Amazing range. Always loved the display, and the controls for all Escort products, and this is not different.

When POP mode is activated, I did notice a rather large increase in Ka alerts like the booklet stated.

I love this detector. By far the best detector I have ever owned. Accuracy and range is great. False alarms have so far been kept to a minimum. Huge difference in falsing between the Bel 926 I had and this unit. I love the display , the ease of operation with the detectors volume control & dim/city switches. The programmable options available to you are a nice touch too. I also love the fact that I could have the unit upgraded in the future if necessary.
I would have bought this unit sooner but price was a factor. It's worth the higher price in my opinion. It has paid for itself quickly! It has saved my rear end so many times in the past several weeks I've lost track. Best part was since Best Buy ran out of the X50 Intense Red, I was able to get the Brilliant Blue for the same price as the red. No complaints!

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Uniden LRD6499SWS, BELTRONICS 926 EXPRESS, & BELTRONICS 955, various older late 80's early 90's Escort units

Performed as well as my 8500, I love my 8500

No performance enhancements to justify cost or purchase

I own the 8500 and bought the x50 for my fiancee and we just returned from a 1000 mile trip through some of the most tenacious states for radar traps and I have to say that the x50 was a great DISAPPOINTMENT especially for the hefty price tag. Operating both units side by side for the entire trip my 8500 performed as well as the x50. That is to say that the x50 despite its claims did NO BETTER or no worse than my 3 year old 8500 unit. Both units have the same features with the exception of POP which is not in wide spread use as of this posting. Unless you are color blind or must have a blue display to be the cool guy or gal then go with the x50 otherwise save a few bucks and get the 8500 or keep the dough in your pocket and stick with your current 8500 until Passport comes out with a unit that is worthy of its price tag.

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Passport 8500 (2002)

Great 360 Range Radar/Laser Pickup Earphone Available (Would be excellent for staying alert if not paying attention). Bright Blue LED Will Save Money Very Accurate Many More

Cost $30 for upgrading and have to wait inbetween time while Manufacturer updates you for newest threats. Overall I would undoubtably still choose the Escort 8500 X50

The Escort Radar has been a virtue to have. It has saved me from countless speeding tickets, promise. Even when pulled over, no tickets, I know if they did radar or laser, obviously they didn't or the Escort 8500 would have litterally picked them up before I came to close (very confident). The radar has great 360 range, easily alerting me before cops get close as I'm checking everywhere, like, I know your aroud here, where are you. It is upgradable if new bands come out. I enjoy the look of the Blue LED. I purchased an Extended warranty. At about $30, it's a no brainer.

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I've had many Walmart Radars that have promised long range detection. The detection was only in viewing distance and really narrow leaving me wide open from my left to right. My range is easily better with the Escort 8500. I had a decision to make. Pay more tickets or fork out a little cash for something of great quality and save in the long run.

pretty box, blue color is a nice change $30.00 extra though,like the phone type cord

no reaction time, alot of false alarms in town,price to high for the junk i got

i researched the radar detector market for a while before deciding on the escort 8500 x50. i tend to have a lead foot and have had a few tickets, but have been lucky the last few years. i thought i'd get a new detector before my luck has ran out, so i thought i'd get the best on the market by all the reviews i'd seen. so far i haven't seen anything to be impressed by. i have passed numerous police with no warning. a couple times it did go off was when i was on a side road and a cop crossed in front of me setting it off; the other was a head on but only got about 3 seconds to react. luckily i was only going 62mph to start with. if anyone can help me out to why my new detector works so poorly let me know. it does pick up automatic doors pretty good. my review would be 1 out of 5 if that high; i probably be sending this egg back.

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radar detector i had 20 yrs ago had better reaction time, to bad i let a friend use it and he fried it.

K, Ka band picks up radar insanely far away allowing you to nail your brakes when doing 130mph cruising down the highway.

Suction cups tend to fall every once in a blue moon. Also i recommend a straight power cord and not the strechy swirly one.

I recently got my liscence suspended in New York, but my life is driving around and racing. I needed a radar that would maske sure i would never get pulled over again. The Passport 8500 x50 made that possible. Its K and Ka band control is ridiculously good. Better than any other radar on the market BY FAR!!! I recommend this to anyone who does not ever want a speeding ticket!!

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Nope!

