If you prioritize gaming performance and a higher contrast for better dark room viewing, go for the TCL R655. However, if you prefer a less expensive option that still delivers good performance for sports and general TV watching in both bright and dark rooms, consider the Sony X85K. The Sony has lesser dark room performance compared to the TCL. Both have their strengths, but your choice should be driven by what you value most among price, gaming, and dark room viewing. 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 Sony X85K (LCD)
Good for sports
Very good for news, talk, & other TV
Best in class for upscaling
Best in class motion processing
Advantages of the TCL R655 (LCD)
Best in class for bright room
Very good for dark room
Very good for gaming
Good for movies & TV
Good for use as monitor
Very good reflections
Key differences
Picture Quality
7.2/10
8.0/10
7.50/10
CONTRAST
9.07/10
7.4/10
COLOR VOLUME SCORE
8.2/10
LED
PANEL TYPE
miniLED FALD
VA
PANEL SUB-TYPE
VA
The TCL R655 (LCD) has very good picture quality, while the Sony X85K (LCD) has good picture quality.
Movies & TV
6.4/10
7.9/10
7.50/10
CONTRAST
9.07/10
6.8/10
BLACK UNIFORMITY
6.1/10
10.0/10
UPSCALING
5.4/10
Yes
HDR10 SUPPORT
Yes
No
HDR10+ SUPPORT
Yes
Yes
DOLBY VISION SUPPORT
Yes
The TCL R655 (LCD) is good for movies & TV, while the Sony X85K (LCD) is only fair.
The Sony X85K offers a fair watching experience for movies and cinematic TV as it lacks local dimming, resulting in lower black uniformity compared to the TCL R655, which provides good movie watching due to its better contrast ratio and effective local dimming. While the Sony performs excellently with colors out of the box, it falls short in contrast, and black uniformity, which are very important for cinematic content, whereas the TCL has a very good color volume and black uniformity, although it has slightly weaker colors out of the box and viewing angles.
Sports
7.4/10
6.6/10
10.0/10
MOTION PROCESSING
5.3/10
120Hz
REFRESH RATE
144Hz
7.3/10
INPUT LAG SCORE
8.7/10
10.0/10
UPSCALING
5.4/10
8.4/10
SDR BRIGHTNESS SCORE
9.1/10
Yes
HLG SUPPORT
Yes
The Sony X85K (LCD) is good for sports, while the TCL R655 (LCD) is only fair.
The Sony X85K delivers a better sports viewing experience, primarily due to superior motion processing that helps it handle fast-moving scenes with less blur, and better reflection handling that minimizes distractions from ambient light. Conversely, the TCL R655, while offering good motion handling, falls short in reflection handling and has a narrower viewing angle, which can reduce the quality of the viewing experience from off-center positions.
Gaming
7.5/10
8.6/10
7.6/10
RESPONSE TIME SCORE
7.0/10
7.3/10
INPUT LAG SCORE
8.7/10
10.0/10
MOTION PROCESSING
5.3/10
0.0/100
GAMING LOCAL DIMMING
85.0/100
7.3/10
GAME HDR BRIGHTNESS SCORE
8.8/10
The TCL R655 (LCD) is very good for gaming, while the Sony X85K (LCD) is good.
The Sony X85K is appreciated for gaming due to its good response time and input lag at a 120Hz refresh rate, making for smoother gameplay. In contrast, the TCL R655 offers very good input lag and a higher 144Hz refresh rate, which helps in delivering even smoother motion, ideal for fast-paced gaming.
News, Talk, & Other TV
8.2/10
7.2/10
8.4/10
SDR BRIGHTNESS SCORE
9.1/10
10.0/10
UPSCALING
5.4/10
The Sony X85K (LCD) is very good for news, talk, & other TV, while the TCL R655 (LCD) is good.
The Sony X85K is very good for watching news, talk shows, and other TV programs mainly due to its excellent upscaling capabilities and good SDR brightness, which ensures clarity and visibility of content. In comparison, the TCL R655, while good for the same content, has slightly lower upscaling quality, but it offers very good SDR brightness, making it also suitable for well-lit environments. Both TVs display good colors right out of the box, but the Sony tends to perform better in this regard.
Bright Room
7.4/10
9.5/10
5.5/10
VIEWING ANGLE
5.2/10
8.4/10
SDR BRIGHTNESS SCORE
9.1/10
7.0/10
HDR BRIGHTNESS SCORE
8.5/10
7.3/10
REFLECTIONS SCORE
8.8/10
The TCL R655 (LCD) is best in class for bright room, while the Sony X85K (LCD) is good.
The TCL R655 outshines the Sony X85K in a bright room due in part to its higher SDR and HDR brightness which makes images pop even in well-lit environments, coupled with better handling of reflections. While the Sony X85K does offer good performance in these areas, the TCL R655's superior contrast and color volume also contribute to a more vibrant and clear picture in a variety of lighting conditions.
Cost
$1,098
$1,000
$400
$600
$800
$1,000
$1,200
$1,400
$1,600
$1,800
The Sony X85K (LCD) has a price of $1,098 and the TCL R655 (LCD) costs $1,000.
The TCL R655 (LCD) and Sony X85K (LCD) are both very good for cartoons & animation.
The Sony X85K shines with colors straight out of the box and also boasts a good color gamut, which is ideal for vivid and varied animation hues. On the other hand, while the TCL R655 has a good color gamut and color volume, making colors in cartoons appear vibrant across different shades.
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How the Sony X85K (LCD) and the TCL R655 (LCD) compare to other TVs
"It has an excellent Roku interface, isn’t too expensive, has quantum dots and mini LED backlighting, and looks genuinely fantastic playing everything. If you’re in the market for a new TV, you should still start here. Gamers will like that it has a 120-Hz refresh rate at 4K, which is the maximum that a modern Xbox or Playstation 5 will put out—meaning the smoothest possible gaming and sports viewing in general. We’re no longer in the days of having to spend over $1,000 and spending a few hours on setup for decent black levels and great color accuracy and HDR"
Get a great deal on the Sony X85K (LCD) or the TCL R655 (LCD)
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.
About TCL
TCL, the highly recognizable TV brand from China, has firmly established itself as the second-largest manufacturer in terms of sales volume. Renowned for striking an impressive balance between affordability, picture quality, and design, TCL TVs deliver a compelling overall package. While they have traditionally excelled in the low-end and midrange TV segments, TCL has recently made remarkable strides in the realm of high-end televisions, introducing impressive models that rival top competitors. Most TCL TVs use Roku software which is very user friendly and easy to use, but they have a few other models that use Google TV which has the largest app selection, but is not as user friendly as Roku.
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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