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 $349.99 (click here) Category: Car Audio or Theater See more product details |
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Customers in the UK,
Buy this product at amazon.co.uk
for British Pounds
Digital Cameras Photo Reviews of Escort Passport 9500ix Radar/Laser Detector (Black)
Customer Review: Escort 9500ix does the job!
Summary: 5 Stars
This radar detector is the best one I have ever used. Not slightly better, unbelievably better.
I originally bought a Valentine V1 and I was very impressed with its range but couldn't take it going off all of the time.
I then purchased this one and it has made all the difference. I sent the Valentine V1 back. This one picks up nearly as far. It may have slightly less range than the V1 but still way more than anything else. But it is worth the difference. It rarely goes off on false alarms, but after a week it had learned all of the few false alarms in my city and now it never goes off unless it is real.
I went with a friend on a work trip 8 hours away and we took my Escort in his car. He was very impressed. It only went off about 7 times and all of them were real. The first time it went off, we didn't see anything and he said "so much for the false alarms." But then after a few minutes a police car topped the hill. The range was just so good you couldn't see the car yet but it could! After that trip, he is definitely buying one.
I live in Alabama and have never seen the speed camera part of it work since we don't have those in the cities I have visited but I have used the Mark button to mark entrances of places where I have trouble finding the driveway at night and it works great. It goes off about 500 ft before and starts counting down distance. It even shows an arrow to let you know what side of the road it is on.
The V1 is built better physically with its metal case and physical knob. This one has a cheaper plastic case and buttons but the electronics and GPS are so advanced. The brightness of the LED's can be put in automatic so the brightness varies with the sun so at night it is not blinding you but it gets really bright during the day so you can see it. And the display on the front can be changed to show different things. I have mind doing a KITT type thing with a dot scanning back and forth. Looks kind of cool. And I really like the voice announcements. I thought I would turn that feature off, but instead I really like it. The volume also softens after the initial beeps so it gets your attention but then quits being so loud. All these settings and tons more can be adjusted using internal menus on it.
Customer Review: The best radar detector ever.
Summary: 5 Stars
I had a wonderful stroke of luck when my 9500i started acting up on me within the return period, and found this in the gold box.
In a word: "wow".
Like the 9500i, the range is nothing short of outstanding. I'm "seeing" police cars nearly a mile away on the highway, and in more than enough time to slow down in the city. The actual alert is enough to get your attention, and with AutoMute, it quiets down fast enough that you're not being constantly nagged.
While I really liked the 9500i, I absolutely love the 9500ix. Having a detector that *accurately* detects and locks out false alerts automatically is absolute bliss. Not only is it great to drive without hearing the detector going off every time you go near a grocery store, but I've also found that I pay much more attention to the alerts, now that I know the alert is real.
Sadly, though, Escort has left their Mac users completely in the dark, if you plan on pushing updates to the detector. Even if you're running Parallels or VMware Fusion (the VM's won't see it connected as a USB device). So, plan on doing Boot Camp or borrowing a Windows machine from a friend if you're looking for updates. The software itself is very good, and gives you lots of point-and-click options that you'd otherwise set through the on-screen menus built in to the detector.
You'll also find that while Escort gives you a very nice (though ridiculously huge) carrying case, they do not include a USB cable or way to power the detector outside of your car if you're doing updates. The USB port on the detector is a generic mini-USB port, so you don't need to buy a special cable if you already have something like a Treo, BlackBerry, PS3, TomTom, Canon digital camera, or other device that uses mini-USB cables. But, you'll need to figure out a way to plug in the cigarette lighter adapter if you're not taking a laptop to your car for updates.
Customer Review: Buy Some Accessories
Summary: 5 Stars
Easy to install in the car and works out of the box. However, I strongly suggest you read the manual first. If you're like me, one of the main reasons I went with this one was because of the database of redlight cameras, etc. Since there's no telling how long it's been on the shelf before it arrived in the mail and you took it out of the box, you'll want the most current database available. Escort updates it weekly and you get 90 days free trial and I think after that it's $19.95 per year.
