Introduction
LED backlighting may be the wave of the future, but Sony seemed to take a little longer figuring it out than everyone else. After introducing the hyper-efficient new technology in its top-tier Bravia XBR8 sets in 2008, it nixed the technology in favor of standard CCFLs for the XBR9 at the beginning of 2009, then recently returned to LEDs for the XBR10. The resulting 52-inch XBR9 stands out as an anomaly in the fabled XBR legacy, but one that Sony has already atoned for in price: the set that debuted in the Spring for $3,600 can now be had for $2,300 directly from Sony. Does the price drop justify picking up last-gen backlighting in an otherwise ultra-modern set? We put the XBR9 to the test to find out.
