A new TV is a major investment – you want to make sure you get it right. Buy a dud and it'll taunt you every evening you sit down in front of it. Get the right model, however, and you'll have thousands of very enjoyable evenings ahead...
For many of us, the Sony A80J will tick a lot of boxes. It boasts many of the same features as Sony's 2021 flagship A90J, but costs a lot less. A heck of a lot less, in fact, thanks to this amazing deal. You can currently pick up the 55-inch model for £700 / $800 less than its previous price, and before Black Friday, too. But you'd better hurry, we're not sure stock will hang around that long...
How good really is this Sony TV deal?
The A80J might be a 2021 model but it still boasts excellent picture quality and although the very best 2022 sets will most likely edge it, with over 40% off the original retail price, you'd be crazy to ignore this deal.
Indeed, we felt that it delivered "superb" performance for the price when it debuted at £1699 / $1900. It even picked up a What Hi-Fi? Award last year – not something we hand out lightly.
So why is it so good? The X80J packs many of the same features as the flagship X90J into a package that's substantially cheaper. It has the same (excellent) Cognitive Processor XR chip and the same Google TV operating system.
One of our main bugbears in our review was that UK terrestrial streaming apps weren't supported – that meant no BBC iPlayer, ITV Hub or All4. But that was fixed at the end of last year thanks to a firmware upgrade so you can now buy with confidence. The same goes for the lack of gaming features like VRR and ALLM. There were picked up in our original review but support for these features has been added since.
The A80J doesn't have the A90J's heatsink, and so its picture doesn't go quite as bright. But that's a small price to pay for a TV this accomplished. Don't hang around – stock certainly won't.
What else does it do?
TV audio used to be something of an afterthought. And while we'd always recommend pairing a TV with one of the best soundbars, the X80J has some of the best built-in speaker technology on the market today.
Sony's Acoustic Surface Audio+ sound system vibrates the screen itself, turning it into one giant speaker. Sound comes from the relevant part of the picture, so dialogue emerges from the characters' mouths, for example. Which makes the viewing experience a whole lot more immersive.
In our review, we felt that the X80J was "weightier and more controlled at the bottom end" than contemporaries such as the LG C1 and G1, and "significantly punchier and more dynamic", too. The Sony X90J is bassier, but, for the money, the X80J sounds fabulous.
The Bravia Core app is another good reason to buy the X80J. The app, which is exclusive to selected Sony TVs, streams blockbuster movies at bitrates similar to those of a 4K Blu-ray disc. You'll have to pay for the movies you want to watch, and you'll need an exceptionally fast internet connection (115Mbps minimum) to hit the highest quality level, but the picture is still impressive over an 80Mbps connection and you'll get more than adequate quality from connections of 10Mbps or more.
Also consider...
The A80J was already a "performance-per-pound" king – and that was before today's huge 40% off discount. That said, you should also consider LG's C2 OLED...
If your luck's in and your budget stretches, you should be able to pick the LG OLED55C2 for around £1200 / $1300. The C2 doesn't sound quite as good as the X80J, but it edges ahead in the picture quality stakes. The LG C2 also ticks all the boxes for gamers too. The only thing it doesn't have access to is Sony Bravia Core, but that won't be the end of the world for most buyers.
MORE:
Head to head: Sony A90J vs A80J: which is better?
Read our full Sony XR-55A90J review and Sony XR-55A80J review
Take a step down in size: Sony KD-48A9 review
Read our guide to the best OLED TVs
