Sony Bravia XBR-52HX909

Value Comparison

Pricing is a funny thing. The Sony XBR-52HX909 is priced at $3999. The Sony XBR-52LX900 was recently reduced from $3999 to $3499. The HX909 showed some performance benefits over the LX900, but nothing overwhelming. The LX900, on the other hand, has a slimmer frame, built-in WiFi, and built-in 3D. The more expensive HX909 requires separate purchases for the WiFi dongle and 3D sync transmitter. Based solely on these facts, we’d have to opt for the LX900.

Core Attributes Comparison
	Sony Bravia XBR-52HX909	Sony Bravia XBR-52LX900
Size	52 in.	52 in.
General Type	LED	LED
Format	1080p	1080p

Blacks & Whites

The Sony XBR-52HX909 was capable of producing noticeably deeper black levels than the Sony XBR-52LX900. It’s not a huge margin, but you’d be able to see the HX909’s advantage in a simple side-by-side comparison. While the LX900 has brighter whites, this is generally considered less important than the black level. As you can see from the chart below, the contrast ratio of the HX909 is greater, as well.

Color Accuracy

The Sony XBR-52HX909 also outperformed the Sony LX900 in color temperature consistency. While the LX900 was not bad, necessarily, the HX909 is certainly steadier. The RGB color curve test results were statistically about the same. Both TVs produce excellent, smooth color transitions.

Color Temperature Comparison
Sony Bravia XBR-52HX909 (Score: 9.08)
Sony Bravia XBR-52LX900 (Score: 6.21)

RGB Comparison
Sony Bravia XBR-52HX909 (Score: 7.99)
Sony Bravia XBR-52LX900 (Score: 8.10)

Motion

We saw no noticeable difference between the HX909 and the LX900 in terms of motion performance. We can only assume that they share a similar processor. The differences between the TVs was borne out more in brightness and black level performances, due to the different backlighting technologies.

Motion Scores
	Sony Bravia XBR-52HX909	Sony Bravia XBR-52LX900
Motion Score

Viewing Effects

The Sony XBR-52HX909 showed a small advantage in viewing angle over the Sony XBR-52LX900: 40 degrees in total versus 50 degrees in total, respectively. As both are LCD displays, they cannot compete with the truly excellent viewing angle of a plasma TV like the Panasonic TC-P50VT20.

Viewing Angle Comparison
Sony Bravia XBR-52HX909: 5.06	Sony Bravia XBR-52LX900: 2.66

Connectivity

The Sony XBR-52HX909 has a wider, fatter body than the Sony LX900, leaving more room for ports. While there aren’t significantly more ports, access to the ports is easier. Surprisingly, the LX900 has built-in WiFi and a built-in 3D sync transmitter bar, despite its being the cheaper of the two TVs.

Connectivity Comparison
	Sony XBR-52HX909	Sony XBR-52LX900	Samsung UN55C7000	Panasonic TC-P50VT20
HDMI	4	4	4	4
Component	2	1	1	2
Composite	2	1	1	2
S-Video	0	0	0	0
VGA	1	1	1	1
Analog Audio In	4	3	2	4
Digital Audio Out	1	1	1	1
Analog Audio Out	1	0	1	0
Ethernet	None	Yes	Yes	Yes
Wi-Fi	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes
USB	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes
Memory Card Types	None	None	None	SD/SDHC/SDXC/SDXC
DLNA	Unknown	Yes	Yes	Yes