Cheetah speaker/ voice thin and annoying? 9500ix vs Cheetah Mirror

xlx · #6 (**permalink**) 2008-11-17

Quote:

Originally Posted by TSi+WRX

xlx -

I paid a bit more attention to my units this AM, and I think that a lot of what you're hearing above, the differences, via these videos, is due to recording artifact.

To me, indeed, as I've said before, there's just a slight bit of difference, and it does favor the 9500i, in terms of tonal depth/quality. However, this difference is truly "slight," and I do think that the difference in volume adjustment between the units (I have the mirror louder than the detector), as well as the placement, contributes.

I wish I could better help, but this is a very difficult question!

I appreciate your input regardless... I suppose, ultimately, I'll have to make my own call as to which one I prefer more and could live (drive) with... Once I tried to give away my older 8500 to a few friends of mine and they didn't want it... sighting that they couldn't put up with all the noise etc.. so I guess it's all personal preference...

I'm leaning toward 9500ix though... the non-British accent voice and the different nature of the sound quality just seems more transparent/ neutral and agreeable to me although it's extra $100 + $30 for the 3 yrs database subscription + $10 for the data cable... and also the compact-ness of it as I often have to remove the unit(s) to carry with me when I park in the city, valet parking etc... I've 3 Escort detectors stolen out of my car thus far (one right out if my drive way in a nice suburb.)

Btw I was curious that if you have both Cheetah and 9500i (which you can, I hear, upgrade to 9500ix for $100) except for the radar functions their GPS functions are essentially the same... and I was wondering which would you prefer... wait...uh.. I think this is basically the same question only different.... is it?

Cheers

TSi+WRX · #7 (**permalink**) 2008-11-17

^ ROFL at your last comment.

If the ix had been available when I'd been looking for an RLC/speed-camera warning device, I honestly don't know. That would have made my choice much harder, and I think that I'd very likely have then first purchased the ix...and that if I didn't like the way which it warned of threats, switched over to the Cheetah units.

Now, with the GPS-Mirror, I simply find no need to upgrade to the ix - as the GPS-Mirror not only fills that role, but also provides ancillary benefits (I like/prefer the wide-angle view, as well as the glare-reduction).

I don't think that the GPS-Mirror is as likely to be stolen as a much more noticeably and readily removable standalone detector, but this is still worth some extra thought, particularly as it seems to be a hot "industry" in your area.

Indeed, getting the detector, which you could just remove and slip into your pocket as you exit the vehicle, may prove to be the better choice.

In the end, you're exactly right - it's all down to personal choice and preferences.

I take the view that, at this level of the game, *all* of the available equipment is easily worth their purchase price, and will serve the end-user very, very well - and that it's only the personal biases that will swing the vote, one way or the other.