Escort 9500ix Radar Detector Review
“The Escort 9500ix is my number one pick for dash mounted radar detectors.” – Radar Roy 2009
The Escort 9500ix is a long range dash mount GPS based radar detector which includes Escort’s patented AutoLearn feature which automatically programs known false alert locations and a photo enforcement camera database which includes fixed position red light cameras and speed cameras (photo radar).
Last Updated – 10/3/2010
Still My Top Choice for the top dash mounted radar detector for the typical North American Driver!
Top Reasons to Consider the Escort 9500ix
End Those Annoying False Alerts! False alerts are the number one compliant among radar detector users and to combat this issue Escort incorporated their AutoLearn feature which utilizes artificial intelligence to automatically learn by the exact location and frequency each radar signal and determines if it is a real threat. The result is the most accurate long range dash mounted radar detector on the market and a permanent solution ends all those false alerts that you may have grown accustom to with other radar detectors.- Fight Back Against Photo Enforcement: States and municipalities have discovered a new cash cow, photo enforcement cameras. These automated speed cameras are everywhere today snapping our photo and mailing costly citations to our home and businesses. Escort Inc. developed has developed one of the most complete and accurate databases of known fixed camera locations with their DEFENDER Database for North America. Each 9500ix is shipped pre-loaded with thousands of these camera locations programmed into its memory. As you approach one of these locations the 9500ix will alert you in advance, keeping you ticket free. You can even program your own “hot spots” using the Mark Location feature. Programing updates to your 9500ix’s DEFENDER Database is easy online through their detector tools program.
Download New Firmware Updates Online: New firmware updates are developed by radar detector manufactures on a regular basis to address to address new and emerging technology from the police radar gun manufactures. In the past to have your radar detector upgraded, you had to pay to mail it back to the manufacture and wait weeks to get it back, not anymore! The Escort 9500ix is web ready simply connect your detector to your computer, log into Escorts website and download and install the latest firmware and Defender database updates in minutes.- Variable Speed Sensitivity: Most of the other radar detectors from other manufactures have two sensitivity settings to combat false alerts; Highway and City. The premise is when you set your radar detector to city; the radar detector is less sensitive and less prone to false alerts. The problem with this is if you forget to set your radar detector back to Highway mode when on the Interstate your detector may not have the range or sensitivity to pick up that patrolman around the corner and now you’re caught. Escort’s solution to this dilemma is their GPS based Variable Speed Sensitivity technology. The GPS inside of the Escort 9500ix senses how fast you are driving and adjusts the sensitivity accordingly and it never forgets.
- Easy Programming: Even if you’re someone like me who cannot program my own TV remote control I find the Escort 9500ix a snap in programming and set-up for its advanced features. The Escort 9500ix is pre-set and ready to go out of the box, but some of our power users may want to set the unit up to complement their own driving experience and personal preference. The easy to use 9500ix’s preferences menu allows you to do this in a snap. Don’t drive in an area where X band is used, turn it off; rather use the Expert Meter display, turn it on. It is that easy.
- Crystal Clear Voice Prompts and Alerts: Keep your eyes on the road, not on your detector! The 9500ix alerts you with clear and easy to understand voice alerts so you will immediately know what threats your detector is alerting you to.
- Self Adjusting AutoVolume: Nothing is more infuriating than having a radar detector go off and not hear it as it alerts you to a speed trap ahead. The 9500ix solves this problem by automatically adjusting the volume based upon the ambient noise surrounding you inside your vehicle ensuring that you will hear it even if you have your radio turned up or if you’re having a conversion with your passengers.
Frequently Asked Questions About the Escort 9500ix
- What is the price of the Defender Database Subscription? It is free for the first 90 days of ownership.A one year database subscription is $19.95 and a two year is $29.95. A card with your authorization code is included with each 9500ix when you receive it.
