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      07-01-2015, 08:53 AM   #1
Kzang
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My latest purchase...

Just received my Racechip Ultimate from r33_RGSport and picked up the Escort Passport Max from autoanything.com with 5% off with the July 4th coupon sale. The detector is to offset the extra power
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      07-01-2015, 08:59 AM   #2
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Fantastic. Be sure to post a review of both... Not sure which direction I'm going in when my 1,200mi are up... but I'd love to get your opinion.
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      07-01-2015, 09:49 AM   #3
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Nice!!!!
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      07-01-2015, 12:38 PM   #4
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Nice! I paired my RC with an updated Valentine One.
Both are EXCELLENT in our rides. Experimenting with settings beyond the initial one the RC came with.

Happy 4th of July to all of the forum!
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      07-01-2015, 02:11 PM   #5
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Kzang , Thanks for the prop. and the business.
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      07-11-2015, 06:48 AM   #6
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Well the Escort Passport Max is going to be returned...
There appears to be a mounting design flaw on their bracket ( think diving board with a heavy person on the end of it ) where the radar detector (which is pretty heavy btw) bounces and eventually separate the housing / casing near the rear by the lens. Eventually after a week or so the detector falls off from the mount. As far as detection performance goes it was excellent, much better IMO compared to the V1 as far as false alerts and I love how the passport max locks out and stores all false alerts and automatically mutes them. However, I prefer the V1's quality constructions versus the cheaper plasticky construction of the Passport Max.

Here is a video of what I am talking about..

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      07-11-2015, 09:09 AM   #7
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Love my Passport Max! Save me a few times and it has more than paid for itself. I use it on my '14 M6 GC and '15 X5.
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      07-11-2015, 09:09 AM   #8
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Kzang
Well the Escort Passport Max is going to be returned...
There appears to be a mounting design flaw on their bracket ( think diving board with a heavy person on the end of it ) where the radar detector (which is pretty heavy btw) bounces and eventually separate the housing / casing near the rear by the lens. Eventually after a week or so the detector falls off from the mount. As far as detection performance goes it was excellent, much better IMO compared to the V1 as far as false alerts and I love how the passport max locks out and stores all false alerts and automatically mutes them. However, I prefer the V1's quality constructions versus the cheaper plasticky construction of the Passport Max.

Here is a video of what I am talking about..

I am sorry that happened to you. I am using the passport max 2 as well and so far it has been solid. Hopefully mine doesn't fall off like yours haha. What replacements do you have in mind if you don't mind me asking?
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      07-11-2015, 10:34 AM   #9
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I'm not sure... I really like the Max's performance.. it finds all the false alerts ( automatic doors and other falses ) and stores it in its memory and I don't ever have to deal with false alerts again and I like the colored screen + the alert sound.

I just don't like the construction of the radar. I feel like it is made of cheap plastic. I thought the silver band was at least made of brushed aluminum but it is just painted over the same plastic housing. The buttons also feel cheap. If anyone has had experience with V1 they will notice the housing is made of more quality material and it is actually put together with screws instead of clips on the Max. I just hate V1's old technology and how chatty it is with false alerts. The perfect radar detector for me would be V1's construction with Passport Max's performance
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      07-11-2015, 10:45 AM   #10
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Escort has come out with a new magnetic mount for the Max that is getting positive reviews.

For comparisons between RL, V1, and Max, the independent testing on RDF is the best around. One also finds there various ways to deal with BSM falsing while increasing range with custom sweeps. I own all three and use a given detector based on the type of driving for a given day.

There are new windshield rd coming soon, but the best way to combine RL, V1, and Max is to go with the Stinger.
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      07-11-2015, 01:44 PM   #11
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Check out blendmount and mirrortap for mounting radars. I put it on mine, so easy, takes 5 minutes and you can't see the wire.

