“The QM9K shows the entire market that an amazing TV doesn't have to be a horrible value.”
- Excellent color accuracy
- Ultra bright display
- Very affordable for a premium TV
- Screen is pretty reflective
I waxed poetic about TCL’s mission to change the industry and take over the premium market for larger TVs when the QM9K was initially announced, and now that I’ve spent weeks living with it, my conviction is only stronger. I’m done talking about TCL’s past.
The QM8K was a shot across the bow from the Chinese manufacturer, and the QM9K sees the brand stepping firmly into the future. The QM9K shows the entire market that an amazing TV doesn’t have to be a horrible value.
The established makers of the best TVs around need to take notice.
TCL QM9K specs
| Sizes | 65, 75, 85, 98 inches |
| Pricing (MSRP) | 65″: $2,499.99 | 75″: $2,999.99 | 85″: $3,499.99 | 98″: $4,999.99 |
| Panel type | QD-Mini LED QLED with CrystGlow WHVA panel |
| Operating system | Google TV |
| Screen resolution | 4K Ultra HD (3840 x 2160) |
| HDR support | HDR10, HDR10+, HLG, Dolby Vision, Dolby Vision IQ |
| Native refresh rate | 144Hz |
| Connectivity | 4× HDMI (1× eARC), 1× RF , 1× Ethernet (LAN), 1× optical S/PDIF, 1× USB 3.0, 1× USB 2.0 |
TCL QM9K design: Minimalist, affordable, sleek
Quick take: TCL didn’t blow money on the design, but it doesn’t look bad either
The TCL QM9K is only as sleek as it needs to be. Its brushed-metal-accented base came dented in shipment, which isn’t to say that speaks to the quality of it, necessarily. It does mean that this is not an unnecessarily heavy 100 percent metal stand like on some ultra-premium TVs.
The near bezel-less “ZeroBorder” is a really nice touch, providing an edge-to-edge image. The QM9K’s WHVA offers a great viewing angle, perfect for watching with a large group.
This TV’s chassis, stand, and overall design are pragmatic, value-forward, and still visually appealing. You can see a lot of plastic was used, which makes the TV pleasantly light. It sits firmly secured to its stand, however, so there is very limited wobble.
The remote follows a similar brushed design, and features streaming buttons a la Roku remote.
It feels sturdy enough, but again it’s lightweight, not overly engineered, and not some place a ton of money was spent. It does feature a backlight, which is a welcome touch.
Design score: 8/10
TCL QM9K interface: Google TV is very approachable
Quick take: The OS is intuitive and Gemini is built-in for extra functionality
Google TV just might be my favorite native television OS on the market today. While I still prefer my Roku to a native OS since it allows me to seamlessly bounce between TVs, I do appreciate how easy Google TV is to navigate.
The QM9K is also the first to feature TV to feature Gemini built-in. Combined with a proximity to wake system that can turn your TV on when you approach it, Gemini allows you a lot of hands-free control.
Interface score: 9/10
TCL QM9K SDR picture: Super bright and color-accurate
Quick take: The SDR picture quality has about all you can ask for
The SDR picture on the QM9K is bright, crisp, and impressively color-accurate. This reminds me a lot of the image quality on the QM8K but brighter. For the nerdy stuff, I measured just north of 5,000 nits of brightness when playing around with small windows in the 2-10 percent range.
Real-world brightness under normal use conditions like watching a movie was still almost 1,000 nits with brightness settings turned all the way up. This is about 10-20 percent brighter than the QM8K depending how you measure.
In Filmmaker mode, I measured an average Delta E color error of just under 2.0, which is incredibly accurate and barely visible to the naked eye. TCL panels in my experience with both the QM8K and QM9K come out of the box far more color-accurate than competitors.
Once I calibrated the TV, I registered a Delta E as low as 0.23, reference-level accurate. The contrast is outstanding thanks to the QM9K’s mini LED backlight with up to 6,000 dimming zones.
SDR picture score: 10/10
TCL QM9K HDR picture: Bright and accurate Dolby Vision
Quick take: HDR impresses almost as much as SDR
The peak brightness in HDR was excellent. I measured just north of 5,500 nits in a 2 percent window.
Dolby Vision really shines on the QM9K, thanks to great tone mapping, outstanding contrast, and brightness. That being said it’s not as color-accurate as SDR, which was also my experience with the QM8K.
The colors are really the only complaint I have, and they aren’t too terrible. A lot of points scored here for shelling out for Dolby Vision, and excellent brightness.
HDR picture score: 9/10
TCL QM9K audio: The best I’ve heard from any TV
Quick take: This is the single greatest improvement over the QM8K
I really struggle talking about sound in reviews, because basically nothing I say will compare to actually sitting in front of the TV for hours on end. You’ll just have to trust me when I tell you that the QM9K has the best built-in audio of any TV I’ve reviewed.
Now let’s be clear, that doesn’t mean it holds a candle to a stand-alone speaker system, or a top-shelf soundbar, but it is super impressive for being built-in sound.
Normally the audio quality on a TV is sort of a throwaway spec, barely reproducing audible sound, and giving way to a soundbar or speaker setup without even putting up a fight. But the QM9K did not take this approach.
Bang & Olufsen’s speakers sing on the QM9K and fill the room with Dolby Atmos sound. It may be the first time I’ve ever described TV audio as punchy. Dialogue is crisp and clear, while loud music or scenes are distortion-free.
I did a back-to-back comparison against the QM8K, and while the speakers on that model are still impressive for being built-ins, the QM9K speakers are leagues better.
Audio score: 10/10
Should you buy the TCL QM9K?
Honestly, I still think the QM8K is the best value television on the market today. If you cannot or should not be spending $500 more on a TV then don’t, and simply pick up a QM8K.
But if you don’t mind spending a little bit more, you’re in the market for a premium large TV, and you were even considering spending double or triple this amount on an LG or Samsung TV, then please do yourself a favor and buy, or at least try, the QM9K.
Why not try
- TCL QM8K: Even more affordable and an image quality that’s about 90 percent as good.
- Sony Bravia 9: Great contrast, brightness, and Dolby Vision. Also has near reference quality color accuracy after calibration.
- Samsung QN900D: If you can find this year-old model on clearance, and like Samsung TVs then you’ll enjoy a pretty color-accurate panel with great black uniformity and excellent contrast.
How we tested
The TCL QM9K served as my daily television for weeks. In that time I watched movies, TV shows, F1 races, football games, and streamed a lot of YouTube. I tested the TV with both cinematic content, as well as sports and cable television.
I used both the native Google TV OS and at times my Roku Ultra. Testing was performed using a Calibrite Display Pro HL and DisplayCal software on Windows 11, as well as my own observations from looking at many, many different TVs over the years.
