Cobra 9550

Price Paid:  $42.00 from Ebay

Year / Model Reviewed:
 2003

Strengths:
Detects perfectly

Weaknesses:
none

Summary:
The best radar detector I have ever seen!

Similar Products Used:
none

Price Paid:  $0.00

Strengths:
Uhmmm... it's pretty? It does have a good, strong display. The compass is good if you configure it correctly, and the audio alarms can usually be heard through the boom my stereo.

Weaknesses:
pretty much everything NOT listed in strengths. It works... kinda... but not very well.

Summary:
WEAK WEAK WEAK!!! The literature boasts superb performance, yet delivers a superb belly-flop. The detector catches X-band pretty well (Who still uses THAT???), and it's not bad at detecting K-band, but it almost ALWAYS misses KA-band. The only KA alerts I got were false ones, usually when I was parked at the Western Auto store. When it does give a credible alarm, it's usually just trying to tell you that your wallet is about to get lighter. On three seperate occasions, I had an officer parked behind me while running my plates, and the detector STILL didn't pick them up!!! Thank God for police supporter stickers; they're ALL that have saved me from tickets.

Price Paid:  $149.00 from Best Buy

Year / Model Reviewed:
 Cobra 9550

Strengths:
digital Display

Weaknesses:
FALSE ALARMS!! constant X-band alerts, Every fast food joint in a mile sets this thing off, even with City Mode it still gives false alarms. Laser sucks, I was driving down a side street a bike cop checks me with a laser gun, detector did nothing! Never Went off!

Summary:
Buy a better model! False alarms, poor detection. Digital Compass was decent, K/Ka average to Poor