55” or 65” TV Screen Size and Your Speakers: Please Join Survey


 

With my two-way speaker build on hold as the clock ticks towards December 31st when my $1200.00 in Sony card points expire, I am struggling to decide between the 55” or 65” Sony A95L OLED TV. Sitting on chairs at Best Buy, I tape measured 11 ft from the 55”, which looked small, while the 65” looked too big at the same distance.

 

My largely empty living room is 20 ft x 11, with the west side open, crossing a 4 ft wide x 27 ft hallway and into a ~ 10 ft x 9 kitchen and then 3 ft wide staircase. A triangular ceiling that peaks at 11 ft is above it all.   

 

I plan to listen 10 ft from my speakers, with the TV between them and a foot or so behind the horns.

 

I built the 65” (56.9” w x 33” h) cardboard mock and to my eyes at 12 ft the 65” “screen” looks immersive.  

 

I will build the 55” (48.25” x 27.5”) mock as soon as I can get more cardboard from the local supermarket.

 

Meanwhile, it might be very helpful to learn of the experiences of other 55” and 65” TV users.

 

How far are you from one of those screen sizes?  

 

Do you sit on a chair or recliner?

 

Please describe the speakers that you use in place of the TV’s internal speakers, and how far you sit from them.

 

 

ajant

But again, don’t you guys get some kind of eyestrain if or because your field of vision is overshot by your > 55” or > 65” screen size?

I ask this because of this supremely relevant post by Dave in Green:

THX recommends a “best seat-to-screen distance” FOV of 40 degrees. But that's based on averages where some prefer greater and some less. An FOV of 50 degrees is more like front row seating at a commercial cinema. Some people prefer that level of immersion while others don't. It would be best to experiment by viewing content with a 50 degree FOV before locking into it as it will create a lot of eye movement that could get tiring when viewing fast moving action content depending on your individual tolerance.

https://www.avsforum.com/threads/would-50-degrees-horizontal-viewing-angle-be-too-much.3006084/

Clearly, screen size vs. viewing distance is largely a matter of 1.) How visually immersed one cares to be and 2.) what kind of content one typically views. For sure, if I were a gamer and/or a big fan of “action” movies, I very likely would get eye fatigue or even headaches with a 65” screen-even at 13 ft. But save for a James Bond film now and then, I’m mostly a fan of film noir genre and other classic and new but fairly slow-moving TV shows and movies. Furthermore, I keep my living room dimly lit, at least for TV viewing, so there may therefore be less risk of eyestrain.

 

Given these facts, I’ll be ordering the 65” Sony A95L this week at Best Buy. I can always exchange it for the 55” within the 10-day trial period, but thanks to Dave in Green’s presenting of those crucial facts, after some hours viewing of various BDs from my collection there’s at least a 50% chance that the 65” will be the one.

From what I’ve usually heard at speaker design and home theater forums is the trouble with adding a center speaker is that unless the drivers are virtually identical to high, mid and midbass drivers in your main speakers you’ll likely end up getting discordant timbre and other unpleasant issues. It may be hard enough to “match up” drivers in a Re

If optimizing for a single listening position, you don't need a center.

It is indeed hard to find a good center speaker design. A concentric driver would most probably be needed for such an application and you will need woofers crossed over 250hz or under (not too high).

Nevertheless, two wide dispersion Fronts and two wide dispersion Surrounds (@ approx 110 degrees)/ optimal positioning should work for a lot of guys....i.e., if it is a single listening position.

 

This week with hundreds in Sony Card points it’s time to buy a new TV.

It’s probably laughable to those here but I don’t subscribe to any streaming or even basic cable service. I get news via internet, NY Times, et al.

Except for free services like Kanopy, all my movie and vintage TV show content are from Youtube, but mostly from my own collection of 2K BDs and DVDs and those borrowed from local public libraries.

Being a huge film noir fan, OLED is the only way, and everyone also says Sony has the best upscaling for DVDs, which is essential as many of my favorite titles will clearly never see a BD release. So even though I will rarely be viewing 4K content the A95L still seems justifiable.

Where problems lie are with viewing distance. I want to keep my ~ 26” wide Troy Crowe floor standing main speakers 10 ft from me, which means that the TV must be at least a foot behind the front of them.

Would 11 to 12 ft be too far to enjoy my non-4K content?

FWIW, I keep my room dimly lit and will therefore be dialing down the TV brightness.

Note that a 77” TV is not doable since as its width would make proper speaker placement impossible, which will already be challenged by the 65” TV’s footprint.

If only I had more space this would have been the one.

https://electronics.sony.com/tv-video/televisions/all-tvs/p/xr77a80l

 

 

No tv in my (main) basement listening room, but I replaced the Plasma’s with a Sony A80j 65" oled in 22 and in the family room in 23 the A85 Sony oled. Both sets are google OS and have been problem free. The family room can’t be difficult for friends or family so I use the Yamaha YSP-5600 with a 15" paradigm sub that doubles as an end table. The living room sports the 65" with a revel ultima 1 center, a pair of VA beethovens being drivin’ by an ancient HK AVR. I’ve found audio requirements are less critical for an immersive experience with video.

While I don’t have the experience to compare Sony oled to other brands like LG (which makes the sony panels) or Samsung I come from using Plasma’s so while the Sony’s are much brighter in comparison to what I was used to I have read reviews that state the ultimate brightness may be lacking for some rooms, idk.  Regarding screen size? As big as will fit the room that doesn't give you a headache while watching! always get a 2-4 week return/exchange guarantee.

a Sony A80j 65" oled in 22 and in the family room in 23 the A85 Sony oled. Both sets are google OS and have been problem free.

Subject: HELP! Will A95L Stutter with DVDs and Youtube Downloads?

I can’t believe that Sony’s top model OLED TV has this problem, which I only just learned of when reading this review. https://www.rtings.com/tv/tools/compare/sony-a95k-oled-vs-sony-a95l-oled/31217/39009

It shows the supposedly “new and improved” A95L scoring worse than the A95K on this parameter.

Until I read this review I didn’t even know that stuttering over low frame rate content was a problem with any OLED TVs!!

How will this impact the A95L’s DVD performance? This is critically important as many of my favorite movie titles and TV shows in my large collection, on DVD for years, have next to no chance of ever being issued on BD. And I have no plans to subscribe to any streaming service as an alternate source.

I also have numerous Youtube downloads, of either 720p, 420p-and early ones at 240-that I would also want to view on this TV occasionally.

I had planned to buy the A95L this week. But if it’s likely going to stutter on any of this content please suggest the next best Sony OLED model that won’t. However, the TV’s 4K performance is irrelevant as I only play 2K BDs and DVDs from my collection and those I borrow from local public libraries.

What’s very bad now is that the best such 65” model (s) may no longer be available at Best Buy, PC Richard, Wal-Mart, Target, Microcenter or other retailers in the New York area.

I would order said models from online stores but they MUST be authorized Sony retailers or I will not be able the redeem my $1200.00 in Sony Card points-and the sale must be made before December 31st!

 

Please advise ASAP.