Sony Bravia XBR KDL-52XBR4 Wins Our Best 'High End' LCD Award

written March 2008

Quality is important to you. The extra investment required to secure a top of the line viewing experience is money well spent. But how can you know that you’re getting what you paid for? With slick and glossy marketing campaigns, it can be quite the chore to see through the hype to find the real performers.

You’re in luck today. This past week was set aside for a review of high end and high performance LCD televisions. We walked right past all the bargain sets, mid range and all arounders… This was the week where we were searching for the best of the best. Needless to say, we were excited… After much research, we came to the conclusion that the Sony Bravia XBR KDL-52XBR4 deserves this title. Here's why:

What's Good

The Sony KDL-52XBR4 is definitely a powerhouse of a set. While there are some television sets on the market that could be considered a step forward in LCD technology, this Sony Bravia would have to be considered a giant leap by comparison. Here’s a snapshot of some of the more desirable features: 

• 52 inch screen
• Full 1080p display
• Has 120Hz technology
• Deep Blacks
• BRAVIA Theatre Sync

With a generous 52 inch screen, this Sony Bravia offers a full 1080p resolution (Screen displays 2,000,000 pixels) as you’d expect in this price-range. What you may not have expected though, is the 120Hz operating speed. One of the weaknesses of LCD televisions has been the relatively slow 60Hz operating speed.

Sony has labeled this feature as “Motionflow.” As movie scenes or videogames hit the higher paced action packed scenes, you will notice a significant improvement in the televisions performance. No more blurry, artifact plagued scenes. Once you’ve seen the performance of a 120Hz set, you’ll find it difficult to go back.

In order to illustrate how much of an improvement this feature is over previous LCD televisions; a friend of mine who viewed this television told me the next day he was having daydreams of this television… I truly felt for him. Imagine closing your eyes and seeing the words “Sony 52XBR4 buy” scrolling inside your head. Yes, if you’re a big fan of excellent picture quality, and the thought of crystal clear viewing pleasure really gets you going, then you will be a fan of this TV very soon as well.

It shouldn’t take you but a few moments of viewing this television set to find that the picture quality is among the best on the market. In fact, despite the fact that LCD technology has been known to have trouble reproducing the color black at the same level of a plasma, the Sony Bravia XBR KDL-52XBR4 easily dishes out a gorgeous, deep, and convincing black that is rarely seen on an LCD. This definitely scored a few extra brownie points with us.

No mater how great your TV screen looks, there is nothing more annoying than searching endlessly in vain for that ever elusive remote that never seems to be around when you need it. Sony has come up with a great feature known as Theatre Sync which allows the remote to control multiple components via HDMI. If your other components have Sony HDMI control capability, then you’ll find this feature a refreshing alternative to crawling around reaching under the sofa searching for missing remotes.

What's Bad

It’s tough to find anything to dislike with the Sony Bravia as it is an excellent television set. However, as with anything, if you look hard enough, you can find some negative things. Here’s what we uncovered.

Limited viewing angle – From some angles, the picture does diminish.  

Greens and blues – Despite the brilliant image, you may occasionally notice a small bit of blue in the greens and reds. Barely noticeable, but it is still present.

Out of the box settings – When first taken out of the box, the initial factory settings may be a bit too overwhelming for some (Brightness settings are quite high), and you may spend some time fiddling with the remote to find the setting that is just right for you

What Others Had To Say:

Sony Bravia KDL-52XBR4 Reviews from the Web

As of March 27th, 2008

Consumer Reports recommends this set and rates it "among our top-scoring models." Below you will also notice how the Sony 52XBR4 is highly rated among actual owners of this great TV:

Our Overall Rating: 9.5

There’s certainly a lot to love here. I must admit that I was often tempted to buy Sony 52XBR4 for myself. Assuming I could explain that one to the significant other, I just may have. Considering the great picture and sound quality of this set and all the great consumer reviews, we can without hesitation rate the Sony KDL-52XBR4 a 9.5/10. 

Where to Buy: 

So now that we know this great LCD set is worth the investment, how can you find a Sony 52XBR4 for the best price? We’ve found the average price range to be $3,000 - $3,500. While it’s certainly not the cheapest set you can find, if you are looking for quality, features, and ground-breaking performance then the Sony Bravia 52XBR4 delivers in spades.

Click here to search for your  Sony 52XBR4 best price.

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