Is the 9500i a worthy upgrade from X50?

**Regalized** · 03-19-2008, 12:57 PM

I have an X50 right now and love it to death. Detection has been great for me. No complaints there.

Lately I have been thinking about buying the 9500i. Would that be a worthy upgrade from an X50? I mostly drive on the highway and some around the city. Apart from the gps and truelock feature there very similar, correct? Those features aside. Is the detection rate $150 better?

I guess you could say i'm more or less looking for a new toy and needed your opinions on the 9500i's worth to sway me in that direction.

VI is not an option, so don't bother. My friend has one and its like listening to a parrot all day.

Thanks

**Loiosh** · 03-19-2008, 01:01 PM

It's not $150 worth of upgraded detection ability. The X50 and 9500i are both very nice.

**MEM-TEK** · 03-19-2008, 01:47 PM

Hi Regalized,

Welcome to the forum!

If your driving habits were reversed -- mostly city and some highway -- then I would say the 9500i is worth it in order to greatly reduce false alerts. If you currently are getting very few false alerts during your normal highway driving then I really can't see the point in spending an additional $150 if you are really happy with your X50. The only caveat is that the 9500i is roughly 3dBm more sensitive on Ka band compared to the X50, which theoretically translates into 40% more maximum range. Unfortunately atmospheric humidity absorbs radar and, unless you live in a very dry environment, you likely would only see something like 25% more range. Is that worth an additional $150 to you?

**djrams80** · 03-19-2008, 03:16 PM

^X2. I have an SRX(similar to the X50) and the 9500i. The 9500i definitely gets better detection range, but not dramatically so. I posted this horrible video comparing the two against a Ka trailer, but you can probably get the idea:
http://www.radardetector.net/viewtopic.php?t=34029

**SAfricanCracker** · 03-19-2008, 03:32 PM

Get a V1...

Hahahaha!

Ok ok, in my opinion. Get the 9500i. I will one day get it myself and make a V1/9500i combo in my car. But one thing I would like to add. Maybe give Escort some time to perfect their 9500i. I'm going to wait about a year before getting it, hopefully by then the RD will run like water on ice.

**MEM-TEK** · 03-19-2008, 04:20 PM

Originally Posted by SAfricanCracker

...Maybe give Escort some time to perfect their 9500i. I'm going to wait about a year before getting it, hopefully by then the RD will run like water on ice.

Perfecting it in terms of sensitivity -- thats already was done last year. Any 9500i produced since mid to late last spring has the tweaked performance.

**CJR238** · 03-19-2008, 04:46 PM

Cant get much better than it is now, anything that could possibly be updated was.
The only thing left is the USB and Jim is working on it.

Some of the features besides the slightly better detection range make the 9500I worth the extra $150 over the X50, and im not talking about TrueLock.

The 9500I is probably one of the most interesting RD's made and has a tone of interactive features. You got to play with it to find out. 8)

**acura_driver** · 03-19-2008, 05:08 PM

i upgraded from an X50 Rev 6.1 to the 9500i last month. i went through the exact same thing weighing my options and in the end i favored the upgrade. why you might ask? simple: i'm looking at the future. with the coming USB capabilities and individual tweaking that may come down the road, that is ensuring i have a radar detector in 2 or 3 years that will still be going strong.

i bought my 9500i from a guy on ebay who had purchased it and used it once for a really long road trip. it was practically brand new and i got it for $385 which was a great deal in my eyes. i haven't sold the X50 yet (in the process) but i expect about $200 from that. so when all is said and done i'd have upgraded for less than $200 to a $450 retail detector. can't beat that.

that aside, the 9500i is really a much better detector in my opinion. all the features are awesome on it. one of those that stands out is the auto mode; it is not the same as the auto mode on the X50 bear in mind. this mode has a lot of neat things programmed into it including the ability to change sensitivity based on your speed using GPS. the other feature i love is the voice alerts. i find them very handy on a daily commute. there are so many more features you do have to check them out for yourself. this is certainly one of the most advanced detectors out there right now and you wouldn't be doing a disservice in getting it. i would check out ebay and craigslist for a week or so and see what they are selling for and then if you see one within reason, jump on it. i really don't think you'll be disappointed.

**Super Dave** · 03-19-2008, 08:08 PM

Be careful with buying used though - lots of horror stories on here...

**Regalized** · 03-19-2008, 08:52 PM

Thanks for the reply guys.

My X50 has never let me down and has caught anything thrown at it. Mainly because its just a tool and my common sense is my ultimate detector.

I was coming home tonight and I got a beep on the X50. It was a ka band hit. It started at the end of a curve and went down just under a mile. I finally saw the FHP sitting in the median in total darkness facing with the traffic. Pretty good in my eyes.

I might look into the 9500i. I always love new toys to play with. I can always give the X50 to my Dad he loved rd's. He still has the big black boxy looking 80's escort. And it still works till this day. Does anyone know if you can even upgrade it anymore? I wouldnt do it but I was just wondering.