophiles, representing the epitome of quality, albeit at a premium price point. Renowned for their advanced and precise motion handling, as well as their cutting-edge local dimming algorithms, Sony consistently delivers unparalleled performance in these areas. They include Google TV software with all their TV sets, which grants access to the largest selection of apps available and they also include Bravia Core which is a movie streaming platform specifically for Sony TVs that offers higher picture quality by using more bandwidth.
This information was produced and vetted by the PerfectRec TVs team. We are a product research and recommendation organization that meticulously reviews and evaluates the latest TV information and makes it digestible for you.
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About the TV team
Joe Golden, Ph.D
CEO and TVs Editor
Joe is an entrepreneur and lifelong electronics enthusiast with a Ph.D in Economics from the University of Michigan.
Jason Lew
Staff Expert & Software Engineer
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Chandradeep Chowdhury
Staff Expert & Software Engineer
Chandradeep is a staff expert and software engineer and expert in televisions and monitors. He’s been making monitor recommendations for ten years.
Jaime Roldán
TVs Expert
Jaime is a Colombia-based TV expert. He is an electronics engineer with 8 years of experience in the telecom sector and has been making TV recommendations for 12 years.