Escort Passport 9500ix Radar/Laser Detector (Black)
by Escort Inc.
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List Price: Our Price: $431.95 You Save: $68.00 (14%) Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days Buy Used: from $397.48 (click here) Category: Car Audio or Theater See more product details |
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Customers in the UK,
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Digital Cameras Photo Reviews of Escort Passport 9500ix Radar/Laser Detector (Black)
Customer Review: Depends on needs
Summary: 4 Stars
This detector is a great everyday detector for it's ability to remember false signal locations, in more urban settings. The product is good at detecting photo radar and intersection cameras and has the ability to remember falsies, intersection cams, photo radar and speed trap locations with the built in GPS memory function. Bonus-it gets quieter as it learns. It's a great product. I got to experience this when I was recently in Wash and Ore.
I chose to go with the Escort Redline instead. It has none of the 9500ix's GPS/memory features and in an urban setting will drive you nuts because it won't shut up. The advantage is for when one drives on freeways/highways away from urban settings. The Redline has Valentine like performance in so far as it can pick up laser and radar from farther distances than the 9500ix. It all depends on what kind of driving one engages in, where one lives and in my case whether or not your area has intersection cameras or photo radar. I live where those devices are not used at this time. In a perfect world one could use the 9500ix in town and the Redline for highway trips.
So if you are in an urban setting for most of your driving, have to deal with intersection cams and photo radar the 9500ix is ideal. For me I kick up my driving when I'm outside the city so the Redline suits my driving habits better. Where I drive one goes from an urban setting to a highway setting surrounded by forest in a blink of an eye. So my nemesis is the South Island RCMP Highway Patrol. They hide behind natural barriers, shoot the laser and step out and direct you to pull over. It's always fun to drive by the locations then honk and wave:)
I incorporate VEIL and Laser Shields on both my plates and have avoided a couple of tickets with this set up vs laser. The Redline gives the earliest detection, the VEIL and laser shield claim to delay a laser's ability to lock in a speed reading. So the combination allows one to slow down safely at reasonable speeds. Believe it or not police will use laser from behind. The police in my area give a 20kmh/12mph grace before writing you up. So @ 130kmh in a 90kmh zone my combination works perfectly. Of course if you are doing 150 in a 55 zone nothing will help you. The day I do get a ticket by laser with this combination, I'll be investing in a laser jammer. Laser Shield Anti Laser License Plate Cover Veil Anti-Laser Stealth Coating Escort RedLine Ultimate Performance Dual-Antenna Radar Detector (Black)
Customer Review: Switched from a V1 with mixed feelings
Summary: 4 Stars
I've used a V-1 for more than 10 years and have upgraded it once. The V-1 is an excellent detector and built very well. But... with the proliferation of fixed-position speed cameras and red light cameras, the V-1 simply does not cover enough of the threats (to use a Valentine term) that are out there. If I was only concerned with radar, I would have stayed with the V-1.
I find that the 9500ix seems to have a slightly better range than the V-1; however, the sound indication is much less representative of the signal strength, i.e., it seems to me that the 9500 has some sort of "smoothing" function such that the rate of beeping does not respond as quickly as the V-1.
The lack of arrows is also a negative for the 9500 as I found them quite useful when I had the V-1, but I am willing to give them up to get the GPS speed trap and speed camera location function.
The 9500 blue display is practically worthless. If it did not have the voice I would have immediately returned the 9500 as the display is completely unreadable 95% of the time during the day, due to the odd choice of blue, and the shiny gloss plastic front of the detector which acts like a mirror, showing reflections of the interior. Frankly I cannot see how this display ever made it into production... it truly is abysmal when the sun is out.
The ergonomics and perceived build quality of the 9500 is also quite inferior to the V-1, with the detector bouncing around on its mount, unlike the V-1 which was much more intuitive to operate and firmly mounted to the windshield.
I waited for Valentine to update his radar detector to include GPS as I really wanted to stay with the V-1 style, display, arrows, and bogey counter, but I finally gave-up and went with the 9500. I guess Mr. Valentine has mentally retired and it appears the V-1 will never be updated again from what I see.
So to conclude, if you are only interested in radar performance, and do not have a problem with lots of falsing, the V-1 is still the way to go. But if you, as I, want a GPS function to warn of fixed position camera devices, the 9500ix is probably the best choice out there today.
BIG PS:
Please note that some of the sellers on Amazon are "unauthorized resellers," e.g., Electronica Direct and 6ave are specifically identified as unauthorized resellers by Escort, the manufacturers of the Passport 9500ix
Check the manufacturer's website (escortradar) for the risks involved in buying from an unauthorized reseller.
Customer Review: So far so good
Summary: 4 Stars
Right out of the box this is ready to go. I found the suction cups adhered to my windshield quite well and with a good few wiggles the suctions cups held fast.
For the price, I agree with others about Escort should provide a USB sync cable. I also have been having trouble installing the software for updates. I followed the websites video tutorial exactly (be sure to watch it) and installed the proper Windows updates. ".NET Framework Vs 2.0" that is needed per a message window that pops up. I restart the install but it says it still needs the update. Can anyone help with that?
