Finlux 65F8200-T: Sound Quality

We’d hoped that the Finlux 65F8200-T’s bulk might have enabled it to accommodate some quality speakers. Unfortunately, though, it still sounds pretty flimsy. It’s capable of decent volume levels before the cabinet starts to vibrate unnaturally, and there’s a fair amount of detail in the upper register. But bass is pretty much non-existent, which leaves the mid-range feeling unbalanced and strong trebles feeling over-exposed and, at times, wince-inducingly harsh.

Other Points to Consider

The Finlux 65F8200 isn’t the easiest TV to use on account of its remote control. The layout’s a bit old fashioned and cluttered for a start – though it’s redeemed a bit by providing direct one-button access to more multimedia content sources than many rival remotes. However, its buttons feel rubbery and unresponsive, and the TV only readily acknowledges your remote commands from a frustratingly narrow vertical angle and close range.

Those of you thinking of getting in a 65F8200-T for some budget big-screen gaming will be pleased to learn that we measured under 30ms of input lag – a speedy result that shouldn’t upset your gaming experience. Though the contrast problems might…

One last point to add here is that the 65F8200-T’s smart features can feel sluggish, especially when you first boot them up, and that our sample suffered an odd bug where the digital tuner didn’t always fire up properly when you turn the TV on, requiring you to change channel before it ‘wakes up’.

Should I buy a Finlux 65F8200-T?

The short answer to this is probably not. Certainly if you ever feel the urge to dim the lights to watch a film – something that surely anyone buying a 65-inch TV will fancy doing at least occasionally – the set’s really quite severe problems with handling dark scenes and over-stressed audio won’t make for a very enjoyable experience.

We guess if you’re really after a set just for watching normal TV fare on in an almost constantly bright room then maybe the Finlux 65F8200-T is cheap enough to enable you to overlook its deficiencies. But we have our doubts that many such specific punters really exist.

Admittedly there aren’t any other 65-inch TVs around for anything like as little money as the Finlux 65F8200-T. But you definitely only get what you pay for here. If £1,200 is your maximum budget we’d suggest sacrificing 10in to get a decent 55in set like the Samsung UE55F6800 or the Panasonic P55ST60.

Verdict

We really wanted to like the Finlux 65F8200-T. The 65-inch screen size is one we’ve come to love in recent times, and the prospect of being able to get so much screen for just £1200 was mouthwatering. Sadly, though, when push comes to shove even a £1,200 price isn’t low enough to let us to see past the its weaknesses – especially where its handling of dark scenes is concerned.

Trusted Score