Sony InZone M9 monitor review: the ultimate PS5 HDR monitor?

Subsequent-generation consoles just like the PlayStation 5 and Xbox Collection X pushed lots of avid gamers towards gaming screens as a substitute of TVs, and Sony is lastly capitalizing on that development. The InZone M9 is Sony’s first gaming monitor. It’s a $900 show that’s an ideal companion to the PS5, but it surely’s nonetheless among the many finest 4K screens for PC because of its HDMI 2.1 assist, G-Sync compatibility, and completely balanced HDR.

Full Array Native Dimming (FALD) takes heart stage to supply an HDR picture worthy of our roundup of the perfect screens, however the InZone M9 presents a lot extra. There are options particularly tailor-made for the PS5, for instance, and the value is just too good to disregard. In case you’re in search of a gaming monitor that ticks the entire containers after which some, the InZone M9 is for you.

Sony InZone M9 specs

The right PS5 companion

The InZone M9 appears to be like nice, particularly subsequent to a PlayStation 5. They’re purpose-built for one another, with the monitor wrapping stark white plastic round a black inside for a futuristic look. The monitor even has a glow behind it just like the PS5, as effectively, which you’ll be able to alter to match the look of the LEDs on the console.

The stand is the place issues get funky although. It has three legs, not like the usual two you discover on most monitor stands. It’s actually a singular look, and it’s an enormous house saver on cramped desks.

I’m simply undecided what Sony was pondering with the ergonomics right here. It’s simply tall sufficient. Even at its highest level, I couldn’t discover a place the place I wasn’t tilting my neck downwards. The vary of top adjustment is so low, too, so there’s little or no room to regulate it the way you need. Except you’ve lots of room for top adjustment together with your desk and chair, the InZone M9 was uncomfortable to make use of with no monitor arm. There’s a contact of tilt adjustment to assist, however you’ll nonetheless be angling your neck down usually.

The ergonomics are a disgrace as a result of the M9 and its stand actually do look implausible. Sony took benefit of the PS5 past appears to be like, too. The M9 options an computerized style mode that may toggle between the low-latency Sport mode and quality-focused Cinema mode relying on what you’re doing in your PS5.

Extra importantly, the M9 does computerized HDR tone mapping. The PS5 can detect the M9 because the monitor, and it’ll alter the colour and brightness values it spits out to cater to Sony’s show. I’ll dig extra into that within the efficiency sections under, however spoiler alert: the HDR tone mapping is basically good.

Controlling the InZone M9

The M9 has an ideal collection of ports: two HDMI 2.1 to assist 4K at 120Hz on the PS5, a single DisplayPort 1.4 connection, and even assist for USB-C. You get a few USB ports for those who hook up the USB-B connection to your PC, and due to the KVM swap contained in the M9, you possibly can swap your peripherals between units simply by altering the enter. All thumbs up right here.

What’s extra thrilling is the OSD. I’ve praised the menus on screens just like the Acer Predator X28, however even they don’t maintain a candle to the M9. You get a big, clearly legible, and comprehensible OSD that’s useless easy to navigate with the joystick behind the suitable aspect of the monitor. Sony makes use of a separate energy button, too, so that you received’t by chance swap off the show.

You don’t have to make use of the OSD, although, and I like to recommend you don’t. The InZone Hub app offers you your entire monitor settings in your desktop, and in contrast to the MSI MPG32-QD, you don’t must hook up a USB cable to make use of the software program.

Inside, you’ll discover 5 image modes: Cinema, Commonplace, FPS, Sport 1, and Sport 2. The 2 gaming image modes are literally customized slots the place you possibly can alter brightness, distinction, and many others. In any other case, the image settings are locked exterior of the black equalizer and native dimming setting. None of them are dangerous, however the Commonplace mode is scorching vibrant, whereas the Cinema mode has a signature heat coloration temperature that solely actually appears to be like good for those who’re watching a moody drama.

I adjusted the brightness of the primary gaming mode right down to a snug degree and went to a impartial coloration temperature, however that’s all I needed to do to get the monitor trying how I needed.

I believe most individuals don’t configure their monitor settings as a result of, frankly, it’s annoying coping with an OSD and a joystick. The InZone Hub invitations a deeper degree of customization, which I like, and manages to supply all of the essential image settings you want with out entering into superior coloration calibration that solely a small fraction of individuals will benefit from.

Picture high quality on the Sony InZone M9

I strapped my SpyderX on the M9 to confirm the specs listed by Sony, and virtually all the things checks out. It’s a large gamut show that covers 100% of the sRGB spectrum and 92% of DCI-P3 primarily based on my testing. Sony says it covers 95%, however my outcomes are shut sufficient that I’m content material. My panel was surprisingly coloration correct, too, with a median Delta-E (distinction from actual coloration) of 1.14. Lower than 2 is good for colorwork, although the M9 actually isn’t a show for video or photograph professionals.

The opposite outcomes are easy for an IPS panel. In SDR, the M9 topped out at a peak brightness of 419 nits, with a distinction ratio of 900:1. The upper 600 nit mark that Sony quotes comes with native dimming and HDR turned on, and I truly measured a a lot increased worth of 834 nits with VESA’s DisplayHDR Take a look at instrument. That’s tremendous vibrant for an IPS panel, however needless to say this check blasts 10,000 nits on the display without delay. It’ll not often get that vibrant in use.

Native distinction isn’t going to flooring you; that is an IPS panel, which universally have poorer distinction in comparison with VA choices. It’s the HDR distinction that stands out. With HDR and native dimming on, I measured a distinction ratio of 5,180:1, which outpaces even the perfect VA panels.