- Why doesn’t Escort honor their warranty from the detector I purchased on Ebay (or Amazon, Overstock and others)? Escort has a very strict Authorized Dealer Program and MAP policy to ensure that you, the consumer are getting the very best service and support, this policy is outlined in their manuals and on their websites. If you purchase an Escort radar detector from an unauthorized dealer and you have a problem with the unit or want to subscribe to their subscription service you will maybe denied or required to pay an extra possessing fee. For more information I invite you to read a post on my blog on how Overstock.com screwed one of their customers.
- Is Escort considering making a stealth version of the 9500ix?
No. - Does this detector have 360 degree protection?
Yes, every radar detector manufactured by Escort and Beltronics has full, 360 degree protection
Potential Issues with the Escort 9500ix Radar Detector
- As the Escort 9500ix is a corded radar detector therefore it requires a 12 volt power source and the 9500ix does come with a cigarette lighter power cord, however we do not feel that this is the best option. To address this issue consider purchasing either the Direct Wire cord or the Direct Wire SmartCord and watch my YouTube video here on how to direct wire your radar detector.
- As the Escort 9500ix is a dash mounted radar detector I recommend that you remove it from your windshield if you park for extended periods as it is a welcome invitation for some crack head to break into your car and steal it. Each week I am contacted by one of my followers telling me that they wish they would have headed my advice as now they are in the market for a replacement.Another issue with leaving your detector on the windshield emerges during the hot summer months. When parked your car becomes a green house and temperatures inside your car can easily exceed 150 degrees as the sun bakes the sensitive electronic components inside your radar detector (or GPS).Take your radar detector or any other electronic device off your dash and store them in your glove box or under the seat.
- The 9500ix is non stealth forget about those claims that radar detectors make about being stealth against the VG2 radar detector, that device hasn’t been used in years! If you are a professional driver (drive a semi truck) or drive in Virginia, Washington DC or other countries or providences where radar detectors are illegal police use a device called the Spectre to detect if you’re driving with a radar detector in your car. Therefore you need a radar detector that can beat the Spectre. There are only three manufactured today, the Escort Redline, the Escort 9500ci and the Beltronics STI.
My Bottom Line Recommendation for the Escort 9500ix
Based upon 20 year career in law enforcement and 15 years in the speed counter measurement industry I would rank the Escort 9500ix as one of the BEST dash mounted radar detector made today.
Other radar detectors in this same category that you may also want to consider would be:
- The Beltronics GX65: Slightly thinner case then the Escort 9500ix, red LED instead of blue, does not include the AutoLearn feature found in the 9500ix, range/sensitivity equivalent to the 9500ix.
- Escort Redline: I would classify the Redline as best suited for cross country interstate driving as it does not include the GPS photo enforcement database or TrueLock feature for false alerts. However the Redline is Stealth to all radar detector detectors and does have better long range sensitivity.
- Valentine One: Larger and heavier case then 9500ix and does not include GPS photo enforcement database or AutoLearn feature. Also you cannot download and install new firmware updates online to the Valentine as you can with the Escort 9500ix or Bel GX65.
My review of the Escort 9500ix is also backed up by literally thousands of other reviews and feedback from automotive publications and happy Escort 9500ix users that you will find online, a few of which are published at the end of this article.
If you support my quest as being an independent reviewer of the radar detector industry and wish to support me in my journey, please do me one favor, consider purchasing it at Radarbusters.com. As an affiliate and I earn a commission from them if you do make a purchase from them utilizing the links within this website that offsets my costs and time and supports my cause.
If you have any further comments or suggestions please contact me or use the comment box at the bottom of this article.
If you have any further comments or suggestions please contact me or use the comment box at the bottom of this article.
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49 Responses to “Escort 9500ix Radar Detector Review”
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If I had to sum up how I feel about the Escort 9500ix in a just few words, it would be “this detector is absolutely incredible” and leave it and its five star rating at that. But, if I was looking at detectors and see the price of the Escort and read only “this detector is….”, it wouldn’t sell me, so I’ll expand the review (please pardon that the examples I use relate to areas in and around the Twin Cities, but obviously they should apply to anywhere these situations may be encountered)
As someone who has used several other brands and grew accustomed to false alarms, let me assure you this one is different. Better sensitivity without the constant beeping. I’m not sure why it took me so long to try a Passport, but I will say that I will not be driving without one ever again.
