9500i vs STi Driver vs. RX65 vs V1

**buntaro** · 10-24-2007, 04:14 PM

It is hard for even me to believe that over the last 5 months, I have owned 4 different radar detectors. Here are my results. Please note that I am a non technical user, and my findings are based on my own experiences and opinions. I'm not interested in ripping apart a detector to find out how it works; I just want it to work when I need it most. Also, I am a serious speeder (yes, I admit it). I regularly go 10 to 20 mph over the PSL (never in residential areas or parking lots of course).

While my hat is off to those with an electronic engineering background on here who have taken the time to post technical details of different detectors, my purpose here is to post the results I have noticed while using the detectors in my regular driving. I hope this is helpful to some of you.

So here we go:

9500i--Nice idea, but no need to repeat all the issues with ramp-up (maybe fixed on newer releases?), the true-lock questions and the bad mounting clip. But the real problem I had is I am certain it missed some LEO hits with not much distance and not a great road curve. Sure, the filtering of false alerts makes this a quiet detector, and this may be the right way to go for some of you. I do not trust this detector, and tried and returned 2 of them before giving up. This item needs to be taken off the market and completely overhauled before I would try it again.

STi Driver--The detector is the most chatty and annoying detector I have ever used, even in City mode. It does perform well in giving warnings in most situations, and the laser alert does work (you better use a jammer, license plate cover and the Veil paint too though or you will get a ticket). The 33.8 bug and the fix may be ok, but do not leave me feeling very secure. The Bel RX65 performs just as well for less money, unless you really need the stealth feature.

Bel RX65--Good all around detector. Lots of falsies, annoying to the point of ignoring the real warnings. But, still, a solid unit that we use on our second car.

Valentine One (V1)--I do not want to come off sounding like some of the V1 fanatics on this forum, who rave about the device as if it were some kind of divine intervention. But, this is the best detector in my experience, and from that standpoint, the V1 fan club is right. It has the least amount of false alerts except for the 9500i, much greater range than anything else currently on the market, and is very easy to use. I am not sure what some critics are referring to when they talk about the complicated programming of the V1. Either they don't know what they are talking about and have never used the product, or they have an older model. I am using the 1.8 in Advanced Logic mode and if using this is too difficult for some, then my best advice is to just observe the PSL. I am sure there will be issues with this product, as a detector is always imperfect. Only going the PSL will guarantee no speeding tickets. But, from my on the street results, the V1 is the best currently available.

Some chattiness observed in the V1 even in Advanced Logic mode, but I don't want to miss the alert that keeps me from getting a ticket, so there is always going to be a trade-off.

**CJR238** · 10-24-2007, 09:05 PM

Nice reviews. You definitely sound like you are a good candidate for a V1. Its good to here that you think the V1 "has the least amount of false alerts except for the 9500i". We here allot of people complaining the opposite of the V1.

9500i--Nice idea, but no need to repeat all the issues with ramp-up (maybe fixed on newer releases?),

There is a fix for the 9500I's ramp up that some people didn’t like. It also aperies that the sensitivity has been improved. No need to take it off the market, it just simply does too much filtering/thinking for some people.

**Phillip559** · 10-24-2007, 10:17 PM

and I thought the V1 would get the bad rap for being too chatty

**Toronto-radar-chopper** · 10-25-2007, 10:48 PM

V1 with 6 second k band mute and rear antenna off is really quiet. If you turn off the bogey warning, is that beap only be off in logic mode or even in A mode.

V1 is the best and nothing can compare.

**CJR238** · 10-26-2007, 07:24 AM

V1 is the best and nothing can compare.

i could say the same about the 9500I. :wink:

**happya$$** · 10-26-2007, 09:35 AM

Originally Posted by CJR238

V1 is the best and nothing can compare.

i could say the same about the 9500I. :wink:

Not in terms of sensitivity can you say that

**buntaro** · 10-26-2007, 11:23 AM

Originally Posted by happya$$

Originally Posted by CJR238

V1 is the best and nothing can compare.

i could say the same about the 9500I. :wink:

Not in terms of sensitivity can you say that

It really comes down to something that might be called "propensity to incur a speeding ticket" or "risk of ticket" or some similar formula. The reality is that a less sensitive detector like the 9500i has a higher propensity for you to incur a speeding ticket, while at the same time giving you a quieter ride. It depends on what your priorities are, and the amount of risk you are willing to take on.

I would estimate the additional risk of getting a ticket using the 9500i vs. the V1 to be around 100%. It may be higher, but the risk in my opinion is at least double. The idea that a tiny CPU inside the 9500i can effective track and screen out multiple false bogies while only notifying you of the real threat is not realistic. Sooner or later, you are going to get nailed.

We all know what is so annoying about the chatty false alerts...it interrupts our cell phone conversations, and our listening to the stereo. Really, the best solution for this is to turn off your detector during this activity, and just go the PSL. For example, the 9500i claims that the alert volume is adjusted in light of ambient noise. So in theory it should be louder when you are talking on the phone or playing your stereo. But you could still miss an alert if it doesn't ramp volume up high enough.

If there were some technical way to measure the risk of ticket by detector, it would be very valuable. Even the GOL site does not have anything like that.

At the end of the day, I want the lowest risk of ticket, even if there is some annoyance of false alerts. Others may not have that prioritization, and feel the higher risk of a ticket is worth a quieter ride. But the idea that the 9500i somehow provides the lowest risk of ticket, and also the quietest ride, is something I do not believe, and is not valid with my experience with that detector.

Not to say the V1 is anything like risk-free, but just that it does, in my opinion, provide the lowest risk of ticket of the 4 detectors I have used.

**Virion** · 10-26-2007, 11:28 AM

Extremely weird results. Just about every reviewer and poster on here comments on how "chatty" the V1 is. My V1 is alot more chatty in comparison to my STi. My STi is extremely quiet in the Washington, DC suburbs. While my STi is slightly better than my V1 on 35.5 ka, I find the V1's sensetivity unequalled across all bands.

**buntaro** · 10-26-2007, 11:38 AM

Originally Posted by Virion

Extremely weird results. Just about every reviewer and poster on here comments on how "chatty" the V1 is. My V1 is alot more chatty in comparison to my STi. My STi is extremely quiet in the Washington, DC suburbs. While my STi is slightly better than my V1 on 35.5 ka, I find the V1's sensetivity unequalled across all bands.

Agreed, the majority of posts hold the STi as less chatty than the V1, but that was not my experience. I'm in the Denver, CO area, so that could be a factor. Also, not sure what version of the V1 you have, so that may also be a factor?