Love the radar detector

This is a review of the Valentine One (V1) vs Escort iX vs Escort Max 360 Radar Detectors.

When I graduated high school, I remember saving up for my first radar detector, a Beltronics-something. Back then it was that or Uniden or Cobra. After graduating College, I was able to afford the new gadget on the block, a Valentine One. (This was pre-Laser days) I don't remember the price, but I've noticed they haven't really changed their prices since the Laser model became standard for the last 15 years or so"¦

For close to 20 years, I haven't looked over the fence, ever. My first V1 non-laser model, I sold to a friend so I could buy a new Laser model. My current V1 I've had for over 12 years and upgrade the firmware as needed.

After a recent 1,500 mile road trip from LA to DFW, I decided to look over the fence after the V1 proved to be almost useless. For a couple of hours, a new Escalade in front of us constantly triggered K-band. There were probably 95% of falses with only a couple of real "saves/bogeys" in the entire 25 hours we were on the road. (No, my V1 did not have the latest Junk K fighter, but I will explain the price differences later)

The next day I bought the top of the line Escort Max 360 with the directional arrows, which I assume fell out of V1-patent life after 10 years. The next week, I had an 8-hour driving trip from Dallas to Houston and back. The Escort Max 360 is BRILLIANT and made me a believer and a convert. A few weeks later, Amazon Vine offered up an Escort iX for me to try and of course took them up on their offer. Simply put, for my first time, I fell in love with an Escort.

What's in the Box:
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Escort wins hands down "“ you get a nice carrying case, a super strong (Garmin-ish) windshield mount, and a SmartCord cigarette adapter that includes a Mute button and remote alert display. (For the iX, your smart cord includes a USB slot for charging an accy) Both Escorts will auto-mute based on strength. Both Escorts have Bluetooth built-in and the phone app is free.

Valentine (as memory serves me from 12 years ago) "“ you get a sunvisor mount and a suction cup mount, and you get the cigarette adapter. You have to pay extra for the carrying case, remote display, low speed auto muter (Savvy), and there's no Bluetooth, you have to buy the V1Connection. Phone app is free, but to use it, you need to buy the V1Connection (see Pricing section below).

Real-World Pricing (MSRP)
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Escort costs more, but it comes with more things standard that you have to buy for the V1. Here's a breakdown:

Escort Max 360
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$649 MSRP
Escort iX
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$499 MSRP

Brand New V1
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$399 MSRP, but to make it closer to the Escort, you will pay extra for:
$29 Carrying Case
$69 Savvy low speed auto-muter
$39 Remote display
$49 V1connection to your smart phone
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Real-world price is really $585 to be more comparable to the Escort.

*MY* Actual V1 Costs
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$399 "“ I already paid that many years ago
Now, to get the Junk-K fighter and Traffic Filter, I would have to pay an extra $269 to get it! Then"¦
$29 Carrying Case
$69 Savvy low speed auto-muter
$39 Remote display
$49 V1connection to your smart phone
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Real-world out of pocket for me is $854! Naysayers will chime in and state that *really* the difference is $269 vs $649; I either spend $269 and get Junk K Fighter and Traffic Filter and hope it does the job, OR I spend $649 and sell the V1 to recoup costs. But some of you just want the best, regardless of price, so let's just go with that.

Size:
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Escort iX wins for its relative "more slim" footprint. The Escort Max 360 is a behemoth! See my uploaded customer images. The V1 is still the same V1 since the laser model was introduced ~15 years ago. The Max 360 is longer, fatter and taller than the V1.

Performance and Relevance:
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Escort wins for its more peaceful and reasonable daily driving experience.

Back in the 90's, Valentine One would always win every magazine test and everyone flocked to it. They would show the graphs and sure enough, the V1 always stood out with the best performance and detection.

Perhaps I'm just 20 years older now, but I have come to realize, who cares if the V1 detects a K-band signal 1.3 miles away, about ¾ of a mile sooner than the Cobra or Bel or Passport. 1.3 miles is a long time, but your memory-attention-span when you're driving is about as long as a stoplight. Have you ever been in a school zone going 20mph and then come to a stoplight? 95% of the time, when the light turns green, there will be a car that just guns it, sees the next School Zone sign and then slams on the brakes again because they just forgot they were in a school zone.

The V1 range and detection might actually be a bit much to the point that I'm constantly muting it, because it is constantly going off. I find myself speeding again because I've muted it so much.

