Sony Bravia xr-65a84j - sound is muffled on loud noises (i.e. like someone is talking underwater)

Josejdennis — Wed, 19 Aug 2026 12:16:24 GMT

Sony Bravia 65" xr-65a84j - sound is muffled on random loud noises (i.e. like someone is talking underwater). We don't have a sound bar or home entertainment system connected, this is happening purely via the fancy inbuilt speakers through the screen itself.

Only just started happening the past few months. It isn't constant, just seems to be when a loud noise appears in the movie or tv show, the sound kinda dips/cuts into this muffled/underwater style vibe for about 2 secs then cuts back to normal. Its very strange. Things I've tried so far that AI/Google suggests:

Reset the sound settings to default factory setting

Hard powered off via the wall/plug

Adjusted Equalizer/Bass

Toggled between compressed to standard for dynamic range

Ran Acoustic Auto Calibration. Tried this both on and both

Ensured all software updates have been applied

Equipment that is currently attached to the TV:

Sky Q box

PS4

Nintendo Switch

Anyone else seeing similar issues that can suggest a solution? The only thing I haven't tried is replacing the HDMI cables for each device that is connected.

This is driving me nuts, ha.

Thank you.

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Sony Bravia xr-65a84j - sound is muffled on loud noises (i.e. like someone is talking underwater)