8500 x50 vs. rx65 vs. V1

After hours of reviewing articles, radar tests at speedzones.com, radartest.com, http://www.radar-detectors.com, motortrend.com and others, I narrowed it down to x50, rx65, and V1. Not an easy choice for me.

THE SKINNY ON THE THREE DETECTORS
escort and beltronics have merged into one company, I think escort owns both. In fact, beltronics is two doors down (or three doors down...lol) at 5442 West Chester (escort is at 5440 West Chester). Both the x50 and rx65 have Superheterodyne, Varactor-Tuned VCO, which is new and significantly more sensitive to the 8500 escort. Both the x50 and rx65 have pop, which is rarely used except in Nevada but is experimental in other states. POP is a fast "burst" of instant on radar using existing radar frequencies like Ka & K bands. Officers cannot issue a ticket by just POPPING you, Pop is used to track a single car in a group and must be tracked using the radar ban like Ka. POP is what distinguishes x50, rx65 from the V1, which is not sensitive to Ka POP but is for K POP. Mike Valentine does not feel POP is a serious threat at this point. Owners of the 8500 can get a software upgrade for POP detection at no cost if under warranty or pay something like $85 if out of warranty. But the software upgrade will not make the 8500 more sensitive like the x50. POP also creates false Ka readings so it does increase false alerts.

x50 and rx65 are identical really. However, rx65 has Ku band for European drivers and voice (a male digital voice exclaiming "Ka band....Ka band". Another difference between the rx65 and x50 is the former has more sensitive POP at 4500 feet (detects 80%) while the x50 detects POP 60% of the time. A major difference is the ergonomics and display. Both units are 1.25"H, but the x50 is slightly wider at 2.85" (rx65 is 2.75") and longer from the farthest tip at 5.32" (rx65 is 4.75"). I say farthest tip as most escort owners know the display is tilted toward the left side (left side measures about 4.75"). This gives an easy reading for USA drivers but may prove a downfall for European drivers.

The V1 is wider than both other units (4.5" L x 3.6" W x 1.0" H) but is smaller in height and length. The V1 is constructed of die-cast magnesium so is much more durable then the solid plastic of the other units. The V1 has directional arrows for side, front, rear to alert you of the radar source and has a bogey count. The rx65 has multithreat mode that allows you to view three bands and gives the relative strength numerically, but only three bands. The V1 allows for multithreat reading but does not have text display and does not give strength of each signal. The x50 reads up to 8 bands simultaneously and gives a bar reading strength of each band. It takes some getting use to because the text display, although clear, is smaller compared to the rx65.

PERFORMANCE OF EACH UNIT
The V1 remains the champion for x-band sensitivity. It beats the other units by at least a mile. Both the x50 and rx65 have about 2.2-2.5 miles for x. All three units are neck to neck for K-band and Ka-band at 2.4 miles (on straight path). The V1 edges both units on lasar tests. All three units pick up lasar shot at the window and license plate at 1000 ft. However, the rx65 and x50 alerted to lasar at 500ft shot at window but only the V1 alerted at 500ft at license plate. This may be a meaningless test because once the unit alerts to lasar your dead. All three detectors are similar for rear detection according to speedzones.com.

FALSE ALERTS
I must say that I do not own the rx65 or V1, but the tests show that the rx65 and x50 have excellent filters for x-band and give few false alerts unless your near a home depot. The V1 sacrifices false alerts for increased x-band sensitivity. I have had several POP false alerts with the x50 but hardly no x false alerts and no Ka false alerts. Only 1 K false alert in the last 10 days of normal driving.

WHY THE X50 OVER THE RX65 AND V1?
Let me first say that all 3 units are superb. The V1 directional arrows are a selling feature that would be handy but not necessary. The V1 does not have some features that ruled it out for me. The V1 does not have automute. This is extremely important because beeping noises or voices can drive me nuts. The V1 does have auto-dimming but from what I read, still is bright. It does have a handy power cord with directional arrows! But this costs $39. I guess the lack of filtering or hypersensitivity for false alerts and price ($399) was a major downer for the V1.