The specs and my testing checks out, however my subjective expertise with the M9 was removed from good. My preliminary assessment unit arrived with just a few panel defects — not an enormous deal, these items are certain to occur to not less than just a few of any monitor — and Sony swiftly despatched out one other one freed from defects aside from small vignetting.

The picture high quality is first rate on the InZone M9, however that’s not the promoting level. The HDR efficiency and console options make it stand out for each PS5 and PC.

Sport-changing HDR efficiency

The InZone M9 is licensed with VESA’s DisplayHDR 600 certification, which, as screens just like the Samsung Odyssey G7 present, doesn’t at all times point out nice HDR efficiency. For the M9, the large deal isn’t its DisplayHDR certification. It’s Full Array Native Dimming (FALD).

In contrast to the Odyssey G7 and LG’s ever-popular 27GP950, which have dimming zones on the perimeters of the show, the InZone M9 comes with dimming zones throughout the display. And it comes with 96 zones, which compares to solely eight zones on the Samsung monitor and 16 zones on LG’s. These zones make an enormous distinction. Except you search out a QD-OLED panel just like the Alienware 34 QD-OLED, you’re not going to discover a higher HDR expertise under $1,000.

DT contributor Arif Bacchus truly noticed the M9 proper subsequent to LG’s standard 27-inch monitor, and he didn’t mince phrases: “I’m telling you, the Sony is healthier.”

I began with Future 2 to check HDR efficiency, which has turn out to be my litmus check with its eye-scorching distinction. And it seemed nice. HDR screens have been lagging behind TVs for some time, and the InZone M9 is lastly elevating the bar. As a result of 96 dimming zones, you get a lot increased distinction in video games like Future 2 with out seeing particular person elements of the monitor alter how vibrant they’re.

HDR gaming is nice, simply the perfect expertise on PC you’ll discover for $900 (not less than at this decision). PS5 is even higher because of the computerized tone mapping. I performed via a few of Tales of Come up and Returnal, each of which seemed implausible. Tales actually shined with its watercolor-esque artwork, because the tone mapping and native dimming squeezed out hidden areas of distinction I by no means paid any thoughts to.

PC and PS5 gaming are practically good

Gaming is a deal with on the M9, particularly you probably have a PC and PS5. I had each connected, and I swapped forwards and backwards between my machines immediately because of the deep integration the M9 has with Sony’s {hardware}. The console picked up the M9 instantly and optimized the PS5 image settings, and all I needed to do was tickle the brightness slider to get a implausible picture. That is Sony benefiting from its gaming ecosystem.

For uncooked gaming options, the monitor assist variable refresh fee (VRR) and goes as much as 144Hz. It’s G-Sync Suitable, which suggests VRR works throughout Nvidia and AMD GPUs, and the PS5 mechanically turned on VRR within the settings as soon as I hooked the monitor up.

I used the M9 as my main gaming monitor for simply over per week, attempting all the things from Future 2 to Story of Come up to Neon White — no matter I occurred to be enjoying on the time. And it’s implausible. Even with HDR turned off, the native dimming presents a pleasant bump in distinction to some PC video games, and the always-on HDR on the PS5 takes the native dimming properly.

VRR assist and a 144Hz refresh fee take the M9 exterior of Sony’s console, too (although, you’ll want among the finest graphics playing cards to drive these body charges at 4K). The one minor subject is a few ghosting at excessive overdrive ranges. The M9 means that you can decrease the response time with overdrive, and as these settings sometimes do, there was some ghosting behind transferring objects. It was removed from an issue, although, and the monitor defaults to having overdrive turned off.

All of it comes down to cost

Worth is the important thing issue that the M9 lives and dies by, and Sony is selecting to stay. The listing worth is $900, which can virtually actually catapult the M9 to the go-to monitor for 4K gaming. The previous few years have been dominated by two screens across the similar worth — the 28-inch Samsung Odyssey G7 for $800 and the LG 27GP950 for $900 — and the M9 beat them point-for-point.

It’s lastly a step ahead for gaming screens. There are not less than a half dozen different 28-inch 4K screens with a 144Hz refresh fee, however they’re throughout the identical worth with solely slight deviations in options. The Gigabyte M28U is cheaper and comes with a KVM swap, for instance. The M9 stands aside with its 96-zone FALD.

My principal query is how a lot the M9 will truly promote for. Checklist worth to listing worth, it’s an ideal deal. However the usual guard of 4K screens round this worth are continuously on sale, under $600 in lots of instances. And in that state of affairs, higher HDR efficiency doesn’t fairly appear definitely worth the premium.

Our take

Panel points apart, you possibly can’t ignore the M9. There isn’t one other monitor at this worth that does all the things the M9 does. It’s the perfect HDR monitor for gaming you should purchase beneath $1,000 proper now, and it’s even higher for those who can pair it with each a PC and PS5. HDR is the large promoting level, although. If HDR isn’t essential to you, the tried and true choices from Samsung and LG supply the same expertise (and often for much less cash).

Are there any alternate options?

Sure, there are a number of alternate options. The 2 principal opponents are the LG 27GP950 and Samsung Odyssey G7, that are across the similar worth once they’re not on sale. They’re virtually an identical to the InZone M9, although they lack full-array native dimming.

In the meantime, the Alienware 34 QD-OLED presents a good higher HDR expertise, although you’ll must pay significantly extra for it.

How lengthy will it final?

Most IPS screens will final not less than a decade and infrequently longer. The M9 shouldn’t be any completely different, although be cautious of panel defects.

Do you have to purchase it?

In case you extremely worth HDR, sure. There isn’t one other monitor providing what the M9 does at this worth. In case you don’t care about HDR, and particularly for those who’re strictly a PC gamer, the LG and Samsung alternate options supply a greater worth total.

Editors’ Alternative