-Ka band range -K band range -Filtering

-POP falsed a few times

This is my first detector and I had saved for a while to buy what I thought was the very best. I was right. This thing has already gone from Dallas to San Antonio and Dallas to Nacogdoches, and probably has paid for itself atleast three times. I don't drive fast, but I DO drive five or ten miles per hour over the speed limit. The range on this thing is unbeleiveable on the open highway. My mother and I were driving down a highway at 9:00 coming into San Antonio when we started getting weak Ka alerts. These persisted for well over five minutes and we just shrugged and thought it was a false. Much to our surprise but when we rounded a bend in the road, a Texas State Highway Patrol car was in the left lane going about 40 mph hitting people coming the other way with instant on. We had a lot of coal on the fire and decided it wouldn't be a good idea to blow the trooper's doors off. As soon as we passed him, I watched in dismay as he flipped the overheads on...and crossed the median to get someone coming the other direction. I had been watching the mile markers as we drove...3 miles of twisting highway to slow down after we got the first alert. I've learned to take this thing's word for it now and slow to legal speeds whenever it speaks up. Auto sensitivity is helpful; X alerts are low but sometimes gives a probable POP false. Our town's police department uses K band and Ka band and frequently run into speed traps, but the Passport always does the thing I paid $288 for. Still haven't had a laser alert, but I guess thats a good thing because I here whenever you do get an alert, it usually means you just got a ticket.

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Nada-first detector

1. Superior K, KA and now LIDAR protection-longer range and quickest circuitry due to newest state of the art DSP 2. Smart cord is included as well as a hard case 3. Mounting hardware is superior to "lesser" detectors 4. They have blue and red...I love my blue 5. Ability to turn off certain bands 6. The sounds are the same as the 8500 Classic...loud, clear and distinct-a different sound for each band 7. It is easy to use out of the box, but the expert meter is a great tool as well.--And as far a frequency display-X, K (sometimes LIDAR) will false a lot and KA can false. Frequency display is very important in some cases. It lets you know what is a real threat. 8. The platinum casing looks more expensive (can be a weakness as well) 9. This detector does not react negatively when in close range with other detectors 10. LIDAR has improved enough to where you have a prayer if you encounter it

1. It is more sensative hence falses more-accept any RD will false and either live with it or drive slower. 2. LIDAR falses from ambulances, tow trucks and the lights on a Chevy Avalange (actually these all use lasers, so it isnt really a false) 3. Their is always the question that early models could have defects but mine seems to get the job done well 4. The price has risen if you want the blue (but it is still an even 300 with the red)

Well here I am again. I was one of the first to get the 8500 X50. In January 04 I did an extensive review on the 8500. So you all may be wondering is it worth upgrading??? Y E S !!!! Their is a huge difference. The 8500 X50 obliterates the V1.8. Sorry Valentine guys, your K and KA protection is lacking. Last night I was driving next to a MazdaSpeed who had a V1.8. We both were hit with K Instant On. I had a least an extra second warning before him. In the game of instant on, every second counts. The new X50 has improved circuity for quicker responses to Instant On. Don't expect to see POP 3 on the road...it is innacurate and should soon be outlawed, but you will begin to see a lot of Instant On. LIDAR range is improved significantly as well. I have had a few LIDAR warnings. I have said Escort's strengths before and I have said it again...

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Other than the RX 65, any other product including the V1 (at least until the next gen Valentines are released) is going be inferior, especially to the highly potent Instant On radar guns. If you dont like the price of the big kid radar detectors, don't bother buying any RD at all, especially in Maryland.

Range, loud alerts, extremely customizable, solid, with a great power cord.

Pricey, not cordless, no electronic compass.

I have been on the ultimate hunt for a radar detector over the past 2 months. I have tried numerous units and have been disappointed by all except the 8500 X50. PNI's Silver Bullet and Escort's Solo S2 weren't sensitive enough for me. Bel's 995 and Cobra's XRS-9700 were plagued by too many false alarms. The X50 works great. It has spectacular range and nice loud, distinguishable, alerts instead of annoying voice alerts. The unit feels solid and doesn't vibrate/shake much when mounted on the windshield. The power cord has the modular plug connector vs. a regular pin/socket D/C adapter. This is a good things, because that is usually the first thing to go on a detector. Anyway, I am very happy with my purchase. Best Buy had the unit on sale for $284, I had a 10% off certificate, so I only ended up paying $256 for one of the best, if not the best, radar detector on the market. I'm glad my search is over, the folks at Best Buy and Circuit City were getting to know me too well!