The Escorts, both Max 360 and iX seem to be almost identical in performance. Instead of the loud brapping of the V1, the Escorts will announce what band is detected verbally and has easier to read strength meters. This is far better than the super small dot on the V1 next to the Band designation that is hard to determine unless you've memorized the various sounds. In fact with the white lettering and the slightest glare on the V1, you really can't see the lettering at all and while driving, it is harder to determine if the Band-designation-dot is higher or lower than the Ka, K, or X band row.

Furthermore, the Escort is quicker to smart-mute itself, while the V1 is still going bonkers. The V1 does have a couple of mute options but you have to pay extra for that, such as a remote mute button, a remote display, Savvy "“ low speed auto-muter, etc. The Escort has a remote mute & remote alert indicator on the SmartCord power adapter. Both detectors feature "˜bogey' counts of the different radar sources.

Features:
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If there's ONE section you read in this long review, it is the following:
I would buy the Escort simply because of its GPS and GPS marking of known false alarms like grocery stores and stationary "Your Speed Is:" units. Today, the Escort has made the V1 technologically obsolete; there"¦ I said it! The Escort has leap-frogged over the V1 in terms of technology. From Bluetooth connectivity to GPS to traffic system database and a filter for traffic monitoring and collision-avoidance systems.

On the V1, I am one firmware revision under the "Junk K Fighter and Traffic Filter". To get it, I will need to spend $269 to upgrade. I already paid $399 for the detector and more for accessories. I already had to sell my non-Laser model because you can't firmware-update to the Laser model. You can add the Junk K Fighter and Traffic filter, but you'll pay for it. You can add Bluetooth, but you'll pay for it.

Fine, some of you will flame me for criticizing something I've had for 12 years with various firmware upgrades, but I've already paid the $200+ upgrade before and to make it the latest that's another $269. But the one thing no V1 upgrade currently offers is this amazing GPS-marking on the Escorts.

In daily driving, there are a couple of grocery stores that will always trigger the V1. With both Escorts, you can simply mark and ignore those stores! There's also a "Your Speed Is:" radar unit that is constantly-on in my neighborhood. I've already marked that one to be ignored. All you have to do is press the Mute button 3 times and it GPS marks that location and false alarm and it is saved! This ONE FEATURE makes it worth the jump to an Escort.

Band selection
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On the V1 you have to do the hokey pokey maneuver to simply turn off X-band. On the Escorts, there's an actual "Band" button to press and you can choose from Auto, Auto with no X-band, Highway, etc modes. Very slick and easy for anyone to do.

Then, there's the crowd-sourced database that has Red-Light Cameras, speed traps etc that you can update. Even my own small town is included, which accurately alerts you of a Red-Light camera intersection as you approach. The V1 has no ability for that and does not contain a GPS so therefore cannot display your speed or alert you if you've exceeded a certain speed.

Both Escorts, when paired with the Escort app, you can see the speed-limit displayed on the detector itself, plus the GPS always shows you your actual speed.

Overall, ALL of these features that come standard on the Escort makes it the more-livable, more peaceful and less-stressful radar/laser detector to own and use every day. On another 8 hour trip to Houston and back, I used the Escort on the way down and the V1 on the way back. I wanted to throw the V1 in the trash in the end. This might be like the old Subaru STi vs Mitsubishi Evo comparison. The STi (ie. Escort) is the one you want to live with and drive everyday, but the Evo (ie. V1) might be quicker and have slightly better performance, but it is a bear to live with every day.

Phone Apps
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Escort wins hands down. With the Escort app you can easily configure various user settings and preferences, very well done UI. You can even set an "overspeed" alert so that if you exceed 75mph, it tells you that. This actually helps me to speed less and be more mindful of how heavy my foot has become.

The V1 Phone App, it is really just another display and you can save profiles. It shows you the exact MHZ of the radar frequency being detected, but how does that help me? What is the difference to me of 176.131 mhz vs 198.314 mhz??

On the V1, you have to hold the control knob while powering it on, do the hokey pokey and interpret the small display to change preferences. With the Escort, I can change the LED colors from Blue to Amber to match my dashboard, amongst a dozen other user settings all from the phone app.

Okay, but which Escort is best??
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So maybe now you've ruled out paying $399 for a new V1 or $269-289 to firmware upgrade your current V1 you already paid $399 for in the last 10 years. Do you choose the Escort iX or the Escort Max 360?

