i've owned and used: whistler POS Bel RX65 or whatever the hell it is (same as escort 8500 gave it to my sister) Escort 8500 x50 (in blue! it makes a difference) ended at Valentine 1. Be forewarned that there is a pretty wide spread problem of Escort 8500 and Bel RX65 eventually getting the "Service required" message of death. I experienced it on my escort and my sister had the same issue with the bel after a while. My valentine 1 has been pretty peachy for the last 1.5 years or so, but it started doing this weird thing where the K radar just goes full blast and off and back and forth on the highway. I sent it in to see if they can fix it. My next option is to try to fix the Bel/Escort detectors with a couple suggested fixes I found on the internet. Some simple soldering and this and that and apparently, they are good as new. Or, I could pony up the few bucks and send it into escort. As far as which one I liked the best? The V1 by far.