Sony wants to reach more users based on the existing PS5 players, and recently launched a new “InZone” brand, focusing mainly on gaming monitors and gaming headsets. The first flagship monitor, the InZone M9, retails for $899 and is a 27-inch 4K IPS gaming monitor that fits the PS5’s design and meets most gamers’ requirements for a monitor.
It’s a bit unfortunate that this monitor is not an OLED panel. The monitor has a 144Hz refresh rate (not common on 4K screens), 1ms response time, variable refresh rate (VSR, for consoles and NVIDIA GPU-compatible G-Sync), and DisplayPort and HDMI 2.1 ports. It can also display video via USB-C.
Notably, the M9 features full-array local dimming with 96 zones, as well as DisplayHDR 600, both of which allow for brighter highlights, deeper blacks, and the ability to do both without too much of a halo effect. Some of the monitor’s special features (and those drawn from high-end Bravia TVs) include Auto HDR Tone Mapping, which automatically recognizes the M9 when plugged into the PS5 and claims to optimize the monitor’s HDR output. There’s also an auto-type picture mode that automatically switches to theater mode when you launch a video streaming service or Blu-ray, then returns to low-latency mode when you start playing again.
Incredibly, Sony is not including any video cables in the $899 M9. Sony spokeswoman Chloe Canta shared a statement with The Verge that the company chose not to do so because “the type, version and length of cable required vary by customer use case.
Sony also said it will launch a more affordable M3 display this winter, retailing for $529. It turns off full-array local dimming, drops to 1080p, and lowers the peak brightness of HDR to 400 nits. But refresh rates can go up to 240Hz.
In addition to gaming monitors, the Sony InZone has another product category: headsets. The H9 is positioned as a high-end gaming headset with large over-ear headphones that can handle both 2.4GHz wireless and Bluetooth. The design is quite different from Sony’s Pulse 3D headset that launched with the PS5, which is more akin to a competing gaming headset with height-adjustable side arms, a flip-mute microphone that delivers a healthy dose of side-tone (hearing your own voice in the headset), and pillow-style ear cushions that Sony says borrowed manufacturing materials for its latest WH-1000XM5.
The H9 claims to provide 32 hours of battery life per charge, and it’s the only model in Sony’s lineup with digital noise cancellation. In my hands-on experience, I tested them with my personal Sony WH-1000XM3, and they have comparable advantages, high comfort, good noise cancellation (Sony says it “inherited” from the 1000X series, but it doesn’t look as good as the XM3), and excellent sound quality. One downside, however, is that they’re just huge on your head. The video above has a shot that shows how big they look on my head.
Sony has a unique angle on the H9 that no other hardware manufacturer has tried yet. The PC player can install its InZone companion app as well as Sony’s 360 Spatial Sound Personalizer for a more customized spatial audio profile. Oddly enough, doing so requires you to take a picture of your ears, and yes, Sony claims that doing so will actually improve your audio. In The Verge’s brief hands-on test of the feature, there wasn’t much difference noted, but a test of that will follow.
Sony also has another wireless headset, the $229 H7 and the $100 H3 wired gaming headset. The H7 has a slightly reduced feature set, but retains the design and dual wireless connectivity. While removing that feature increases battery life to 40 hours per charge, you won’t get noise cancellation. On the other hand, the H3 offers good sound performance, but it’s more streamlined in terms of styling than the H9 and H7.
