Hello my esteemed acquaintances of RDForum,
Despite my title, I am not advocating for all Cobra radar detectors. I am of the opinion that their lower end detectors such as the iRad, Rad 450, and Rad 480i are junk and testing results I have seen from other members in the past backs this up. Really the only detector I think worth buying that is a Cobra is the DualPro 360, and maybe Joe Schmoe who doesn't do alot of speeding might get some good use out of the Road Scout.
I am writing this post because I have noticed that despite the DualPro 360 being an excellent detector that has performed exceptionally well for me and for others who have tested/used it, it is still not a detector that people will recommend to others on this forum or isn't considered as a contender detector at all. In fact on my "Introduce Yourself" thread another member said he isn't a fan of Cobra detectors (which is fine), but he also linked me to the radar detector recommendation page in case I decided to "upgrade". While I am certain this comment was not made out of malice, spite or condescension, I can't help but feel if I had been a Max 360 owner, R7 owner, etc owner this would not have been said. But I could be wrong.
I still feel like despite Cobra/Escort putting out an excellent product, alot of people still have this bias against Cobra due to their less than stellar past, which as someone who just got into detectors I will never understand and I accept that. However this is 2020. I am willing to bet if someone told you guys back before Cobra was owned by Escort that there would be a detector with 360 detection in next couple of years, that would actually perform very well with a Cobra logo on it you would call this person mad. In this post I will cover several topics, that I would like everyone to consider very carefully.
I. Overview
I've asked @Vortex to test out the DualPro 360 a few times. And while I understand that outside of being the radar detector guru we all know and love, he has a family, a job and a life outside radar detectors and other CM's and I get that 100%. The reason I bring this up though, is the response I got from him was that the Cobra DualPro 360 is basically just a repackaged Beltronics GT-360. And this is the response I get from alot of people despite there being no testing or any concrete evidence this is actually true. In fact it's based off of nothing more than belief. And being a skeptic, I simply don't agree with this.
To prove my point let's look at two detectors here...
According to Amazon, these detectors first hit their shelves back in 2017. If we look at these two Uniden detectors very closely we can see they look almost identical (with one exception of course), yet nobody would say or even dare make the claim they are the same detector or that Uniden re-packaged one or the other. I'm almost certain we can agree that while the chassis is similar, the hardware under the hood, and their overall performance differs vastly. Yet when we encounter the Cobra DualPro 360 and Beltronics GT-360 people's perception is different.
As someone who also likes computers, it is not uncommon at all for PC companies to utilize the same chassis and change the hardware inside.
Asus for example has used this chassis for several years, the only thing that changed was the hardware components inside which offered different (superior) performance than their previous generation. When you have a good chassis, you have a good chassis. Look at it from Escort's point of view, this is not a practice in the electronics market that is unheard of, in fact it's VERY COMMON. Uniden did it, why can't Escort/Cobra? Is it really a stretch to think that just maybe these two detectors might in fact be different and offer different performance/features? I understand that their screens/buttons are similar too, but lets be real in computers this is literally also true, so again I ask why is it so controversial or seen as sketchy that Cobra did this?
If you still aren't convinced ask yourself why. There is no side-side testing that exists to confirm this, there is no side-side hardware comparison, etc. There is nothing to support this, except for belief. Apart from the identical chassis, there exists nothing. For the most part (in my experience/opinion) alot of people have a negative opinion of the Cobra namebrand when it comes to radar detectors (which is their right), and automatically assume if it has the Cobra logo, it must be bad even if it looks good. I've seen posts from people saying the DualPro 360 looking promising, but they still don't trust it even though logically speaking that is irrational. The fact of the matter is these products have not been tested side by side and therefore the assumption that they are basically the same is unfounded and without merit. If one day they are tested and found to be similar performing, I for one will take it in humble stride as there now exists data to prove this. Until then, it is as stated: unfounded.
II. Testing
Before I begin here, I want to show that I've been true to my word. In my review of the Cobra DualPro 360, I stated several times that I compared this unit to the Max 360 (pictured left). The purpose of this picture is to show that I do indeed possess both detectors. The Max 360 belongs to my father, and I own the DualPro 360. Both units have been tested not in a controlled testing type of environment, but running one unit in the same car (Subaru 2017 Forester) to the same places and back home. The Cobra DualPro 360 performed much better. It alerted sooner, and had FAR fewer false alerts. I realize that I am one person, and my results are not scripture from God, but despite this I have seen people recommend the Max 360 over the DualPro 360. And again this recommendation is based off of the assumption that the Cobra must have something wrong it, or there has to be some kind of catch. The idea that it could just be a good unit seems to be never occur. I would like the DualPro 360 to be included in some larger scale testing. To date there is no concrete evidence the Max 360 outperforms the DP360, as such there is no logical reason to recommend it over the DP360 apart from ones personal bias.
GT-360 vs. Max 360 - Here is a post from someone who compared the GT-360 to the Max 360 and in his results the GT-360 outperformed the Max 360. It is my belief the DualPro 360 is better than the GT-360 and if it beat out the Max 360, it isn't far-fetched to think the DualPro 360 is better as well.
