Sony A80L vs Sony A80K: which step-down Sony OLED TV is for you?

Sony

For

Detailed, dynamic image
Subtle and authentic
Atmospheric sound

In return for

Sound could be bassier
Misses shadow detail in SDR
Only two HDMI 2.1s

Sony XR-55A80K

For

Refined, natural image
Fantastic depth
Excellent sound

In return for

Narrow soundstage
Lacks brightness
Only two HDMI 2.1s

Sony makes some of the best OLED TVs money can buy, but which one to choose can be a real dilemma. Throw caution to the wind and spend big on the biggest, brightest, best TV you can get? Or should you err on the side of caution and spend more modestly? (Let’s say you have the budget in the first place.)

The A80K and A80L are two of Sony’s most attractive OLED TVs on the market today. The A80K is last year’s model, offering big screen thrills on a budget, while the A80L is new for 2023 and offers a taste of what makes Sony’s flagship OLEDs so stunning for (slightly) less money.

Which one should you buy? Step this way, let’s pick out a TV for you…

Sony A80L vs Sony A80K: price

(Image credit: Future)

In this article, we’re mainly dealing with 55-inch versions of both TVs, although both also come in other sizes (65-inch, 77-inch, and the A80L also come in 83-inch). The A80K launched last year for £2099 / $2000 / AU$3899, although it’s been around long enough to be significantly discounted and can be picked up in May 2023 for around £1299 / $1299 / AU$2295.

The A80L is the 2023 model and launched at a price of £2399 / $1900 / AU$3499. That price has already dropped a bit in the UK, but this remains the more expensive TV for a long time to come.

Winner: Sony A80K

Sony A80L vs Sony A80K: design

(Image credit: Future)

In the design department, there’s little to choose between the two TVs. With both, minimalism is very much the order of the day – you get an almost borderless rectangle on top of a pair of narrow feet that look like skate blades. These feet can be placed wider for a lower center of gravity, or narrower so that the TV can be placed on a smaller furniture surface. And they can be lowered or raised a few inches to accommodate a soundbar.

The screen is hugely slim, though it does have a thicker center section to hold the drivers, processing interior, and actuators for the in-screen sound system.

Winner: tie

Sony A80L vs Sony A80K: Characteristics

(Image credit: What Hi-Fi? / Netflix, Agent Elvis)

Again, there’s not much difference between the two TVs in terms of features, but the A80L does have a few extras.

The jewel in Sony’s crown is the Cognitive Processor XR – it acts as the brain of its premium TV range. The A80L adds a new XR Clear Image feature, which aims to better understand the content type to more accurately upscale it to 4K.

Google TV comes as standard, with all the usual streaming suspects on board: Prime Video, Disney+, iPlayer, Apple TV and Netflix (although the latter still doesn’t show up in recommendations, which is a big mistake).

Both TVs support Dolby Vision HDR in addition to the more common HDR10 and HLG formats, although HDR10+ is missing. And both have the Sony Bravia Core app, which streams movies in higher quality than competing services. The A80L comes with 10 credits, but the A80K comes with only five (once these run out, you’ll have to pay to rent or buy movies from the service).

Each TV only has two HDMI 2.1 connections, while the other two ports have standard HDMI 2.0 connections. One of the HDMI 2.1s is also the eARC, so if you connect a soundbar to that, you’re left with just one fully specified port for a PS5, Xbox Series X or PC. That’s fine for most people, but the best LG TVs put it to shame with all four HDMI ports offering the 2.1 spec.

The two HDMI 2.1 ports do offer a full range of gaming features, including 4K/120Hz, VRR and ALLM. And the A80L has been labeled ‘Perfect for PlayStation’, meaning it will automatically calibrate HDR tonemapping for games when connected to a PS5 (be sure to check the appropriate settings, though).

The A80L has a new game menu, which brings together all game-specific modes for you to enable, disable and customize. These include motion blur, black depth, VRR and the ability to add a crosshair to the center of the screen.

The A80K doesn’t have this, but it does have the same Acoustic Surface Audio+ sound system, which uses actuators placed behind the screen to make the sound come exactly from the part of the image.

Winner: Sony A80L

Sony A80L vs Sony A80K: Photo

(Image credit: Sony)

As you’d probably expect, both TVs are at their best when playing HDR content. The A80L, in particular, combines the spectacular with the subtle in a way that’s quite extraordinary, with bright colors that pop but plenty of nuance in skin tones.

These colors never sacrifice dynamism, creating an image that is gloriously solid with a real sense of depth. Detail is excellent in both light and dark extremes, and – as with all recent Sony TVs – the motion processing is second to none (Sony really is the best in the business in this regard).

As with the A80K, the Dolby Vision Dark mode looks a bit dull, while Dolby Vision Bright is nice, with plenty of punch. Upscaling is a real highlight too, delivering an image that’s sharp and detailed without any hint of how much processing has actually been done.

The only downside is that there is a slight loss of dark detail with SDR content. But it’s a minor niggle in an otherwise great performance.

The A80K is also very good, delivering image quality that was among the best in its class last year. The Cognitive Processor XR works its magic across all facets of the image, creating a fantastic sense of three-dimensionality and great levels of brightness. The downside is that the A80K’s handling of the image seems to fluctuate more scene-by-scene than other TVs, which can feel a little jarring.

Occasional inconsistencies aside, the image quality of the A80K is very good indeed. But it’s not as bright as the A80L and doesn’t have the same amount of punch and vibrancy.

Winner: Sony A80L

Sony A80L vs Sony A80K: sound

(Image credit: Which Hi-Fi?)

Both the A80L and A80K feature Sony’s Acoustic Surface+ sound technology, which places three actuators behind the OLED panel that, using two subwoofers, vibrate and create sound from the screen itself. The advantage is not only that there are no unsightly loudspeakers to be seen, but also that the audio is localized to the exact part of the frame, so that the dialogue comes from the mouths of the characters, the screams of the tires of a speeding car , and so forth. on.

The A80L is a bit light in the bass and lacks the depth of some TVs in the lower end of the frequency range. But the upside is that it never overplays its hand and stays relatively composed even when you turn up the volume. This TV knows its limits, and there is a lot to be said for that.

And it’s all good: an open, spacious sound image with decent projection in the room. We’d always recommend a soundbar, but if you wanted to forego one on this occasion, you wouldn’t feel too hard.

The A80K has a similar impact, with the mid-range proving particularly impressive. Dialogue sounds richer and better contextualized; trebly effects prevent them from sounding harsh or clipped; and dense soundtracks have plenty of headroom to expand when needed. Again, it can’t match a flagship in terms of low-end rumble, but it never sounds boxed in or distorted either.

Winner: tie

Sony A80L vs Sony A80K: Verdict

On paper, there isn’t much difference between the two TVs, but in person it’s a different matter. The A80L is brighter and more vibrant, with more solid images, achieving this without sacrificing cinematic authenticity. It also has new features: it’s available in a new 83-inch version, it has the new Game Menu, has microphones built into the chassis so it can be operated hands-free, and it comes with twice as many Bravia Core credits as the A80K (10 instead of five). It also has the new XR Clear Image feature as part of the Cognitive Processor XR.

But it’s a lot more expensive. And the A80K is still a stunning TV. If you need a new TV now and can expand to the A80L, do it. If your budget doesn’t go that far, the A80K will make you proud. But if time is on your side and you can wait for the price of the A80L to drop, your patience will be richly rewarded.

Overall winner: Sony A80L

MORE:

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And don’t forget the new LG G3

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