Beltronics STi Magnum

The Beltronics STi Magnum replaces the Beltronics STi Driver, a perennial top pick thanks to its ability to mask its presence to police equipment. Beltronics says the STi Magnum "improves both the stealth capability of the original and has a 60 percent performance improvement in range" over the STi driver.

Indeed, the STi Magnum proves invisible to police radar-detector detectors (RDDs) in SpeedZones.com's latest test, and is very effective at detecting radar, even from as far as nine miles away, and over hills. The STi Magnum also consistently detects police laser guns at all of SpeedZones.com's tested distances, from 500 to 1,500 feet away. However, this brand-new model hasn't been as widely tested as its sister model, the Escort RedLine (*Est. $500) , which is also invisible to RDDs. It's important to note that neither of these stealth detectors has GPS, so they can't alert you to speed and red-light cameras like the top-rated Escort Passport 9500ix (*Est. $500) can.

The Beltronics STi Magnum had just hit the market at the time of this update, so few sources have reviewed it. Notably, though, SpeedZones.com includes the STi Magnum in its excellent annual comparison test. The "Veil Guy," a longtime radar detector reviewer, does briefly test the STi Magnum at RadarDetectorForum.org and discusses it further on his Veil Guy Blog. A Beltronics press release says the STi Magnum improves over its predecessor, the STi Driver.