The rx65 was a tougher choice. I went back and forth between rx65 and x50. It came down to ergonomics and display color and price. The rx65 has a recessed but straight display so when placing it high on the windsheild, it would be difficult to read. Plus the HP Blue display is soothing! I was undecided if I wanted a male digital voice screaming "ka band" along with beeping (now a female voice maybe a different story...lol, I digress). The rx65 allows you do disable voice but not beeps. I mean, if I could have disabled beeps and just have voice, then maybe that would be a different story. Also, the chirp alerts for the rx65 is different from the "raspy brap" alerts for the x50 which I find easier to tolerate. I rationalized that the increase POP sensitivity for the rx65 means more false alerts. But besides the soothing blue display, I found the x50 for $275 compared to $329 for the rx65 (and $399 for V1)

DETAILS ABOUT THE X50
The x50 blue display detector is a solid, somewhat heavy and long unit. It comes in a leather like handsome hard case with 2 suction cups, quick release mount and smart cord. The smart cord is so cool as it is within a stretched finger of muting sounds and allows the user to go in total dark (so not to alert officers or other drivers). I have the cool HP blue LED display and the smart cord power indicator is blue too. The blue display costs about $40 more than Red because it costs more to reproduce in smaller numbers (nice excuse isn't it?). The unit is easy to program and you must enable POP. This was tricky (this was the only thing I had to read the manual) as you have to push the mute button to enable or disable bands. The unit fits on the quick mount but you must push the top button to place on mount and listen for clicks until it rests against the window on a horizontal axis. The unit has a rear antenna shared with the forward antenna that is like a dark hump on the left side of unit. The rx65 is similar but the hump is on the right side of unit, which may be significant depending on how you place the unit because the hump must have clear path to rear window (must avoid back seats). Only the V1 has TWO sensors one rear one front. Placement of the unit has been a mini nightmare of sorts. It has been hard to gauge if I cleared the back seat and experts disagree on placement. V1 recommends high placements near the visor. Others recommend as close to the dash. The rule of thumb is the closer to the dash, the better LASAR detection, the higher, the better for RADAR detection. In Ohio, Officers can write you a ticket if radar is blocking or "obstructing" view. So I decided to place high, just under the dark tint (dark tint lowers sensitivity), just left of the rearview mirror. The cord dangles straight down and looks like a phone cord (I hope...lol). The Blue display is a significant reason I picked the x50 over the rx65. It is soft on the eyes and plenty bright even in direct sunlight. The suction cups hold up even in 85 degrees direct sunlight, but you must keep window clean. I tried pulling the suction cups off and almost dislocated my shoulder (not really but you get the point) until I saw on each inner suction cup a tiny overhang piece that removes the cups with surprising ease!

The unit has already saved me 3 tickets. On the first day, I was driving down a road know for tax collection and my Ka band alerted. I just figured it was a false alert because I did not see anything. But the alert kept steady then increased until a constant brap noise which in automute you can still hear but it is so quiet. Coming at me was an officer. Now I have not had a good detector. My old one was a Uniden and would go off more than stay quiet, so I was surprised how on this radar detector was. So far, I had 3 Ka band correct detections that was at least a mile or so in advance. No lasar detection yet. I get x-band readings and I again thought they were false, but Each x-band readings on highway (I drive with auto detect mode which the computer detects city or highway) was a highway patrol coming from the opposite direction. I mean miles away.

FINAL NOTE
I am pleased with the x50. So much so that I purchased the two year extended warranty for $29. AN IMPORTANT NOTE: I purchased my unit from http://www.sbhcorp.com, which is an authorized escort dealer (I called escort to verify). Neither escort or beltronics (rx65) will cover warranty (first year or extended) if you purchase the unit from an unauthorized dealer as both are clear on their websites www.escortradar.com and www.beltronics.com. I could have purchased the rx65 from ebay for $265 but I did not want to risk no warranty coverage, and price was a major deciding factor for me between the two units. SBHcorp.com does not sell rx65 but does sell other bel units. The best price I found for the rx65 was www.crutchfield.com for $329 with FREE shipping. If I purchased rx65 (or the x50) from respected websites, since I live in Ohio, I would have paid for tax and $13 additional shipping. So for $275 (+$10 shipping), I got the x50 for $45 less than the rx65, and I get the soothing HP blue display. What I did not get was the voice nor the safety warning signal. The x50 differs from rx65 and 8500 in that it does not provide SWS text or warnings. Escort and Valentine think it is a wasted feature because most highways do not provide SWS warning and was a selling feature that is worthless. I do not know if this is true, because I was bumbed out x50 did not have this.

Overall, I am pleased and feel secure with the 3year warranty on one the best portable radar detectors in production today.