Escort Max 360 vs Escort iX - Differences
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I'll make the statement that in my testing, the Escort iX and Escort Max 360 are almost identical in performance. In fact, when I drove up to a Red-Light camera intersection, the "There is a Red-Light Camera in 1000 ft" voice came on at exactly the same time and it sounded like a stereo on both Escorts. (The V1, I had to mute because it was still brappping from the grocery store I pass everyday, while the Escorts remained quiet because I GPS marked them and it saved that in the detector)

I might say the Escort iX has slightly longer range performance, but then again, is that relevant? Who cares if the iX warns you at 2000 feet and the Max 360 warns you at 1800 feet? What matters is, what do you want to live with everyday and which one can you confidently rely on, versus muting it every few seconds. Both Escorts are livable, happily and daily.

So the MAJOR difference then, is that the Max 360 has directional arrows and the iX does not. That's about it. The Max 360 is about $150 more than the iX. ($650 vs $500 MSRP). So the question is, are the Max 360 arrows worth $150 to you? Well, if the arrows gave you more confidence and made your commute more livable, then sure. If, instead of not knowing where to look with the iX that you ended up getting a ticket because you had a brain freeze and didn't slow down, would the extra $150 for the arrows have been worth it? Probably. (Okay that was the weakest point, but all I could think off"¦) Update: Just today, I turned left at a light from my neighborhood and the Ka went off and the Max 360 kept pointing backwards. In my rear view mirror, I could barely make out the black Police Tahoe approaching the stop light. I was glad I had the Max 360's arrows. If I had the iX, I would have to wonder if the cop was behind me, on a side street, in front of me, etc the entire time. The arrows are absolutely worth it for me.

And yes, while composing this review for over 3 weeks, I had all three detectors installed in the same car at the same time, I think people thought I was an undercover private investigator with all those suction cups on my windshield. It is tough to say which consistently had the better detection/performance because the V1 would win some, the iX would win some and the Max 360 would win some. I also drove around with only one installed at a time to rule out any device interference before finalizing this review.

OVERALL:
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If you are a person who wants simply, THE BEST, and money (and size) is no object, then sure of course you will buy the Max 360.

Based on my ~20 years with a V1, the V1 is a true 3-stars compared to the Escorts.
The Escort iX would be a solid 4 stars.
The Escort Max 360 would be a solid 5 stars. Both Escorts use the same technology and have the same features, the only difference is that the Max 360 has the Directional Arrows for an extra $150.

The Escort Max 360 is what a car-guy wants to use in the daily driver. The Escort iX is what the car-guy buys for the wife's car that you, the car-guy, will occasionally drive, but the wife will live with if you direct-wire it. Giving her the leftover V1 will either cause a divorce or she chunks it out the window and screams at you for mounting it in her car. This is the only time your wife will love an Escort more than a Valentine.

Admittedly what you're about to read is also mostly what I wrote for the Escort MAX 360c MKII, i.e. the version that has wireless. You see, I bought *this* one first, and then I found that I actually wanted the wireless, and plus I thought the grey/black shell matched my interior better, so I gave the non-wireless version to my wife and kept the wireless one for myself. Maybe I'm selfish, but oh well. Okay, that said, here's the rest of the review, slightly edited for the non-wireless version that has a slightly different aesthetic.

I love this radar detector. I'm coming from an Escort 9500IX, which was about 10 years old and gave me false alerts all the time since more and more cars now use radar for alerts, alarms, and self-driving. So I wanted something that was updated, gave me lots of options, and was easy to use. The Escort MAX 360 MKII Laser Radar Detector fits that description perfectly.

So far nearly every time it's alerted me to active radar, I've seen law enforcement nearby. I'm sure there are sometimes when they're just very well hidden and I don't see them, but I haven't had a single obvious false alert yet. It used to be the case that I'd know if I was close to a Honda or Acura, but I don't have to worry about that any longer. No more false alerts, and I can be confident that it's picking up legitimate signals.

I also like a lot of the different user options. I won't go into all of them here, but it's very robust in the amount of options you have in terms of detectable signals, when to alert you to overspeeding or other alerts, and display options. I do which I could remove the mph and speed limit readings, but to remove those it then gives you a voltage reading, which I care about even less than those. So there are a ton of options.

This version doesn't have WiFi installed, but it does have Bluetooth, so it connects to your phone easily, and you can do updates via your PC, which is seemingly infinitely faster than the WiFi anyway. So really you're not missing out on a ton by going with the non-WiFi version, and you'll save some cash.

I don't use the Drive Smarter app. To be honest, I find it an annoyingly subpar verison of Waze, which, in my opinion, is inferior to what Google Maps has become and Apple Maps hopes to be. I would much prefer if there was some way to integrate the reporting functionality of this app with Google Maps or another mapping app, as I just prefer the display options those apps have over Drive Smarter. But that's just personal preference.

