Sony Inzone M9 (U27M90), the monitor to be combined with PS5 | Review

Sony Inzone M9 (U27M90)

Sony debuts today in an undoubtedly very crowded market, that of gaming monitors. If you think about it, it's strange that it didn't happen before: it was foreseeable that the company behind the PS5, sooner or later, would create a monitor optimized for gaming, both on PC and obviously on their console. The new Sony Inzone M9 (U27M90) is none other than this: a 27-inch monitor designed for gamers, with different features (including design, as we will tell you) that make it complementary to the Japanese console.



Technical specifications in hand, the new Sony Inzone M9 (U27M90) is equipped with a 27-inch Fast IPS panel with 4K resolution, 144Hz refresh rate, G-Sync and FreeSync support, response time of 1ms, maximum brightness of 400 nits (which touches 600 nits in HDR), good coverage of the color range (Sony declares 95% + of the DCI-P3 range), two integrated 2-watt speakers, inevitable RGB LEDs on the back and full backlight -array with 96 local dimming zones, all at a price of 1099 euros; on paper it is not a monitor with impressive technical specifications, but more than adequate for gaming, both on PC and PS5, thanks also to the presence of two HDMI 2.1 ports to make the most of the new generation console. The rest of the port equipment consists of a DisplayPort 1.4, a 3.5mm jack, three USB 3.0 type A (enabled by a USB 3.0 type B to be connected to the PC) and a USB-C, which in addition to supporting input video via DisplayPort, also charges the connected laptop.| ); }
Interesting feature also for PC users also have a KVM switch, which allows you to connect a mouse, keyboard and controller to the monitor (using the USB-A or USB-C ports) and use them on all devices connected to the screen: in practice, the peripherals connected to the screen will manage the device whose video output is being displayed, and changing the input source will also change the device being controlled. This is a very convenient solution if, for example, you have connected more than one PC to the monitor, or both the PC and the console, and you don't want to have to continually unplug and reattach peripherals or, even worse, keep one for each on your desk. machine.

Design

As soon as you take it out of the box, it's impossible not to notice the similarities of the Sony Inzone M9 with the PS5: the style is practically the same, with the base really reminiscent of near a PS5, with white sides and a black center, while the back of the monitor is totally white and echoes the lines of the console. At the bottom right we find the power button and the joystick to navigate the OSD menu, while below are the various ports described above, which can be accessed quite easily. In the arm there is also a hole for the passage of cables, which can then be kept in order thanks to the small clip present in the package. Also on the back we find, in the upper part, a grid in which there is RGB lighting, which can be customized in 14 different colors.




In addition to this, the base unfortunately offers adjustments very limited: you cannot place the monitor vertically or tilt it left or right, only raise it, lower it and tilt it up or down. The nature of the arm means that adjusting the height also changes the distance from the monitor (the screen moves diagonally, not vertically), so you may have to move it closer or further away when raising or lowering it.

OSD menu

In OSD menu we find five different image modes, with the two Game modes that allow you to change various image parameters, including saturation, color, gamma and other aspects, so as to be able to calibrate the monitor.

The functions dedicated to gaming integrate the classic green and red sights to be placed in the center of the screen, a framerate indicator, a timer, an option to enable and disable adaptive sync and the classic overdrive and Black Equalizer, which lightens the areas dark in games. As always, we advise you to leave the overdrive to a minimum, so as to avoid annoying ghosting problems.



Among the options there is also one dedicated to local dimming, which allows you to select between two intensity levels or to deactivate it. Then we find the possibility of leaving the USB ports active even with the monitor off, so as to be able to load any connected devices even when you are not using the PC or the console.

From the OSD menu it is also possible to choose among the 14 colors of the LED lighting, which of course can also be switched off.

