Sony INZONE M9 (SDM-U27M90) 144Hz 4K IPS with DisplayHDR 600
As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases made using the “Buy” button at the bottom of this post. Where possible, you'll be redirected to your nearest store. Further information on supporting our work.Although they dipped their toes into the mainstream market briefly back in 2011 with their ‘3D Display’, Sony has been focusing on high-grade reference displays more recently. The INZONE M9 (SDM-U27M90) marks their return to the gaming monitor space. It’s focused on a ‘4K’ UHD experience on both PC and games consoles with a good level of HDR support on the side. HDMI 2.1 is included, delivering ‘4K’ UHD @120Hz plus VRR for systems including the PS5 and Xbox Series X. The monitor includes an interesting stand shape, a tripod design with thicker black and white plastic central leg and thinner black plastic outer legs. The top and side bezels feature a dual-stage bezel design, with slim panel border flush with the rest of the screen plus thin hard plastic outer part. The (On Screen Display) is controlled by a joystick at the rear, towards the right as viewed from the front.
A 27″ 3840 x 2160 (‘4K’ UHD) IPS-type panel is used, with 144Hz refresh rate supported. This the M270QAN07.2 AUO AHVA (Advanced Hyper-Viewing Angle) panel more specifically. Adaptive-Sync also features, including Nvidia ‘G-SYNC Compatible’ plus AMD FreeSync support with a 48 – 144Hz VRR range plus LFC assumed. Other points to note include a 1000:1 static contrast ratio, 178°/178° viewing angles and 10-bit likely delivered via 8-bit + FRC. A matte anti-glare screen surface is also adopted, with a Low Blue Light (LBL) setting included to promote a more relaxing viewing experience. A flicker-free FALD (Full Array Local Dimming) WLED backlight with 96 zones provides a 400 cd/m² (600 cd/m²+ HDR peak) typical maximum luminance and 95% DCI-P3 colour space coverage. The monitor responds to HDR10 content with VESA DisplayHDR 600 support, whilst also supporting HLG as an alternative. The FALD backlight can be put to work with decent brightness and DCI-P3 coverage, alongside 10-bit colour processing.
An on-screen timer, crosshair and ‘frame counter’ (refresh rate display) feature is included alongside a ‘black equalizer’ gamma enhancement feature to improve visibility in dark areas. PS5 exclusive features include ‘Auto Genre Picture Mode’ which can automatically switch between ‘Cinema Mode’ for movies and ‘Game 1’ for gaming plus ‘Auto HDR Tone Mapping’ which optimises HDR settings for the console. A 1ms grey to grey response time is specified, which as usual you shouldn’t pay much attention to. The stand attaches centrally via a quick-release mechanism, with 100 x 100mm VESA mounting supported with the included stand removed. The stand offers tilt and limited height (70mm or 2.76 inches) adjustment. Above the attachment point is a customisable RGB LED lighting strip. The ports face downwards and include; DC power input (external ‘power brick’), DP 1.4, 2 HDMI 2.1 ports, USB-C (<20W PD assumed, DP Alt Mode, upstream data), 3 USB 3.0 ports (plus upstream) and a 3.5mm headphone jack. 2 x 2W speakers are also included, whilst KVM functionality is included to allow easy peripheral and display signal switching between 2 systems.
Further details can be found on the manufacturer’s website. The monitor is listed for ~$900 USD (£1000).