I bought my 9500ix last summer, and it’s been an excellent performer! When I drive, its GPS notices the false alarms and after passing by the source a few times, it locks them out! It’s a pleasure to drive with such a quiet detector. It’s also accurate, too. Whenever it goes off, 99 percent of the time it’s a real alert.
The range is outstanding. I’ve had very long alerts on the highway with both K and Ka band. It’s saved me in every encounter. The voice alerts and gps based speedometer are a plus too.
One other feature I enjoy is the Database. Red light cameras are all over Dallas, and it warns me prior to approaching one. It’s also got various speed trap alerts from Escort’s database. That’s something most detectors don’t have.
I definitely recommend buying the 9500ix. Having owned a noisy one, it’s much nicer to have a quieter, more accurate device. You won’t regret it!
This is the best radar detector in my opinion for city/highway everyday use. Realistically, the only thing I could ask more out of this detector is better I/O performance with GPS on. I’ve seen testing that shows turning GPS off increases I/O performance, but otherwise, this is honestly worth every penny. Initial performance wasn’t where I expected it to be, but after 2 months and what Escort tells me is the detector “breaking in” I’ve noticed a significant increase in performance – enough to exceed my initial expectations. Hope this review helps!
How would Input/Output performance be affected by GPS radio?
Makes absolutely no sense!
I/O operations are typically done when the unit is connected to the computer.
Not I/O as in input/output, but rather “instant on” where the police unit triggers the radar gun via a trigger or remote. I can see where the GPS portion *may* potentially affect performance here as it eats CPU cycles processing GPS messages, etc
I find the constant engine static while on alert along with constant laser falsing makes it unusable. If bands have to be shut off, why have one. The previous Beltronics RX 65 worked flawlessly. After repeated electronics scrutiny by numerous electronics people, they can’t determine while it has constant laser falsing and major rpm static in all ares. Great idea but poor technology compared to units that completely work out of the box.
Very seldom any potential laser falsing on my unit, but who can say it is false unless you are going triple digits and don’t get pulled over?
Great product, but I just liked the range of the Redline better, and no cams here
I’am thanking about purchasing one of the Escort 9500ix units. Will this unit PICK UP LASAR RADAR ??. I prefer a dash mounted unit to beable to change to my other vehicles.
Thanks,
Wayne Wachter
For laser you need to have a laser jammer, not a radar detector. Check out the Blinder and the LI under the laser jammer tab.
Admin is correct. It the laser alert goes off and there are no cars between your car and the laser, your car has been painted and measured.
Detectors are passive, whereas laser jammers are active. Big difference.
the 9500ix jam lasor jammer did not see it on the disripon if eingnot what would we use for that and the cost for what i need being detector laser jammer and so on for my goldwing thanks for your time don
My previous comments were from a Goldwing. I can’t use the 9500iX on my bike due to alternator noise unlike ANY other accessory. Also it is not as sensitive as my RX65 on Highway mode and has NEVER gone off on any Red Light Camera. Thats with the 3 year data subscription for updates which was a waste of money since it doesn’t alert, ANYWHERE. I also bought their Ground Loop harness and that didn’t help. I wanted the Red Light capability and Escort Tech Support can’t fix it after two services. I believe I have a bad unit but the bigger issue is their Tech Support will not stand behind an obvious problematic issue as they did in my case. Their final resolution: To bad, live with it.
@Herb that is strange as the 9500ix is built on pretty much the same platform as the RX65 other than it has a GPS
I would have to guess operator error here as one has to be technically proficient enough to hook up an download the new databases.
