V1 all the way. dont listen to some of those sites. a lot of them are funded by the makers of certain radar companies. very biased. V1 is the most sensitive and strongest of them all. This is a good and bad. some people get annoyed at its sensitivity but i dont use a detector on regular streets. only on the highway. and on the highway 95% of the time if its a K or Ka band its a cop

 

i had both the blue x50 and the v1. both were stolen at separate times. i loved the arrows on the v1, and the gps of the 9500 seems too gimmicky to me.

 

I have the passport 9500 and i love it. Get it and you will too. Both 9500i and 9500ix have the gps capability to mark locations and let you know what speed your traveling at, but the 9500ix has speed camera locations that you update by going to there website. The 9500i has a red screen and the ix has a blue screen. I think thats about it?

 

i have both the V1 and the newest 9500ix. the 9500ix with gps is HANDS down the best radar detector i've ever owned. i love my arrows on the V1 but it's annoying as hell and at night it's hard to tell which band is going off because they're all in red. you really have to tune your ear to recognize the sounds.

the 9500ix isn't cheap. i paid just under $500, but it has the gps location markers, red light camera warning, speed camera alerts, voice alert, x-band shut out, and you can update via the internet to update locations of all the above. if it had arrows it'd be the best ever, but you quickly get used to not having the arrows believe it or not.

 

I went wireless with the Solo2 from Escort. Long battery life and it has the highest range of all the cordless models I think. I just used it on a roadtrip from Louisville to New Orleans and got more than enough warning on the highways.

 

I'm in between the 8500 X50 and Bel RX65, but think I'll end up getting the Bel because it has voice alerts where the Passport doesnt. One of the newer GPS models would be nice, but I don't want to pay the extra $150, plus I don't think that the benefits are worth it to me (I also think they're a little gimicky, and only care about traffice cops on the highway, which the X50 or RX65 should be great for)

 

I've ran the V1 and the 8500 x50 on my windshield at the same time off and on for about 6 months. They had the same sensitivity every time. They may have gone off half a second from each other either way, but most of the time they both lit up. The v1 has 4 red leds that can't be deciphered easily at night. The passport tells you on the display exactly what it is.

The 9500 isn't gimmicky around town. How many times do you have to silence K in front of the same store every single day? That gets old. The 9500 remembers every cancel you make and doesn't bother you. The only time it goes off around town is when it needs to.

 

i heard this isn't a good/accurate way to compare as radar detectors pick up signals from each other (hence the 'J' on the v1)

 

What are your thoughts on the original 8500? I'm in the same position as the OP and for budget reasons I have also narrowed it down to the 8500X50 or the RX65, but there is someone selling a used 8500 (non-x50) for about 1/3 the price of a new Escort or BEL (in Canadian dollars, $385 after taxes for either the 8500X50 Red or RX65Blue and $120 for the used 8500 in Red). I'm prepared to ante up for a new unit, but it seems the major difference between the 8500x50 & the 8500 is the POP mode, which a lot of people turn off anyways.

Also, I've read cases where the radar might quit working after a period of time b/c of overheating, etc... Anyone on here have that problem?

To the OP, good luck on your search and be careful of grey market units.

 

the non-X50 8500 doesn't catch POP radar, so you could get caught with your pants down if the troopers have new equipment.