Cobra DualPro 360 Ka Band | Cobra DP360 Night Run - Here are some real life detections done by me. Judge for yourself.
Ok so I've made a case that the DP360 is superior to the Max 360, so what? I also owned a Radenso Pro-M before the DP360 and it's range doesn't come close to the DP360, the only area where I feel the Pro-M did better was filtering but not by much. If we compare the DP360 to other detectors in the price range such as the Uniden R7 and V1G2, I'm sure the DP360 falls short to the Uniden's range but let's be real, while the R7 has great range it has inferior BSM when compared to other detectors in the price range and to my knowledge it doesn't have auto lockout. It should be noted too, that the Cobra DP360 can be picked up for $50-100 cheaper than both detectors mentioned and it has alot of the same features both have (arrows, bluetooth, gps, app, etc). What is it missing? Why the loyal fanbase, and accolades because unfortunately people don't take it seriously. This is not an attack on Uniden or Valentine.
III. Final Thoughts
As a member of many hobbies, whether it's firearms, swords, watches, auto-detailing, and now radar detectors in every hobby there exists a brand that people don't like or turn their noses to. Sometimes I am drawn to these brands, and sometimes I am not. But in the case of radar detectors, I am. I know some people might be thinking that if I want to change perceptions on the DP360, I should do something about it. And I would argue that by making my review, and this post I AM doing something about it. If people actually expect me to buy a bunch of radar guns, or laser which cost thousands of dollars and do my own testing, you are being very unrealistic. While I understand that in a hobby there will always be brands that have proven themselves through stellar reputations and quality, there will also be ones that are trying to do better and go largely ignored (Cobra). I am not saying Cobra deserves a huge loyal fanbase and accolades, but what I am saying is that the DP360 should stop being regarded as a poor attempt by Cobra to sell a re-packaged GT-360 and instead be tested and if it is shown to be a good radar detector then it should be given it's proper respect. In the future it is very possible that the detector could be tested against "the big boys" and fail miserably, if this happens so be it. But for now my impression is that the DP360 is a hidden gem or a diamond in the rough that could be a cheaper alternative to alot of these $480-$500 detectors. Despite my tone I am not trying to be hostile or antagonistic. When one feels very strongly about something they say things (or in this type things) with a great degree of passion and that is how strongly I feel about my case and point that the DualPro 360 is a great detector.
Thank you for taking the time to read this, and have a nice day.
- Carlos
Despite my title, I am not advocating for all Cobra radar detectors. I am of the opinion that their lower end detectors such as the iRad, Rad 450, and Rad 480i are junk and testing results I have seen from other members in the past backs this up. Really the only detector I think worth buying that is a Cobra is the DualPro 360, and maybe Joe Schmoe who doesn't do alot of speeding might get some good use out of the Road Scout.
I am writing this post because I have noticed that despite the DualPro 360 being an excellent detector that has performed exceptionally well for me and for others who have tested/used it, it is still not a detector that people will recommend to others on this forum or isn't considered as a contender detector at all. In fact on my "Introduce Yourself" thread another member said he isn't a fan of Cobra detectors (which is fine), but he also linked me to the radar detector recommendation page in case I decided to "upgrade". While I am certain this comment was not made out of malice, spite or condescension, I can't help but feel if I had been a Max 360 owner, R7 owner, etc owner this would not have been said. But I could be wrong.
I still feel like despite Cobra/Escort putting out an excellent product, alot of people still have this bias against Cobra due to their less than stellar past, which as someone who just got into detectors I will never understand and I accept that. However this is 2020. I am willing to bet if someone told you guys back before Cobra was owned by Escort that there would be a detector with 360 detection in next couple of years, that would actually perform very well with a Cobra logo on it you would call this person mad. In this post I will cover several topics, that I would like everyone to consider very carefully.
I. Overview
I've asked @Vortex to test out the DualPro 360 a few times. And while I understand that outside of being the radar detector guru we all know and love, he has a family, a job and a life outside radar detectors and other CM's and I get that 100%. The reason I bring this up though, is the response I got from him was that the Cobra DualPro 360 is basically just a repackaged Beltronics GT-360. And this is the response I get from alot of people despite there being no testing or any concrete evidence this is actually true. In fact it's based off of nothing more than belief. And being a skeptic, I simply don't agree with this.
To prove my point let's look at two detectors here...
According to Amazon, these detectors first hit their shelves back in 2017. If we look at these two Uniden detectors very closely we can see they look almost identical (with one exception of course), yet nobody would say or even dare make the claim they are the same detector or that Uniden re-packaged one or the other. I'm almost certain we can agree that while the chassis is similar, the hardware under the hood, and their overall performance differs vastly. Yet when we encounter the Cobra DualPro 360 and Beltronics GT-360 people's perception is different.
As someone who also likes computers, it is not uncommon at all for PC companies to utilize the same chassis and change the hardware inside.