Any chance you bought this on Ebay, used, or from some other source other than an Authorized Seller? I’ve had issues with great units that were similar to the issues you are experiencing, and both instances it was because I purchased the unit at a discounted price from sellers that I thought I could trust. (One was a Ebay seller with about 20,000+ positive feedback, a physical brick & mortar store, and 100% positive feedback over 10+ years. The second was a open box unit from a large retail store.) Both instances I thought the unit was representative of the model and would have never known that I had been misled by a bad unit if it had not been for someone I knew having the same unit and allowing me to borrow and compare. Even if you did buy from a good seller, in the world of electronics we can never completely filter out defects. Other than that i don’t know what to say, because I have installed a LOT of detectors on large cruiser bikes and as long as everything is done to a high standard and special attention is made to assure a strong and consistent power supply to the equipment I have had only high praise (except when defective equipment had to be replaced, and still achieved the same levels of satisfaction in the end, just made a customer or two nervous in the short term). I would suggest a capacitor and secondary battery to supply power for any sensitive electronics on a bike because of the nature of their electrical systems. But that’s my 2 cents anyway.
Good points Ron. We have have seen several cases were detectors were sold as new on Ebay when infact they were refurbished units from either Mexico or China
just went online to radarbusters and ordered this monster this is juat what I need.Thanks to radarroy and his skills I bought this Hulk of hi-tech machine.
Love my 9500ix.
Hey radar roy, i just purchased a used escort passport 9500i. i was so excited once i received it, i decided to go for a joy ride with my new detector to try it out….. i drove about 5 miles out to a sheriff station and back to my house.
The whole ride, i didn’t hear even one warning even when i passed a city police car leaveing a gas station.
the next day, i saw yet another marked police car yet form another city, and still i didnt hear a thing?
i reset my detector and turned on all bands…. i am scared i have made a bad investment.
please help me fix my problem!
thank you so much!
-Ross
@Ross, you bought a radar detector, not a cop car detector. Radar detectors do only 1 thing, detect police radar when it is activated and turned on. Not all police cars have police radar guns in them.
So did you also monitor the display?
Audio alerts can be turned off.
Yes it works as a radar detector in some grand fassion that warrants $500.00. I bought from BestBuy, where the product description stated it was “web ready for updates of the database.”
HOWEVER…they (Escort) does NOT include a proprietary USB data cord. Nope…after you spend $500 plus S&H, you have to go to Escort and buy their proprietary USB cord for another $15.00 with shipping. $15.00 is not a bank busxter for me by any chance, ever (I hope). The problem is the snake-like manner that Escort misleads its retailers and the consumers. Their methods are purely underhanded and fully un-ethical. Escort is SLEAZY!!!
Read more: Escort Passport 9500ix Radar Detector Weeds Out False Alarms: Tech Test – Popular Mechanics
The common male USB to mini male USB cords are available for about $2.
You got ripped.
You don’t need to buy the Escort USB cable. Any properly sized one works just fine. There is nothing “special” about the Escort cable. I used the one from my digital camera.
Instead of the monthly subscribtion, There are a couple of websites that I get my POI’s from that include red lights, radar traps, etc. Can their database be installed on the 9500ix?
No, the 9500ix has a proprietary database, however you could do it by hand through their radar detector tools program
Subscription is inexpensive. Get it.
i’m looking to buy a good radar for my cbr600rr and have been looking into the escort 9500ix but not 100% sure how i could make it work on a bike could you help me out please
Well 1st thing you would need is a motorcycle mount, then a direct wire cord. As the HARD systems are out of production right now you would have to go with either earphone jack or hope that you could hear it
Under the motorcycle section of the site we have info on the mounts
i bought a 9500ix bout 2 months ago and returned it to best buy. I also have a 8500 x50 that i had sent in to get updated. i put one dector on the drivers side and other on the passengers side of the car. The 9500ix did weed out the X alerts but i lacked picking up the ka and the k by like 4 seconds behind the 8500 x 50. Is there a way to turn up the sensitivity on the 9500ix if i was to go get it agian?
Matt, you NEVER put two detectors within close proximity of each other, they will interfere with each other and would reduce the sensitivity of each other.
