TCL QM9Kchat_bubble_outlineFrom real comments

Several owners, especially of 98-inch units, reported an audible buzz at high brightness traced to the power supply, with some returning the TV entirely for a competitor. Others suggested it's harmless coil whine common to high-wattage components, while some noted it may be resolved in newer production.

@TheNetworkEngineer23

I recently purchased the 85\" QM9K in mid-July 2026 and wanted to share my experience. I have not encountered any of the buzzing or unusual noises referenced in the videos. Even when testing the unit at 100% brightness while playing several scenes from The Haunting of Hill House, the issue did not occur.I wonder if TCL identified and resolved this problem for newer inventory without issuing a public statement. Overall, I am very happy with the TV so far.launch

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July 26, 2026

@Kole208

That buzzing you hear in the back of the TV is coil whine likely coming from the PSU. It is harmless and a characteristic of high wattage components. My MSI MPG 321URX has a form of it also and has been going strong for over 3 years. My RTX 5090 along with my 6900xt both have it too. It’s probably due to the panel requiring a significant amount of watts, I’m sure if you turn the brightness down it would quiet down.launch

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May 27, 2026

@nola504boy1

I’m officially done with TCL. I had the 98 QMK8k & it use to buzz whenever I turned the brightness up so I returned the TV for the upgraded 98” QMK9K & that TV buzzes also. Ended up getting the 100” Hisense U8. Hopefully you don’t get the same issues I had with the buzzing. After doing research they have issues with their power supply on the 98” TV’s. It sucks because they’re nice TV’s.launch

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December 16, 2025

@GG-mu9tr

Hi Andrew! Greetings from Athens, Greece! Thank you for another concise, to the point and honest review. It seems that this buzzing sound is mainly (or only?) a problem in the 98’’ models. And it seems to derive from the power supply unit, which has difficulty handling the energy needed when you put these tvs in their higher brightness settings. That’s probably why the problem tends to manifest itself in the 98’’ variants, that require more energy, and is less common (or even non existent?) in the qm7k (even at 98’’), which cannot reach these high nits in brightness compared to the 8k and the 9k. That’s what I understand from your review and from relevant posts (unfortunately) by users in reddit and avsforum. Am I correct in this or am I missing something? Is there another probable cause for the buzzing? Also, have you had complaints that the 98’’ qm7k has the same issue too or is it a safe choice in this regard? Please let us know if TCL responds to you on this matter. Thanks again for your excellent work, you make a difference for all of us out there!launch

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December 10, 2025

Reviewers and viewers questioned whether the QM9K's color-volume gains meaningfully beat the cheaper QM8K, and one commenter directly stated there's little reason to buy the 9K unless firmware fixes the EOTF issue. A 2.2 gamma concern was also raised by a prospective buyer.

@raven2004

Unless a firmware upgrade fixes the EOTF there is zero reason to buy the 9Klaunch

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November 6, 2025

@MattyDaddy14

Wow!! 🎉 the HdR video looks really good!! Yeah, I had really high expectations for the Qm9k with the higher LDZ count and brightness but the tests I’ve seen make it not much better than the QM8K in color and contrast. For the 75-100” sizes, the U8QG makes a strong argument. 🎉 \nI’d really like to see a 75” or 85” Qm9k vs U8QG vs 77/83” lg c5. Also can’t forget both tcl and Hisense have all HdR 🎉 and dtslaunch

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October 23, 2025

@JohnKessler-i3e

Looking for guidance. Getting ready to buy a 98\" tv to replace my JVC DLA-NX7 projector (108\" screen) and after viewing your videos I'm have a tough time choosing between the TCL QM8K or QM9K. I primarily play 4K BluRay and standard BluRay (upscaled to 4K by my Panasonic UB9000 player) and Apple 4K TV. There is roughly a $1,000 difference between the 2 TVs. I am concerned about the points you brought up around the QM9K including the 2.2 gamma issue as that is concerning. But, was also impressed how the content under 1,000 nits looked which may be a majority of my viewing. What is my best choice here between the two models for mostly movie viewing in home theater. Bravia 9 does not come in 98\" so it's not an option (Bravia 5, QM8K, and QM9K are my three options) although the 11K is down to $5,999 but cannot find any detailed reviews on that model. Leaning towards the QM9K due to the larger number of dimming zones and other hardware differences and hope software updates resolve some of your concerns as it sounds like they are working on that.launch

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October 20, 2025

Commenters wanted better detail, color depth, and processing, noting the QM9K appears to share the same AIPQ Pro processor as the QM8K without real upgrades. Judder in panning shots and blurry focus persisted across the TCL QM lineup even at high judder-reduction settings.

