Side by side
TCL QM9K vs TCL QM8L
TCL QM9K
78 positive (76%) · 15 mixed (15%) · 10 negative (10%)
Trust + time weighted: +72%
AI summary — not a quote
The TCL QM9K is positioned as a flagship mini-LED TV featuring extreme peak brightness and a high number of local dimming zones. While it is praised for its vibrant colors and improved software over the QM8K, many users find its steep price premium difficult to justify, often citing only incremental real-world performance gains over its predecessor.
Pros
- Extreme peak brightness, with some users noting up to 6,500 nits
- High dimming zone count (6,000 zones) for improved contrast
- Vibrant color reproduction where 'colors pop' compared to lower-tier models
- Supports 144Hz at 4K for gaming
Cons
- Significant price premium over the QM8K that many users feel is not worth the cost
- Out-of-the-box color accuracy and skin tone tracking are reported to be inferior to competitors
- Reports of an audible buzzing sound during operation
- Potential panel uniformity issues, such as dark vertical lines visible on solid gray or blue screens
Top excerpts
I went with the QM8K because I did not need all that extra brightness the QM9K had, my room is light controlled.
The 9K is pretty much better in every way.
QM9K has a higher peak brightness, and more dimming zones.
The 9K has an amazing picture, trust me.
The 9K is amazing, keep it.
TCL QM8L
85 positive (77%) · 15 mixed (14%) · 10 negative (9%)
Trust + time weighted: +70%
Top excerpts
Parent context: Wait till you see oled bro 😎 cause even at the Dolby theater I can still see the limits of the contrast coming from a LG at home Reply: no offense but this is a goofy ass take. I only own oleds but even i can admit how fuckin near perfect this looks. and then you see how bright it gets too and its just clearly a better choice for 85-90% of users.
Mostly summed up as: More dimming zones. Better processor. DV2 coming.
I’m in the same boat as OP, and with QM8L’s feature set, I’m going QM8L.
So QM8L is SQD, and therefore has better color saturation, a better processor for upscaling, will get DV2, and has 4 hdmi 2.1 ports.
I have a QM8L 98' in a bright room and the picture is incredible!!