User experience

During our test of the Sony Inzone M9 we made several tests, both with games and with daily use of the PC. During use with a MacBook, documents and various websites are displayed clearly and very clearly, allowing us to work without any difficulty; even with Photoshop there were no particular problems, with faithful color reproduction (with Standard profile). Viewing angles are very good, with colors turning slightly green only when practically parallel to the screen.

Even in games, the SDR experience is great: the image is vivid and well represented, be it the Elden Ring Interregnum or the nocturnal Night City with its neon lights. In HDR everything improves considerably, thanks to greater contrast and an even more vivid color reproduction: in games (and not only) the details stand out on the screen, especially in dark scenes, making the experience truly enjoyable and engaging.



The excellent gaming and general use experience however collides with what is perhaps the biggest problem of the Sony U27M90: the height. Unfortunately, as perhaps you can also guess from the images, even when adjusted to the maximum, the monitor always remains very low, resulting in little ergonomic: a person of average height (1.75 meters) finds his eyes almost at the level of the upper edge, for for an optimal vision you will be forced to tilt it up or to lower the chair, risking, however, to find yourself uncomfortable with the use of mouse and keyboard. You will not be able to use it even in a configuration where you have your laptop under the screen, since the laptop screen will overlap the monitor. A real shame, because it is a problem that in many cases does not allow you to use the device in the best way and requires the purchase of a rise, which however must be at least 30 cm deep given the space occupied by the base of the Sony U27M90. .

Colorimeter test

As usual we performed measurements with the colorimeter using the Calman software, developed by Portrait Displays, to check aspects such as maximum brightness, coverage of the chromatic range, delta E and other aspects. We performed the tests in both SDR and HDR, since when the latter is active it not only increases the maximum brightness of the panel, but also the color space covered.



Tests carried out with Calman by Portrait Displays

Let's start with the SDR tests, which we ran with the Standard profile of the Sony Inzone M9, without modifying either brightness or other parameters. As you can see, with the factory settings the monitor guarantees a low deltaE on the grayscale and a good contrast, thanks to local dimming. The gamma curve, on the other hand, is not very close to the ideal one, finally the peak brightness (without HDR) stands at 492 nits, well over the factory declared 400 nits.



Coverage sRGB



DCI-P3 coverage

The color gamut coverage is optimal in both tests, recording 126.4% in the sRGB space and 91.8 % in DCI-P3. With the factory settings, the deltaE is also very low, stopping at a value of 1.3; this means that the color reproduction is accurate and you can work with confidence, even if you are a graphics professional.



DeltaE measurement

We close with the proofs in HDR. As you can see from the image, the luminance curve is almost identical to the ideal one and only moves away (slightly) above 400 nits, a sign that HDR is rendered very well. The monitor is DisplayHDR 600 certified and achieves a maximum measured brightness of 854 nits, well beyond the value required for certification. Finally, as mentioned above, with active HDR the coverage of the chromatic range also improves, which reaches 97% of the DCI-P3 space.



HDR test

Verdict

Sony's first attempt in the world of gaming monitors is definitely successful, even if not perfect: the Sony Inzone M9 (U27M90) has an excellent data sheet, especially if you plan to combine it with PS5, as well to particularly useful and interesting features dedicated to both PC users, such as the KVM switch, and specific to the console developed by the company, such as automatic Tone Mapping in HDR, or the possibility of automatically changing the picture mode. From our experience the viewing angles are very good, as is the image quality in both HDR and SDR, the ability to enable G-Sync and FreeSync means that you can play safely without graphics artifacts on any platform. Even in the workplace, the use is satisfactory, thanks to the possibility of transmitting the video and powering the laptop with a single USB-C cable and a contrast that offers clear and well-defined texts in every situation.

Really bad for that problem of height adjustment, which, as we have told you, requires certain precautions to avoid problems caused by incorrect posture. If you are interested in the Sony U27M90, unless you plan to use it only with the console and you can lower your chair at will without any problems, we strongly advise you to evaluate this aspect well, buying a riser together with the screen to put on your desk, that allows you to have the monitor at the right height.