Help! Bel 895, 955, 995

[pbajaj]

Hi,

I am looking a for a "good" radar detector but also don't want to spend more than I have to. I have been hearing good things about the 895 but I dont see that on Bel's website any more. So has this model been replaced by the 955?

Is it worth the extra for the 995? Out of the three which do you recommend?

Many thanks in advance!

- Pb

[amoney]

895 and 955 seem to be identical, let alone the price is the same, the 895 was made exclusively for RadioShack distribution. There are many contradictions regarding the specifications between the two, however, the owners manuals seem to be identical verbatum, every feature. Although Beltronics apparently does not like to advertise so the extra money for the 995 when compared to the 895/955 does not seem to be worth it, but it really is hard to say what the difference in performance between them are. Are you really getting a significant performance increase going for the 995 or is it just those extra features that they are hammering you on as well as psychologicaly dragging you into thinking more money = performs better, performs better by how much like you ask is the big question. Perhaps there we be review of these detectors in the future.

http://www.beltronics.com/manuals/v955manual.pdf

The 955 does has Autoscan and does mention selectable bands (this last part is mentioned in the manual but not detailed would be nice if someone can confirm this) per the 955 manual!

The 995 has the extra Tech mode, Voltmeter, changable face plates, soft case.

So is the extra retail price just for those fancy features or do you get any significant performance increase?

Here is the Beltronics comparison of there detectors, I EDITED IT WITH THE YELLOW MARKERS TO SHOW THE REFERENCES THAT ARE LISTED IN THE MANUAL, ADDITIONALLY THE 955 HAS 3 CITY MODES PER THE 955 MANUAL: STD/LoX/NoX. Even their selectable features do not make sense by their own calculations, 6 verses 7, by there own list (bottom) there are more differences listed, so I also raise question to the sensitivity 8x verses 10x, is it really? Are they trying to make there expensive line of detectors look more valuable?



HERE IS THE ORIGINAL...

[Sparkknocker]

X2 amoney. Makes a great point. Personally I would go with the 955 for the features and is the same thing as the 995

[SmaartAasSaabr]

Bel has a far too confusing and vast range of mid-level detectors which are all basically the same (on paper).

There is the V895, the V955, the Pro RX55, the V965, and the V995.

The 995 is basically the Pro RX65 with less filtering. What are the others? I have suspicions that the 895, 955 and RX55 are all the same unit with different trim (the 895/955 using the same case with different logotype and the RX55 using an RX65 case painted dark grey).

[AliG]

955 is the 895

[asianfire]

The 895 is the same thing as the 965, not the others mentioned. The 955 doesn't have autoscan and an "8X'. The 895 does have autoscan and is a "10x"

the 895 doesn't come with a soft case. But who really cares. A $5 camera case works just as well.

[amoney]

The 895 is the same thing as the 965, not the others mentioned. The 955 doesn't have autoscan and an "8X'. The 895 does have autoscan and is a "10x"

the 895 doesn't come with a soft case. But who really cares. A $5 camera case works just as well.

The 955 manual specifically states that it does. Have you seen one in person?

[asianfire]

The 895 is the same thing as the 965, not the others mentioned. The 955 doesn't have autoscan and an "8X'. The 895 does have autoscan and is a "10x"

the 895 doesn't come with a soft case. But who really cares. A $5 camera case works just as well.

The 955 manual specifically states that it does. Have you seen one in person?

That does what? Have autoscan?

No, I have not actually seen on in person. The 955 that is. I was just comparing it to my own detector from the website

[SmaartAasSaabr]

That 8x 10x stuff is crap

[SportsFan]

I think when comparing different model versions (each priced differently) of detectors, that PRICE has to be a major deciding factor. For example, I had the V895 that I bought for $200...and I would have been perfectly content to keep it, had I not found the V995 at a competitor's store for only $5 more! Since the V895 was still within the return for full refund period, I returned it and bought the V995. BUT....had the cheapest price that I could find for the V995 been around $270 or so, even though I really like my V995...I still would have been content to keep the V895 (considering the difference in price). So price does determine the value, and that has to be taken into consideration when deciding which detector to purchase.....