The Sony A80L has been one of the stars this Amazon Prime Day, as deals popped up that lowered the price of the TV to just £1199 for the 55-inch model. Unfortunately, that deal has now ended, proving that you need to be quick to take advantage of the best deals this Prime Day.
The good news is that another deal has popped up for this TV courtesy of Richer Sounds, and while it's not quite as low as the previous one, it's still an incredible saving of £1140 on the XR-55A80L. Richer Sounds has supplied a discount code to reduce the price of this TV from £2399 to £1259, meaning if you missed out on the last A80L deal and have regrets, then this is your shot at getting the TV at a reduced price once again. Just make sure you use code SONY10 at checkout for the full savings.
Looking for one of the bigger models? Fret not, as Sevenoaks has enticing deals on the 65- and 77-inch variants of this TV, where a similar £1200 saving can be made on both sizes.
While 2023 was awash with next-generation QD-OLED and MLA OLED TVs, Sony proved that 'standard' OLED technology (often referred to as 'WOLED' because of its use of a white sub-pixel) is capable of absolutely stunning results when it's tuned with care and attention.
The A80L produces an image that pops with vibrant colours and superb contrast, yet combines that with a naturalism and subtlety that means you're always seeing movies and TV shows as intended. It balances all of these desirable picture traits to create an image that is nothing short of dazzling, allowing it to beat the likes of LG's C3 and Panasonic's MZ1500 OLED TVs.
The Acoustic Surface Audio+ technology, which uses actuators that vibrate the whole screen in order to make sound, ensures that the audio and imagery are spatially connected in a way that non-Sony TVs can't match, and the A80L sounds direct, detailed and open by general TV standards, too.
While the LG C3 is still an impressive and very likeable TV, we felt that LG didn't differentiate it from the C2 enough, despite increasing the price at launch. The A80L, on the other hand, is a startling step forward and the best performance-per-pound TV of the year so far, particularly with this discount. LG has thankfully rectified this with the C4, which we felt performed much more competitively with the A80L, although that TV is newer and, as to be expected, more expensive.
You might still want to consider the LG C3 if you're a hardcore gamer, though, as it has four HDMI 2.1 ports (the Sony A80L has just two, of which one also handles eARC duties) and supports Dolby Vision gaming and HGiG, which the Sony doesn't. For everyone else, though, the Sony A80L is a brilliant buy.
There's also the Bravia 8 to consider, which has just replaced the A80L. We haven't tested that TV yet so cannot verify whether it's a worthy follow-up to this Award-winner, however, Sony claims that the new model is brighter and it leverages the new Bravia XR Processor too. That model is also much more expensive currently, so if you're after a better-value model, then the A80L is seriously worth a look, especially with over a thousand pounds of savings.
MORE:
Read our review of the Sony A80L (XR-55A80L)
Our picks for the best OLED TVs in 2024
The best 55-inch TVs: smart, HDR, 4K, and OLED options