Link to pics and instructions if you want to see how it looks.

http://www.2addicts.com/forums/showthread.php?t=998321
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      07-11-2015, 02:20 PM   #12
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get the blend mount. Best mount ever
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      07-11-2015, 05:23 PM   #13
Kzang
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I considered the blend mount and I actually like how it is integrated. I just don't think I would be happy spending $500 on a radar detector that is built cheap. V1 was made of Die-cast magnesium and it was solid and tough, whereas the Passport Max was flimsy and the shell housing moved when you pressed on it.
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      07-11-2015, 08:15 PM   #14
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Blendmount makes a mount for Valentine too I believe. Or maybe just mirrortap does.

I've got the passport 9500ix and it's sweet; I use "AutoNoX" feature, very intelligent and automatically stores fake k bands. Only other one I considered is the escort redline, but I found the passport for $350 on Amazon, the cheapest redline I could find was $475.
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      07-11-2015, 08:19 PM   #15
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The BM works with V1 (as I do this), Max and RL.
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      07-11-2015, 08:51 PM   #16
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I had the V1 in my previous cars.. recently sold it to another member here for like $250 because of all the false alerts I got in the city.. it was pretty useless. How is the the 9500ix construction? Is it sturdy? I thought about getting the redline as well. Thanks.
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      07-11-2015, 10:02 PM   #17
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I use blendmount. I've used Passports for a decade. They are indeed all plastic, but construction is fine and extreme hot/cold weather causes no problems.

The thing is if you don't use Passport then there isn't another option. Like you said V1 falses and I think Beltronics is owned by Escort now and should have similar plastic casing. All other detectors are not in the same category.
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      07-11-2015, 10:05 PM   #18
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Very well made, I have no complaints what so ever. It has speed trap & red light camera alerts, as well as allows you to program it to ignore an alert, like when you get the same false alert at the same place everyday.
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      07-12-2015, 08:32 AM   #19
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Quote:
Originally Posted by touchdown83 View Post
Very well made, I have no complaints what so ever. It has speed trap & red light camera alerts, as well as allows you to program it to ignore an alert, like when you get the same false alert at the same place everyday.
And best of all its almost half the cost?? Can you tell me the differences between the max and 9500ix? My understanding on the differences is the GPS for Max but if the 9500ix has GPS to locate speed trap, red light camera, and ignore false alerts.. the only thing I find different is the design and LCD color screen.

Thanks.
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      07-12-2015, 08:37 AM   #20
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Stunnaz View Post
I use blendmount. I've used Passports for a decade. They are indeed all plastic, but construction is fine and extreme hot/cold weather causes no problems.

The thing is if you don't use Passport then there isn't another option. Like you said V1 falses and I think Beltronics is owned by Escort now and should have similar plastic casing. All other detectors are not in the same category.
Yeah that is why I decided to return the Max. Honestly, when I first opened the box I was a little disappointed with the feel and construction. But I shrugged it off. Now that the housing basically fell apart I didn't want this detector any longer.

I've done some research and found that in 2013, when the Max first was released there were many owners complaining about the same problems http://www.escortradarforum.com/foru...ead.php?t=9333 ... apparently Escort ignored this issue because it is 2015 and mine has the same problem.

I guess I will be driving blind for now until I figure out which detector I want
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      07-12-2015, 01:03 PM   #21
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Kzang View Post
And best of all its almost half the cost?? Can you tell me the differences between the max and 9500ix? My understanding on the differences is the GPS for Max but if the 9500ix has GPS to locate speed trap, red light camera, and ignore false alerts.. the only thing I find different is the design and LCD color screen.

Thanks.
It definitely has GPS.

http://radartest.com/Escort-9500ix-review.asp
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      07-12-2015, 01:31 PM   #22
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Kzang
Well the Escort Passport Max is going to be returned...
There appears to be a mounting design flaw on their bracket ( think diving board with a heavy person on the end of it ) where the radar detector (which is pretty heavy btw) bounces and eventually separate the housing / casing near the rear by the lens. Eventually after a week or so the detector falls off from the mount. As far as detection performance goes it was excellent, much better IMO compared to the V1 as far as false alerts and I love how the passport max locks out and stores all false alerts and automatically mutes them. However, I prefer the V1's quality constructions versus the cheaper plasticky construction of the Passport Max.

Here is a video of what I am talking about..

Video looked fine to me lmao jk
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