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Sony Bravia XBR-52LX900

HDTV Review

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Audio & Menus

Great menu. No physical instruction manual.

The audio quality of the Sony XBR-52LX900 is decent, but a far cry from a dedicated home theater audio system. There are several options for tweaking the sound quality, though it lacks a fully fledged equalizer. You’ll find several audio modes, but know that if you have one of the Scene Modes engaged, you may be locked out of certain audio options. No matter what mode you’re in, the bass always seems a little absent.

The menu interface on the Sony XBR-52LX900 is the same as all the other 2010 Sony TVs, and a similar design is shared among several other Sony devices. It’s called the XrossMediaBar, you may have seen it on the Playstation 3 and Playstation Portable. Apparently it’s a big deal, design-wise, at least according to Wikipedia.

Menu Main Photo
The XrossMediaBar main menu runs along the center, horizontally

Items are arranged along a horizontal access, with sub-items extending vertically off of it. The menu is a little sluggish for our taste – certainly slower than a Playstation 3. There’s also no ‘Exit’ button on the remote, so it takes too long to exit the menu and get back to your TV show. Overall, though, it’s a good menu system that’s relatively easy to find your way around. The sheer number of features is the only thing that’s likely to confuse you. Sadly, Sony neglected to include an actual instruction manual with the LX900. Instead, you have an ‘i-Manual,’ also located within the menu. Perfectly inconvenient for explaining features located in the menu.

Menu 2 Photo
The Picture Adjustments menu

The Sony XBR-52LX900 does not come with a paper instruction manual, which can be quite frustrating. Instead, there’s an ‘i-Manual’ located electronically in the TV itself. There should be an online version of the i-Manual, too, but it’s not ready yet. If it’s anything like the HX800 series, the online version won’t even be downloadable. Online reading only. Frustration station.

Instruction Manual Photo
Other Models in the XBR-xxLX900 Series
For more information on other models in this series, check our Series Comparison Page.


Sony Bravia XBR-60LX900
60 in.

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Sony Bravia XBR-52LX900
HDTV Review

Previous: Page 9

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