I want to make one other note, too: this radar detector is pretty hefty in terms of size. It's not overly huge, but it's way bigger than my 9500IX was. But what was really nice about this radar detector is the aesthetic. The display has several color options, and I really like the blue. The outer case of this one is a sort of navy blue, so just know that going into it if you think it might clash with your interior (if that's important to you). If it does, then you might consider the WiFi (MAX 360c) version instead, which has a grey/black shell.

This is a short word on this radar detector and why I think it's one of the best you can get.

I have 2 primary vehicles that I drive- one of them is equipped with the Escort Redline and one is equipped with this Escort Max 360. My vehicle with the Escort Redline used to have the Valentine 1, but I liked the Redline more so I upgraded. The Escort Redline is a great radar detector and was the benchmark that I compared all other radar detectors to. So if you can't tell, I really like the Escort Redline- but the Max 360 has since dethroned it as my favorite radar detector of all time.

1) Directional Notification- the Max 360 tells me where the radar signal is coming from. If I'm crushing down the interstate and I am approaching an on-ramp and the Max 360 tells me a radar signal is coming from the right, I know to slow down immediately. If I'm on a stretch of road and the radar alert comes from the rear, I know I have more time to slow down if the nearest car is way back or I've just topped a hill. The directional warning is supremely helpful in knowing how quickly to slow down or if you need to slow down at all- you don't realize how useful it is until you use it. Directional identification is absent on the Redline and much more inaccurate on the Valentine 1.

2) GPS Memory- the Max 360 knows when the radar goes off in the same spot every day and can smartly identify stores and gas stations that set it off. The 4th time I passed a Publix that always sets radar detectors off due to the motion sensing doors, a subtle beep sounded with the word "Stored" on the screen. The radar has never gone off in front of this Publix again. A few weeks later a cop had radar set up in front of this same Publix. The Max 360 went off and I thought it was picking up the store again until I got closer and saw the cop car. So it's smart enough to learn locations but not miss a new radar signature in a previously stored area- no idea how it does that.

3) Antennas- the Max 360 has MUCH better rear and side detection than the Redline. Not even a contest. The Redline might have a slightly longer front detection (10-15% it seems) but the Max 360 mops the floor with the Redline from the rear and sides- I'd say double the detection range if not more. The detection range from all sides with the Max 360 provides more than ample time to stop- with the Redline, that's only the case with the front detection.

4) Displayed Information- the Max 360 has a much nicer display than the Redline, with animated pulsating marks, and it matches most car instrument gauges much better. The Max 360 also shows your current speed, which it uses GPS to calculate. It's spot-on with my speedometer and it has never lost GPS signal. Due to the Max 360 having an actual LCD panel, the settings are easier to navigate and setup. The Redline doesn't show any useful information except what radar band is detected.

5) Sound- the Max 360 alert sounds are leaps beyond the Redline. The voice is a higher clarity, the alarms are not as harsh-sounding, and the auto-muting/volume reduction feature works WAY better.

6) General Aesthetics- the Max 360 simply looks better than the Redline in my opinion. It is slightly larger but the finish seems to be higher quality, the improved LCD display looks MUCH better, and the design simply melds with the interior of most cars better.

7) False Warnings- the Max 360 RARELY gives false warnings and when it does, it learns to not repeat them over time. As in my above Publix example, my Redline still goes off to this day in front of Publix while the Max 360 does not. I can't tell you how many times the Redline is set off by radar-based cruise control systems on the interstate while the Max 360 isn't phased by them. Redline gives probably 75% more false warnings than the Max 360, and that's likely a conservative number.

I considered the Escort Redline one of the best radar detectors on the market for many years- and it still is, just not as good as the Max 360. After extensive use of both (around 100,000 miles with the Redline and about 80,000 with the Max 360) I'm confident in the accuracy of my comparison between the two- however, keep in mind that I've done no scientific studies on either, I've just used them as a heavy driver would. The only area where the Redline slightly beats the Max 360 is in frontal detection range but in all other categories, the Max 360 is the best product Escort currently offers.

I've just ordered a second Max 360 for my vehicle with the Redline in it and I look forward to its arrival.

Have had many, this is the best. I don't mount on the windshild just use a sticky pad in dash corner. Some of my old ones overheat if car is parked, seems to happen when they get years old. Others I've had the top metal buttons rattle. H this new one is perfect.