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Bel Vector 995, Cobra XRS-9700, PNI Sensoro Silver Bullet, and Escort Solo S2.

smart cord, HP blue LED is soothing, automute is a must, solid build, 2 year extended warranty for only $29. Nice leather like solid case, quick release from windshield, easy as heck program, good filtering except POP.

although compact it is long about 1 inch compared to the rx65, no voice alert

I compared the x50 blue LED with V1 and rx65. all three detectors are good. It came down to ergonomics, filters, price, and the soothing HP blue led. The V1 has better range about 1 mile for the aging x-band. All 3 detectors have good range for k-band(2.3miles), ka-band(2.5 miles), and x-band(V1-3.3miles, rx65 and x50 has about 2.5miles). The rx65 and x50 are identical as beltronics and escort has merged into one company. The main difference is the rx65 has ku-band for european drivers and voice. It is slightly shorter (about 1 inch). the V1 is 1 inch wider. The main reason I struggled between purchasing the rx65 or x50 was the price and I really like the Blue LED. It is quite soothing to the eyes, especially at night. I got the x50 blue for $275 and could not get the rx65 for less then $329 from an authorized dealer. Beltronics and escort are clear that you must purchase the detectors from an authorized dealer or the warranty (1 year or extended) is void! I could have purchased the rx65 from ebay for about $265 but without warranty. I purchased the 2 year extended warranty directly from escort for $29. I have received several false POP alarms or at least I think I have. This detector is so sensitive that I picked up a Ka-band reading from about 2 miles away, thinking it was a false alert! The V1 does NOT have POP for Ka-band and costs about $399. The x50 has multiband readings for 8 simultaneous bands so you can get a reading for 4 x-bands, 2k and 2 ka bands at the same time. the rx65 only shows 3 bands with a numerical strength of radar. I get false readings by drug stores and home depots but I am use to it by now. The x50 has saved me several tickets...no joking. It is solid and heavy, so you can tell the quality is great. The best feature is the smart cord (also the rx65 has it) that allows a total mute at the touch of your fingers. The automute is a must as it significantly lowers the sound. Plus, I liked the beeping tones on the x50 compared to the rx65. You cannot disable the beeps with the rx65 only the voice alert. I did not want a voice and beep while trying to determine the location of threat, it would drive me crazy. The blue led is bright enough in direct sunlight, yet at the touch of the button you can dim. THey say the cord is 8 feet long but it is more like 4 feet long. I place the radar high on the windshield just below the dark tint of window on the driver's side of the mirror and it works great. I just have to learn to take these alerts seriously as you rarely get false alerts besides drug stores and certain areas. The blue LED cost $40 more then the red, so if blue is no big deal, then get the red. escort will upgrade the normal 8500 to POP enable for a small fee if out of warranty and free if still under warranty. The x50 uses a different V-Tuned radar than the 8500 so it is more sensitive according the escort, I would not know for sure, it could be selling point. If you have the 8500, I would not upgrade to the x50 but if you do not have the 8500 or another detector, I would definitely buy it. You can try these detectors side by side if you purchase through crutchfield.com, but you will pay close to retail with a 30 day no question asked return. I do not know about lasar as I only had 1 reading and turned on another road. The POP alert will give you a heart attack so keep the unit turned somewhat low.

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uniden

very sensitive, POP protection, easy to conceal

k band falses slightly more than original 8500, but not a big deal when using spec or expert display. Suction cups don't like hot weather.

The x50 rocks. k band is slightly better than original 8500. X band turned off (turn it on if you ever go to New Jersey.) Haven't encountered POP yet. Big difference in ka sensitivity. Here in Virginia the cops drive around most of the time with constant on radar, very easy for this detector to alert you to radar very far away. The other night the ka band went off with a weak alert for well over a mile, i thought there must be a trooper ahead of me with constant on radar moving in the same direction as me becuase the alert was so long. Turned out to be a stationary trooper miles down the road. i couldn't believe how far away the x50 picked up the ka signal, i could have been going 150mph and still had plenty of time to slow down. How the x50 compares to a few others: Friend of mine has the V1 and I would agree that it is a great dectector. Range seems to be almost as good as the x50. The only bad things I can say about the V1 are...... no POP3 protection, all dark mode not standard, it falses slightly more than the x50, cost more, it's big. Directional arrows are nice, but when you get used to your detector and are not a rookie radar detector user you can determine the direction of the radar by how it alerts. Beltronics RX65 seems to be about the same as the x50. Maybe thats because Escort and Beltronics are the same company now. Only bad things I can say about the RX65 are...... it's bigger than x50, expert display only shows 1 signal for k and ka bands the x50 shows 2, volume is not easily adjusted. The RX65 does have voice alerts and ku band for europe, the x50 does not. Overall I think the best radar detector right now is the Escort 8500 x50.

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Escort Shifter ZR3, Laser Shield on front license plate, Veil anti-laser coating on head lights and other reflective surfaces, black bra