@swervobandz3932

I hope someone gives TCL feedback that customers want to see big improvements with the Processing and less laggy UI. Biggest problems I face with my from Qm7k is that that im sensitive to judder in panning shots and whenever I raise the judder reduction to 3 I end up seeing soap opera effect. No matter how high I raise the sharpness the image still feels blurry as I try to focus on objects or eyes on screen.launch

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September 5, 2025

@robertatlas9001

Thanks for the info, Brian. For my taste current tvs were already bright enough. What I would like to see from this tv is better detail, more color depth and above all better processing. It looks like this tv has the same processor, the TCL AIPQ PRO Processor, as the QM8K.launch

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September 4, 2025

Some commenters questioned whether TCL's pricing reflects cheaper components and lower quality control, expressing concern about motherboard or power-supply failures over a 5-7 year ownership span, with one comparing durability unfavorably to Samsung, LG, and Sony.

@DarkKnight-gw4gw

I think this “buzzing” issue is a perfect example of why the market, especially enthusiasts and premium shoppers, still question if TCL and Hisense products are worth considering or not. The buzzing is clearly a quality issue, even on NEW sets! What are the likelihoods of failing motherboards or power supplies as well? For these specs at these prices, something has to give for these companies to still be profitable. It is likely the use of cheaper parts, and lower quality control. And if you are expecting just 2-3 years out of a set then maybe it’s justified but I would rather pay more and have something that lasts 5-7 years.launch

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December 7, 2025

@lfazio9690

Great review people and Happy Holidays! \n\nI’ve went through two TCL TVs purchased at different times, as well as one Hisense. Regardless of performance, I don’t believe TCL or Hisense achieves the same product quality as Samsung, LG, and for sure Sony. Yes, they’re more expensive but offer the buyer greater confidence in long term durability. Just my 2 cents for today. \n\nYou and Kristi keep up the great work!launch

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December 7, 2025

A gamer moving from an OLED G1 to a similar VA-panel TCL noted heavy dark/black smearing during motion in dark scenes, making titles like The Last of Us Part II harder to play, though brighter games were unaffected.

@Dog3D

I went from a G1 77\" to QM8K 98\" \n\nIf you guys game at all, you will notice a heavy amount of dark/black smearing when motion occurs in dark scenes. If you care at all, this will definitely bother you and there's not much you can do since it's a VA panel. \n\nTLOU2 (a lot of contrast and dark scenes) was noticeably harder to play because of this. You can get somewhat used to it but I started playing less and less games because of this issue and resorted to movies. It's something that is hard to handle after gaming on an OLED for so long. \n\nSports games and other brighter games will work fine since they are often bright and vibrant. Just something to keep in mindlaunch

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December 8, 2025

One user described slow boot times, an oddly laid-out remote with unpredictable color-button behavior, inconsistent eARC connection speed, and confusing HDMI input handling as ongoing frustrations in daily use.

@samlevine4863

Hey Andrew, this stuff is great but I have a TCL and in use, it's hard to be thrilled. The remotes are slow, oddly layed out and not great. Color buttons do weird stuff. Sometimes hitting home gets you to settings? It takes a full minute to start. It connects to my receiver with eARC but it takes it's time. Change inputs has a feature of giving you time to use the bathroom sometimes, sometimes not. Yep, changed HDMI cables although there is no way to test if it is going to make a difference . So do I put the xbox to the set or receiver? TV and HiFi are still a mystery to me and I bet I'm not alone. Please help uslaunch

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December 8, 2025

A reported bug across the QM lineup freezes playback when skipping ahead in media apps like Plex or Jellyfin, requiring a restart or cache clear to fix, affecting all streaming apps similarly.

@magnus33john

Turns out there is a odd bug with the QM line up. If your using media apps like say plex or jellyfin and skip ahead in say a movie it well freeze the playback and there no way to get it working again short of a restart or clearing the cache. This isn't app related as it happens on all of the streaming apps in the same way.\n\nLikely fixable with a software update but it's surprising something this easy to find slipped through.launch

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October 2, 2025