Sony Bravia KDL 46X2000 46” LCD HDTV Review

Sony’s latest and greatest addition to the Bravia range is the KDL 46X2000 LCD HDTV.   And latest and greatest it is too.  Its biggest selling point has to be its full HD 1920x1080p resolution ready to give you the best HD picture as soon as 1080p becomes available later this year. 

Design

In all its glory, this 46” screen does look out of place in a small room, so we suggest that you upgrade your box room before upgrading your television.  The design is not dissimilar to that of the rest of the Bravia family, but with an added hint of sophistication.  The sleek titanium coloured frame is surrounded by what looks like glass but what is actually a transparent plastic frame.  The reassuringly sturdy build looks notably handsome on the included desktop stand. 

The KDL 46X2000’s biggest feature has got to be the 1920x1080 resolution.  Next up is the exclusive Bravia Engine EX Picture Processor to enhance the picture and reduce noise, which cannot be found in any other Bravias.  It has a common interface card slot allowing you to upgrade FreeView to TopUp TV also.  Its connectivity is futuristic to say the least, with two HDMIs, two component videos, three RGB capable scarts and a VGA socket.  This means that you can have five pieces HD and three pieces of Standard Definition equipment linked up simultaneously.  To enhance picture performance, the Wide Colour Gamut and Super Patterned Vertical Alignment features help to provide vibrant colours and a wider viewing angle.  As you would expect, the KDL 46X2000 has the Virtual Dolby Surround Sound, not only is this one of the best TV sound systems around but it is enhanced by Pro Logic II and BBE digital audio, the perfect recipe for awesome sound. 

We know optimism is the way forward but we’re absolutely gutted that we haven’t had the opportunity to push this TV to its limits.  Maybe later in the year we will update the review but until then we must admit that we are overly impressed by this TV’s picture performance.  The crisp images were stunning with energetically full colours and clear definition.  Black levels were refreshingly deep and motion was by no means an exception, we put it to the Oceans Eleven motion test and it performed tremendously.  HD pictures were stunning, just by watching Eastenders it has confirmed the need for Botox put it that way.  Talking of cracks in the veneer, standard definition was a complete let down.  It was very weak compared to other TVs in the same price range like the Philips 42PF9831D for example.  With a trio of audio enhancements we expected to be knocked off our seats but we were slightly short of that.  The audio is very good but not as good as it should be for this price.   

Comparing this TV to others in the price range it is a good contender but it isn’t the best.  The design is equally as astounding as the picture performance but that’s irrelevant if the sound isn’t up to scratch.  The size of this TV requires a large home to look good, unfortunately this adds to the problem of the substandard audio.  If you are considering LCDs in this price range you should also check out the Philips 42PF9831D which is slightly cheaper and offers a better performance.