DMDDMD's Full Review: Escort Passport 7500 Radar Detector
I have used my Passport 7500 in excess of 1 year now. I admit to being an electronics buff and purchased this unit because I prefered the Expert Meter (which tracks the relative strenght of up to 8 individual radar encounters) to the display on my Valentine One - which only tracks the strenght of a single encounter but displays the numeric count of all signals being processed. I have purchased Escort products since 1990 and have been disapointed with prior offerings while Escort was in the midst of bankruptcy and being acquired by an outside investor. After reading several positive results of the Passport 7500 I decided to give it a try and have no real regrets given the moderate $230- price. Escort has long been praised for there superior anti-falsing circuitry and the Passport 7500 is no exception. In "Auto" mode - where the units internal computer automatically adjusts X-band sensitivity, the unit is extremely quiet in microwave saturated areas. The 7500 is also very good at weeding out these signals while still alerting to real radar threats set up within these areas. Escort sells a concealed display power cord for $30 which allows the unit to be run in dark mode while retaining visual confirmation of power on and an alert lite. During holiday times, Escort will often advertise specials which include this cord for free. This cord is great for those late nights when you are the only car on the road except for a cop car behind you or someone trying to stick with you for your radar protection - from outside the vehicle, there is no tell tale LED showing through the back window. This cord also offers a convenient mute button on top which is often easier to reach than leaning towards the windshield.
As for performance (and why most people read these reviews) I have the following quantifiable averages of range:
X-band consistenly seems to be around 1.4-1.6 miles if the unit is left in "Highway" mode. Autosensitivity seems to shave some distance off as the unit decides if the signal is real or bogus.
K-band - expect about the same.
Ka (based on a road side speed display unit, sharply angled across the road) - 1.2 miles.
If you can't slow down in over a mile - - -!
The above ranges have been fairly consistent - though I have had situations where any of the aforementioned distances have been half of those listed. Range is determined not only by the unit but by weather conditions, terain, strenght of the radar equipment etc. I should also mention I have had X & K band alerts that have honestly spanned in excess of 2.5 miles though they are very rare. Again, the above numbers are what I CONSISTENTLY seem to achieve with my Passport 7500.
Does the Passport 7500 detect as far away as my V-1? No. Is it close? Actually, not bad - sometimes better but 99.9% of the time it is about 4-5 seconds behind my V-1. Note: An easy fix for those looking for the deal of the century in ULTRA performance and value is the new Passport 8500 (which I have had approximately 3-wks now - this unit ABSOLUTELY,POSITIVELY, TRAUNCES my V-1 in EVERY situation I have encountered to date and I NEVER thought I would say that - I like to run my V-1 and any new unit I purchase together for a few wks (usually to re-assure myself that the $400- price plus $30- for conceiled display were worth the money). The Passport 7500 is a great unit, loaded with customer selectable features such as programable city mode sensitivity (users can lower the X-band sensitivity below factory settings), selectable brightness, selectable display (bar graph or Expert Meter), Selectable audio tones (High or Low pitched tones), Highway/City/Auto Sensitivity, Auto Mute on/off etc. The only real problem with the Passport 7500 is for users in Virgina, DC and parts of Canada since a VG-2 detector CAN find EVERY unit Escort manufactores (except the all new 8500) despite there claims of "Smartshield VG-2 Protection". This has been a reported problem with all of there units for years. Since detectors are legal in all other states, this problem is limited in scope though. Consumers do not have to look hard to find units costing as much as or more than the $230- price of the 7500. To spend more on a unit from Whistler, Cobra or Uniden would be throwing away money since these units consitently rate poorly and production variances are often reported as being extreme. If you feel the need to spend more (or can) and ultra performance and near zero falses are you priorities (which they should be) spend $300, buy the Passport 8500 and know you have a unit that is FINALLY better than a V-1. As an aside, I have picked up real radar encounters on X-band from over 3-miles away - on a non flat road (with a LOW so far of 2.6 miles!!! with my 8500. K-band results are similar!).
So where does this leave you? If you are considering a Passport 7500 but are afraid it will not perform well or will constantly go off this is not the situation. I believe you will be very, satisfied with your purchase. If you are stashing away money to save for "the best protection money can buy" I absolutely, positively swear you can save yourself $130 and stop saving when you reach the $300 mark and go with the Passport 8500 - oh, the $130- saving is as follows the 8500 costs $300 -vs- V-1 at $400 and includes the conceiled display cord (which I mentioned was an option on both the Passport 7500 and a V-1 at $30). Before the V-1 fans start responding, I admit that PRIOR to the 8500 this WAS the best - my V-1 is not old either (about 2-years).
Epinions.com periodically updates pricing and product information from third-party sources, so some information may be slightly out-of-date. You should confirm all information before relying on it.
- Add to My Yahoo!: 
- Add to Google Homepage: 
© 1999-2009 Shopping.com, Inc.