Whistler DE-1763 - A Little Chubbier... A Lot Further Away From Greatness
Written: Jan 07 '04
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Pros: Still low priced, Good coverage, Compass, Ease of use, Looks
Cons: Quiet, No voice alerts, Bulkier
The Bottom Line: The Whistler DE-1763 is comparable to the smaller Whistler DE-1753, but the latter proves to be a better overall detector for less money.
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| soupcraze's Full Review: Whistler DE-1763 Radar Detector |
The Whistler DE-1763 is one of the latest radar detectors which I tested. However, these tests WERE NOT performed in my car, but instead this was my friend's detector which he returned the next day and stayed with a Whistler DE-1753. He wanted to see which was better, and here's what I found.
-Price-
*The Whistler DE-1763 can be found for about $100 or just a few dollars more than the Whistler DE-1753. At Best Buy where he bought them at, the Whistler DE-1763 goes for $129.99 while the Whistler DE-1753 is $99.99. This pushes a $20 difference in price between the two models. Yes, they do look similar, but the Whistler DE-1763 is built on a larger frame. It's quite a bit of a chubbier unit, and you may just wonder whether it has better performance or not. The Whistler DE-1763 does have an extra feature that the Whistler DE-1753 doesn't have, such as the digital compass. However, stupidly (VERY STUPIDLY) enough, the Whistler DE-1763 doesn't have voice alerts! That's what makes some detectors better to use than others for people! Oh well, other than that, maybe you can expect better performance? Well, the Whistler DE-1763 offered no real better range over the Whistler DE-1753, and the lack of voice alerts and poor volume levels put it behind the cheaper competition from a lower cost Whistler unit.
-Performance-
*The Whistler DE-1763 was mounted next to the Whistler DE-1753 on the windshield of a 2000 Toyota Corolla CE. Not much of an appealing target for cops, but still it's a car! We went into the typical K and Ka band territories that I'm used to finding cops in. Our first test was in K-Band territory. The Whistler DE-1763 provided only a second of extra time before the Whistler DE-1753 went off on K-Band alert. In other words, they practically went off at almost the same time even though the Whistler DE-1763 is a larger and more expensive detector. When it came to Ka-Band, both went off at almost the same time yet again, again the more expensive and larger unit providing no real advantage. The Whistler DE-1763 performs well enough that it can help slow down anyone that is maybe 10mph over the speed limit, or at most 15mph, safely with enough warning. Even though the Whistler DE-1763 is larger and more expensive, it fails to compare to a Beltronics Vector series radar detector that's priced at around the upper-$100's for a Vector 940 or 960. Don't expect this thing to be your messiah if you're very lead footed, look elsewhere for that such as Beltronics, Escort, or Valentine One.
-Ease of Use & Features-
*The big bummer of the Whistler DE-1763 is that it has no voice alerts! The cheaper Whistler DE-1753 has excellent quality voice alerts, I wonder why it was so difficult integrating them into this unit. This is especially bad when it's combined with the very poor speaker quality. The volume was put up to 7, which is the maximum, and the alerts were much quieter compared to the Whistler DE-1753. If you listen to fairly loud music, then the alerts may not be audible at all. So if you're very much into the sound aspect of radar detectors, you may want to try something else. The Whistler DE-1763 does have a digital compass though, which some people find to be very nice. The Whistler DE-1763's compass is easy to collaborate and worked accurately after everything was in place. The Whistler DE-1763 has other nice features such as VG-2 alert and Safety Warning System (SWS). The Whistler DE-1763 does have a nice easy to read red text display which works very well and gives a great strength indication on the bands. However, you get the same screen with the Whistler DE-1753! The Whistler DE-1763 isn't difficult to use, it uses the buttons that are located on top of the detector. You can turn it on and off from there, and use the two discrete volume buttons to adjust volume. Then there's the button for Highway and City mode where you can set it to different city modes. I prefer driving in Highway mode all the time. Overall, the Whistler DE-1763 does pack some nice features into it, though it's sad that it lacks voice alerts! The Whistler DE-1763 is also easy to use once you get the hang of it, and the red text display is easy to read.
-The Verdict-
*The Whistler DE-1763 is only slightly more expensive than the Whistler DE-1753, but there are some things that set it back. It lacks voice alerts which the cheaper unit has. It is also quieter than the cheaper model, and this can be crucial for cars with louder environments such as for people who play loud music or convertibles. The Whistler DE-1763 however has the digital compass which some people find to be a very neat and useful feature. The Whistler DE-1763 and Whistler DE-1753 share the same kind of red text display which is very efficient and high quality. Both of the detectors have almost identical performance, despite the difference in size. However, when you're comparing the two up front, the Whistler DE-1753 comes out on top since it has voice alerts, better volume, is smaller for easier storage, and best of all, will save you some money! Overall, the Whistler DE-1763 is a pretty good detector, but you can get more bang for your buck.
Recommended:
Yes
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soupcraze
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Member: Soup Enthusiast
Location: Chicago, Illinois
Reviews written: 488
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I enjoy many of life's passions... Music, medicine, people, and life itself.
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