Asus for example has used this chassis for several years, the only thing that changed was the hardware components inside which offered different (superior) performance than their previous generation. When you have a good chassis, you have a good chassis. Look at it from Escort's point of view, this is not a practice in the electronics market that is unheard of, in fact it's VERY COMMON. Uniden did it, why can't Escort/Cobra? Is it really a stretch to think that just maybe these two detectors might in fact be different and offer different performance/features? I understand that their screens/buttons are similar too, but lets be real in computers this is literally also true, so again I ask why is it so controversial or seen as sketchy that Cobra did this?
If you still aren't convinced ask yourself why. There is no side-side testing that exists to confirm this, there is no side-side hardware comparison, etc. There is nothing to support this, except for belief. Apart from the identical chassis, there exists nothing. For the most part (in my experience/opinion) alot of people have a negative opinion of the Cobra namebrand when it comes to radar detectors (which is their right), and automatically assume if it has the Cobra logo, it must be bad even if it looks good. I've seen posts from people saying the DualPro 360 looking promising, but they still don't trust it even though logically speaking that is irrational. The fact of the matter is these products have not been tested side by side and therefore the assumption that they are basically the same is unfounded and without merit. If one day they are tested and found to be similar performing, I for one will take it in humble stride as there now exists data to prove this. Until then, it is as stated: unfounded.
II. Testing
Before I begin here, I want to show that I've been true to my word. In my review of the Cobra DualPro 360, I stated several times that I compared this unit to the Max 360 (pictured left). The purpose of this picture is to show that I do indeed possess both detectors. The Max 360 belongs to my father, and I own the DualPro 360. Both units have been tested not in a controlled testing type of environment, but running one unit in the same car (Subaru 2017 Forester) to the same places and back home. The Cobra DualPro 360 performed much better. It alerted sooner, and had FAR fewer false alerts. I realize that I am one person, and my results are not scripture from God, but despite this I have seen people recommend the Max 360 over the DualPro 360. And again this recommendation is based off of the assumption that the Cobra must have something wrong it, or there has to be some kind of catch. The idea that it could just be a good unit seems to be never occur. I would like the DualPro 360 to be included in some larger scale testing. To date there is no concrete evidence the Max 360 outperforms the DP360, as such there is no logical reason to recommend it over the DP360 apart from ones personal bias.
GT-360 vs. Max 360 - Here is a post from someone who compared the GT-360 to the Max 360 and in his results the GT-360 outperformed the Max 360. It is my belief the DualPro 360 is better than the GT-360 and if it beat out the Max 360, it isn't far-fetched to think the DualPro 360 is better as well.
Cobra DualPro 360 Ka Band | Cobra DP360 Night Run - Here are some real life detections done by me. Judge for yourself.
Ok so I've made a case that the DP360 is superior to the Max 360, so what? I also owned a Radenso Pro-M before the DP360 and it's range doesn't come close to the DP360, the only area where I feel the Pro-M did better was filtering but not by much. If we compare the DP360 to other detectors in the price range such as the Uniden R7 and V1G2, I'm sure the DP360 falls short to the Uniden's range but let's be real, while the R7 has great range it has inferior BSM when compared to other detectors in the price range and to my knowledge it doesn't have auto lockout. It should be noted too, that the Cobra DP360 can be picked up for $50-100 cheaper than both detectors mentioned and it has alot of the same features both have (arrows, bluetooth, gps, app, etc). What is it missing? Why the loyal fanbase, and accolades because unfortunately people don't take it seriously. This is not an attack on Uniden or Valentine.
III. Final Thoughts
As a member of many hobbies, whether it's firearms, swords, watches, auto-detailing, and now radar detectors in every hobby there exists a brand that people don't like or turn their noses to. Sometimes I am drawn to these brands, and sometimes I am not. But in the case of radar detectors, I am. I know some people might be thinking that if I want to change perceptions on the DP360, I should do something about it. And I would argue that by making my review, and this post I AM doing something about it. If people actually expect me to buy a bunch of radar guns, or laser which cost thousands of dollars and do my own testing, you are being very unrealistic. While I understand that in a hobby there will always be brands that have proven themselves through stellar reputations and quality, there will also be ones that are trying to do better and go largely ignored (Cobra). I am not saying Cobra deserves a huge loyal fanbase and accolades, but what I am saying is that the DP360 should stop being regarded as a poor attempt by Cobra to sell a re-packaged GT-360 and instead be tested and if it is shown to be a good radar detector then it should be given it's proper respect. In the future it is very possible that the detector could be tested against "the big boys" and fail miserably, if this happens so be it. But for now my impression is that the DP360 is a hidden gem or a diamond in the rough that could be a cheaper alternative to alot of these $480-$500 detectors. Despite my tone I am not trying to be hostile or antagonistic. When one feels very strongly about something they say things (or in this type things) with a great degree of passion and that is how strongly I feel about my case and point that the DualPro 360 is a great detector.
Thank you for taking the time to read this, and have a nice day.
- Carlos
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(assuming you get the DP360). Don't forget there's a guy on here selling his too.
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