***EDIT*** This review was written afterhours. The next day I spoke to customer service via live chat on their website, they recommended ".NET Framework vs 3.5 with Service Pack 1". I installed this and the programs installed quickly and were very easy to use. ***END OF EDIT***
On my trip home the detector did pick up the store's alarm systems. This is supposed to be learned after a couple drive by's per consumer and manufacturer reports. Along the way I believe it did pick up a radar gun but I was not able to find out where it came from. It was in a heavy construction area with plenty of hiding spots.
I drove by a known speed camera (no camera, just the "your speed" indicator). The detector picked it up from around a corner to just barely line of site. But if it were a cop, I'm not sure if I would have enough time to react.
It also picked up a red light camera, but they have been disabled for quite some time in my state of Minnesota. Hence why I wanted to do an update of the device. With this experience, I would do the update right away.
Regarding needing to hook it up to a power source: you can get a converter or if you get a detector with serial number starting with "22", as is mine, you will not need it. You can just hook it up via the USB anywhere your computer is. There are countless wifi spots around any major city, including my city with a gov provided network, so those who need the update just need to sit outside their local coffee shop and download the updates. Either that, you can download them to your laptop, then go to your car and install them there. I do not believe you need to have the detector hooked up to your computer/laptop while it is hooked up to the internet at the same time.
I will review the product over the next week and give another update, along with experience with customer service helping with the firmware updates.
Peace!
Customer Review: Incredible Product!!!
Summary: 5 Stars
I recently purchased a Passport 9500ix and can honestly say it is by far the best detector I've ever owned. As a previous owner of several other brands including Cobra, Whistler and a V1, this one is light years ahead.
From the moment I mounted it in my car, (which was super easy with their mount) I knew this one was different. I proceeded to mount it on the glass and started driving it without even looking at the owner's manual. As I began to drive, I was alerted to several door openers that my other detectors didn't even see, which to me indicated that it was far more sensitive. On my way back home, along the same route, I was alerted once again to these same door openers. At this point I began to remember why I quit driving with a detector many years ago....false alarms! Now that I had a more sensitive detector, I was wondering if I could stand to hear all of this noise everyday.
The next day I went to work, (close to the same route as picking up my kids) and I was pleasantly surprised when I passed these same spots again. The 9500ix beeped once and displayed the word "stored". Not reading the owner's manual, I had no idea what this meant. When I arrived at work I grabbed the owner's manual and read it at lunch. To my surprise it meant that the 9500ix had locked out these locations, knowing they were false alarms. How cool is that? Now that they were locked out, I couldn't wait to drive by again and see what it would do. On my way home, sure enough no alerts. Only a small indicator in the upper right side of the display rotated, indicating it saw these false alarms but no audio alert was given.
The following day I was in route home from work enjoying my new detector when it began to register a Ka band radar alert. I'm not completely sure what the difference is between all of the radar bands, but I began to take notice and checked my speed. I drove almost a mile wondering if this was a false alarm. Sure enough, as I turned the corner, there was one of our local police officers sitting along the side of the road. I had sniffed out my first alert, and in plenty of time to check my speed.
As someone who has used several other brands and grew accustomed to false alarms, let me assure you this one is different. Better sensitivity without the constant beeping. I'm not sure why it took me so long to try a Passport, but I will say that I will not be driving without one ever again.
Customer Review: Expensive? Sure. Worth the Expense? Absolutely
Summary: 5 Stars
If I had to sum up how I feel about the Escort 9500ix in a just few words, it would be "this detector is absolutely incredible" and leave it and its five star rating at that. But, if I was looking at detectors and see the price of the Escort and read only "this detector is....", it wouldn't sell me, so I'll expand the review (please pardon that the examples I use relate to areas in and around the Twin Cities, but obviously they should apply to anywhere these situations may be encountered)
Why 5 stars? In short...
-Because it warned me of a couple of speed traps a little less than a mile out before I encountered the squads on 169 between Shakopee and LeSueur. This was of the utmost importance, not only because it saved me possible speeding tickets, but it also seemed to mollify my wife who was a little unsure that spending $500 on a "gadget" was a wise expenditure in this economy...
-Because the auto-learn feature absolutely works. For instance: There are two of those "your speed is" stationary speed notification signs on Ayd Mill Road, and after three passes it beeped and locked both those out, as well as a couple of consistenly false signals detected on Snelling Avenue (the GPS icon on the display spins, reassuring you that they are being picked up but are not being announced).
-Because you can update it with the latest speed and traffic light cameras across the country (not important in MN, but from what I've read from other reviewers vitally important in other states that use those methods to ticket.)
-Because it is extremely easy to use, and the blue LED display is very clear. Also, a feature on the smart cord indicates radar signal strength while in the "dark" mode, so you are not just hearing the initial announcement of a detection and then are left in the blind as to how close the signal source is.
-Perhaps most importantly; because it has been named "best in class" in the vast majority, if not all, of the independent reviews I read before shelling out $500 on a "gadget".
If you use a detector strictly for open highway use, I suppose you could get by with a more economical model, but if you want an effective, extremely long-range, GPS-enabled "Smart" radar detector for in-town and highway use, I humbly suggest you consider the 9500IX.