I didn't realize the true impact of needing a 12V dc power supply. I figured maybe I could connect it to my pc via USB and it would draw whatever power it needed from there like some of my other gadgets. No. It needs a 12V dc power source and the only thing I had was the one where it plugs in the car. That meant I had to drag my laptop out to the car in the middle of the night to update the unit. (If you're impatient like me you'll want to play with this thing as soon as you get home from work.) So, today I went back to Amazon and ordered an adapter so I can power it up from my local 120V ac outlet inside the house. Much more convenient to update if via my desktop pc.
And, if you have two cars you'll probably want another mount kit and smart cord. Saves the hassle of remounting it every time you drive the other car.
Almost forgot. Make sure you read the manual and note the default settings. POP, Ku and some other settings default to OFF. Most likely you will probably want to change a few things.
As far as how well it works....???? Don't really know yet. I've only had it a couple days and drove to work with it once so far. It picked up the one hidden camera I knew about and mentioned a couple others I didn't know about even though I had not at that point updated the database yet. I'm optimistic.
Perhaps more to follow after I've had it awhile.
Customer Review: Simply amazing product and I love it
Summary: 5 Stars
After I did a lot of research, It pretty much came down to to V1 or the passport red line Vs the 9500ix. I ended up picking the 9500ix because the GPS functionality (which works great, and the unit is so quiet after the first couple of weeks of driving on the same routes), which significantly reduced unwanted signals and while keeping it on highway mode, keeps its sensitivity very high.
I like the Auto mode for adjusting both audio and brightness.
It picked up scatter laser and alerted me, which highlighted the importance of installing laser jammers (since I initially thought, there is no laser being used where I live now).I ended up installing the Blinder M47. I think they are the best affordable combination, and If you search around and buy them separately, you can save extra $300-400.
I bought the detector from Amazon. I originally bought one for my wife too, but she didn't think she needs one so I had to return it. Will see, I hope she doesn't get a ticket, because I am the one who eventually pay for it :-)
I bought the blinder from hayneedle (my first purchase from them and I think they are good like Amazon), they had promotion code which saved me $192 from the regular M47 price, which was even lower than they advertised on their website, and yes they are certified and legitimate website, since I looked them up first on BBB website , then called blinder USA and confirmed that they are and that my product will be covered for warranty.
BTW.. if you buy the detector from Amazon directly (not from any other sellers through Amazon), you are covered under warranty , since I called Escort and E-mailed them , after reading some warning reviews about that.
Please drive carefully, for your safety as well as the safety of others around you
Customer Review: Totally worth the expense!
Summary: 5 Stars
Lets just say I was a bit skeptical when my dad, a lifelong Passport driver, told me to ditch my Cobra detector and buy the Passport 9500ix. Thinking he was just partial to what he knew, I asked him why I should spend so much more on this detector. After going through a laundry list of why (better radar detection, GPS technology, it saved him from a ticket on a recent drive to Columbus...) I relented. SO glad I did! As soon as the detector came in the mail, I opened the box and my immediate reaction was: SEXY! The 9500ix is way sleeker than my old clunky Cobra. As we all know, looks arent everything, and the 9500ix doesn't stop there. Mounting the detector to my windshield was easy, and I was off and on my way to see how well my new investment worked.
The street I live on has a 90 degree curve where cops love to wait to pick off unsuspecting drivers. My old Cobra never picked up the signal going around the curve, but I was at least 750 feet away from the curve, and my new 9500ix has already alerted me to the cop--from around the curve! Not only did the 9500ix alert me with sound, the bright LED screen told me my exact speed I was going when it sensed the cop's radar, which instantly tells me if I need to slow down. Wow!
It gets better from there: after only 2 days of driving around my neighborhood, no longer do I hear the chirps of X band as I go by Walgreens or Krogers, as the detector has locked out the signals. After driving for years with my old Cobra going off for every door opener around town, the silence on my detector is amazing--now when I hear the 9500ix go off, I immediately slow down and sure enough, yards away is a cop waiting to ticket an unsuspecting driver. From now on, the "unsuspecting driver" wont be me. If you dont want it to be you--get one now. You wont regret it.