Escort 8500 X50 Black & Beltronics Pro300

[Jrey]

As we all know, the 8500 X50 is a superior radar detector, but I came across the Bel Pro 300 which is significantly better than my now dead 955, i want people's honest opinions on these two as ill be making a big trip down to San Diego in two weeks, i want something that isnt to hard on the wallet but dont want something disappointing, i had real good detection with my 955 but since its useless now im gonna take the plunge and getting a new one, what would be best suited? theyre about almost similar in pricing as well

[goodtimes40]

bel pro300 hands down.
usa scanning mode, superb off axis, no sws and no ku makes a faster response detector. best for the money. amazing on ka bands and k band superb too. double the range of the bel rx65.
mine gets 2.5 miles k band straight on from drone.

[SportsFan]

bel pro300 hands down.
usa scanning mode, superb off axis, no sws and no ku makes a faster response detector. best for the money. amazing on ka bands and k band superb too. double the range of the bel rx65.
mine gets 2.5 miles k band straight on from drone.

Other than USA mode, everything you said applies to the 8500 X50 Black as well.

I'm not denying that the Bel Pro300 is an outstanding detector, I have no doubt that it is. But saying "hands down" implies that this isn't a serious question or a worthy discussion when clearly it is. These two are comparable enough that it's like asking which soft drink, Coca-Cola or Pepsi. I like Coke better, so I would say Coke....but if I said "hands down" I'm sure there would be a Pepsi drinker out there that thought I was drinking kool aid rather than a soft drink.

[goodtimes40]

Let me rephrase. of the two top dogs being the x50 black or pro300...they are both excellent and the best in class with just a little performance/feature gap is all. ide take either one over a valentine. passport is excellent if not better depending on conditions. the bel pro300 to me is a little faster response and will wait to see if true in upcoming testing. faster especially in all 3 ka bands. once again..wait for some testing.

[TurboDriver]

I have both new units X50 and 300. I run 300 wife has x50. Angled display is easier to see on X50, and has more fancy options as for performance the 300 seems more consistent has better off axis, and with USA mode it should be slighty quicker-I also find less cobra falsing. I personally prefer the 300, but both are good units. I think K band is stronger on 300, but both rock on Ka 35.5 where I live.

[TurboDriver]

Here is a clip from one of my other post where I was wondering about the reaction of my detectors. I borrowed a buddies old X50 Silver to help in my test-I only had A couple of K band sources no Ka.


Well... I did find some interesting things during my half-A$$ version of testing however.
On K band---My Bel 300 beat both X50’s on off axis detection. I did a little test, about 6 each, where I started at 90 degrees and rotated the detector until it alerted. At the distance to source that I was at, I had alert at 50 degrees for the Bel 300, 40 degrees for X50 Black and 35 degrees for X50 silver. In off axis detection range I averaged 1/3 more distance with the 300 over the X50 Black and 2x more than the X50 Silver. I was not able to do a straight-on long distance (No off axis) as I could not get far enough away to get out of range and still be straight on (terrain and buildings). All were done on Highway mode--one interesting note, when I put the 300 on Auto it lost 10 degrees of detection and ran par with the X50 Black.
Now I need to find a Ka to do some testing to see how they compare to that. I would love to see others people do some test to see results. There are tons of tests on the high end detectors but few on the “Average Joe“ ones and with new models on the market like the 300, it is nice to know if there is value in these units, and if there REALLY are any improvements –being that the Bel 300 replaced the RX 65.

More unofficial comparison testing to follow..

[goodtimes40]

glad someone noticed the pro300 rocks besides me. the pro300 is once again way better than x50 black(my opinion) both are good.
ka testing on the pro 300 is amazing. all 3 bands are solid and fast acting alerts with great ramp up. the bel pro300 kills it on k and all 3 ka bands and superb off axis too. amazing stuff! will post a ka video later.

[soulbyte]

I just recently picked up the 300, and returning a 78se. When purchasing the 300 I noticed that the electronics store was selling the 8500 x50 for $35 less. Should I return the 300 and pick up the x50 instead? Or does the 300 justify the $35 price difference?

[Buckdarma]

I just recently picked up the 300, and returning a 78se. When purchasing the 300 I noticed that the electronics store was selling the 8500 x50 for $35 less. Should I return the 300 and pick up the x50 instead? Or does the 300 justify the $35 price difference?

I am absolutely sure it does judging by members postings that have bought the new 300.

[Buckdarma]

I just recently picked up the 300, and returning a 78se. When purchasing the 300 I noticed that the electronics store was selling the 8500 x50 for $35 less. Should I return the 300 and pick up the x50 instead? Or does the 300 justify the $35 price difference?

The 300 appears to be a major upgrade unlike the 8500 in fact.