8500 X50 Red or Blue?

**ctshort** · 01-31-2007, 03:44 PM

Hello all. I'm new to the world of radar detectors and I just discovered this forum. I like what I've read about the 8500 X50 and I'm trying to decide between red and blue. The blue seems like it would be easier to see/read. Any opinions? Thanks.

**Bear-Tweezy** · 01-31-2007, 04:42 PM

Originally Posted by ctshort

Hello all. I'm new to the world of radar detectors and I just discovered this forum. I like what I've read about the 8500 X50 and I'm trying to decide between red and blue. The blue seems like it would be easier to see/read. Any opinions? Thanks.

i think the red is easier to read during the night and some say the blue is easier to read during the day... i own the red one and it perfect in day /night conditions.... what color is ur car???? and what color are the lights inside your car at night when it is all lit up???? those are usually the determining factors on which color to get... not to mention the blue is $40 more

**ctshort** · 01-31-2007, 04:54 PM

My instruments are sort of reddish or orange (I think, although I'm red/green colorblind), so the blue would certainly stick out better. The car's color is called "silverstone" which seems to be a cross between silver and gray. Black interior.

**OnlyZ** · 01-31-2007, 05:01 PM

I owned an original 8500 in red and now I have an X50 in blue. I like the blue a lot better, it just looks cooler. The blue is brighter, but I never had any problem reading either display.

**Bear-Tweezy** · 01-31-2007, 05:02 PM

Originally Posted by ctshort

My instruments are sort of reddish or orange (I think, although I'm red/green colorblind), so the blue would certainly stick out better. The car's color is called "silverstone" which seems to be a cross between silver and gray. Black interior.

well then if thats the case red would match with it... but if it doesnt light up to much red then the blue wouldn look out o fplace... BUT it is your car and your RD so it all comes down to what you want at heart

**ctshort** · 01-31-2007, 05:23 PM

I see you're in Kentucky also. Do you see much laser use in your area? We hardly ever see it around Frankfort.

**Bear-Tweezy** · 01-31-2007, 05:25 PM

yeah i see it every freakin weekend on i-275 and some times on i-75 S and occasionally on Mall Rd. in Florence

**proudNMAmember** · 01-31-2007, 05:48 PM

Blue is nice but I never had a chance to try out the one w/ red display.

**TSi+WRX** · 01-31-2007, 05:51 PM

I posted this on another thread, but I think it perfectly matches the current one, so I'll re-post it here.

I have to confess that I like the blue, too - but for different reasons.

Blue glares. It glares a lot.

This is why "blue bulbs" are so frowned-upon by both lighting enthusiasts as well as serious automotive enthusiasts. It's also why we all frown on the higher-than OEM color-temperature HIDs.

I can still never understand why, for all the smart brainpower involved in automotive engineering, that so many vehicles within the last decade have come equipped, out-of-the-factory for that matter, with noticeably blue/indigo guages, which are not only hard to see at night, but also causes significant glare when brightness is increased.....

I can only chalk this up to a fad in auto-interior design, one, which, thankfully, we seem to finally be getting away from.

There's a reason that BMWs and other high-performance vehicles have favored red, amber, or simple white-light illumination of gauges and interfaces, at night.

But getting back to the "Blue" x50, the reason I like it so much is precisely that it glares. It even better captures my attention when it gives off warnings.

That said, though, I think that in-retrospect, I'd have bought a "Red" unit, simply as the illumination would have been more pleasing overall.