Even if you have one on the dash and one in the floor
One in a car in close proximity could have an effect on a radar detector. The harmonics from the unit could be seen as a false alert and the detector will reduce its sensitivity
so is the range different from the 8500 x50 or is it better without the gps add on
The 8500 x50, the RX65, the GX65 and the 9500ix all use the same platform so the range and performance are the same
Great device with excellent features. I for one like the speed display and the false alert learning and storing capabilities.
Though this is the same electronically as my 8500×50, the laser detection on the 9500ix seems a little more sensitive. I got a quarter mile warning one time and could not even see the cops, so it had to be scatter.
Auto dimming works well also.
I recently purchased the 9500ix and love it, should have come with the USB cable but it’s not like i don’t already have about 20 of them around. The detector so far seems to work better then i was expecting. i really like the learning capabilities for false alerts and the sensitivity seems great to me so far. I’m mainly a city/suburban driver and haven’t really gotten to test it yet with highway or laser but if my understanding of what i have read… If I get a laser alert i’m probably already nailed. The cost was more than i wanted to spend but in two weeks i have already avoided 2 maybe three tickets. Not to mention i just bought a 2012 Black GTI so it’s just plain hard not to drive fast.
i have a two part question, first, now that V1 is losing their patent on the directional arrows, will this be a technology that Escort will attempt to pick up? second, is there a way to get one of those bubble levels that comes with the LI, i seem to have left mine at the installer. any tips on best way to check for 90degree placement? are we allowed to include pics of install for help? ok, more than 2 questions but love the site and the advice
@ nathan-tl/type-s 6spd V1′s patent has already expired and yes there is some product development going on now by some people
I am thankful for this site I learned alot about detectors and this is the one I got THANKS Roy.
very bad against highway KA band, when it warnes you, its too late usually, good for other bands.
Is radarbusters.com an authorized dealer? I know in the review you mention to only buy from an authorized dealer and the link you have to buy it goes to radarbusters.com
Thanks
@ Chris B Yes Radarbusters is an authorized dealer of Escort, Bel, LI, Blinder and Whistler
i have a The 8500 x50 thanking about upgrading is the 9500 that much better or should i just keep the one i have
@ terr the advantage would be the GPS filtering and photo enforcement database. You will not see any significant increase in range and/or performance
First of all, as an experience radar detector user I have to say the 9500ix makes me ask one phillosophical question: are there any consequences to using a device that is a gift from the gods? When the gods created this device, were they aware I would have one, and is it alright with them? My answer is that it’s all good. Literally the only possible improvement would be if the cops all texted their coordinates to me along my route.
To all you people who think buying a used one or buy one from an unauthorized dealer, how much money could you possibly be saving? $100? if you’re willing to sacrifice performance to save $100, why buy a detector in the first place? Just keep paying your tickets, just rack up points on your licence, and drve slow. Why spend $400 on a device that is just decoration on your windshield?? Peace of mind?
To all you people think that all radar detectors are all the same, you’re stupid. No offense, I’m sure it’s not your fault but you need to take some extra time and think for a minute. My friend called me up, “Hey Dante I just bought a radar detector too, but I spend 300 bucks less than you chump!!” He bought a top of the line Cobra, and I have to admit that yes, it is shiny. That’s where the similarities end. We went for a drive, side by side, and my 9500ix alerted me to radar hits every time. I was alerted to 4 radar hits in our 100 mile pleasure cruise, his alerted 0 times. No that’s not a typo, his did nothing other than sit there looking shiny. He returned it that day and bought a 9500ix.
If you are considering buying any other radar detector, with one or two possible exceptions, STOP IT!! BAD DRIVER!!! those one or two exceptions are outlined by Radar Roy, and he really does know his stuff.
Let me put it this way, if you have been falsely accused of murder, are you calling the bargain lawyer and using a coupon? Or are you hiring the best lawyer money can buy to keep your freedom? You get what you pay for, except the 9500ix is easily worth $700 for how well it works. Stop reading and buy one already!
Wow, what a great comment! Thank you very much….