Good deal. I had a Passport back in the day and Mr. Valentine was the founder so I stuck with him. Nobody had a flash program when I got mine (now the norm).
I get what you mean and how that works...but in my area, Ive never seen the cops use "tricks" to catch people. They basically just set up on the side or around a curve or something. As far as the "other" sources giving false readings but cops may be there, the Escort has a learning function which allows it to store and learn duplicate signals from doors, security systems, etc, and stores them. It will not give a false alarm on subsequent passes by. If a cop is hiding out there, it will register as a "new" signal and beep. I also like the GPS feature of the 9500 that allows it to display the speed youre going when it beeps. It also protects against the red light cameras and stationary radars...it knows where they are located.
Bottom line, they are about the same price...I was looking to spend under $250, but I like the expensive ones features of downloading updates..which is on either one of these. I wont make this a "which is better" argument, I just like the features and display of the 9500. I found a seller on Ebay (Top rated) that has them for $439..
I bought a Valentine One a few years back and was so impressed with it that I bought another one for my second car. That detector has warned me up to several MILES before a speed trap. It has easily saved me enough times to have paid for both of them especially with how ridiculous even minor speeding fines have become. And the directional arrow is one of the most useful features the detector has.
i have had top of the line escorts over the years but now i use a beltronics under $100 model. it has saved me from a ticket many times. do a google search and they have performance similar to the expensive models without all the bells and whistles that you forget how to use without the manual. just don't buy a cobra. HTH