AT Pro vs X-Terra 505

[detectingMO]

great deal on Gold pack plus digger coil

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Minelab-X-t...etal_Detector_Accessories&hash=item2c868fe0d8

 

[Relichunter3]

I have a buddy with the 505, and I have the ATP. I recently went on vacation and let him borrow my ATP to use while I was gone. He has been on the fence about buying the ATP..until he used mine. We were water detecting at a FW beach not too long ago and I found a small gold necklace charm. He ran it under his coil and he could barely even hear it...WIDE OPEN....and this was using his high $$ Fisher. So I think the ATP can out perform or hang in there with any detector on the market.

 

[Longhair]

I have a buddy with the 505, and I have the ATP. I recently went on vacation and let him borrow my ATP to use while I was gone. He has been on the fence about buying the ATP..until he used mine. We were water detecting at a FW beach not too long ago and I found a small gold necklace charm. He ran it under his coil and he could barely even hear it...WIDE OPEN....and this was using his high $$ Fisher. So I think the ATP can out perform or hang in there with any detector on the market.

Really, it's a meaningless comparison, unless you're restricting both machines to stock configuration. An 18.75kHz coil on the Xterra has no problem with finding sub-gram gold, and the stock 7.5kHz 9" concentric coil is not one that I would ever choose for beach hunting, so it boils down to understanding the task and "the right tool for the job".

 

[Chipk]

I have an ATP and a 705. I realize you are asking about the 505 but I will still add my comments on these two.
GREAT MACHINES! I love both and it's often difficult to decide which to use.
The 705 is slightly lighter in weight. Not much but if your friend has any physical issues it can be important.
The 705 seems to find more but the ATP I believe pinpoints better. I also find the ATP gives false signals when the coil hits tall stalks of grass and the 705 does not.
And the 705 has a much larger learning curve than the ATP and the ATP can be submerged and the 705 can not.
Flip a coin.

 

[Dirtfishn350]

Xterra has my vote,
I'm working on a straight shaft & water proof set up, for my 705.
(BEST OF BOTH WORLD!)
Don't forget the ATP has almost a 50% fail rate. I'm sure its a great detector when it's not in the shop.

 

[shedigz]

I have an ATP and a 705. I realize you are asking about the 505 but I will still add my comments on these two.
GREAT MACHINES! I love both and it's often difficult to decide which to use.
The 705 is slightly lighter in weight. Not much but if your friend has any physical issues it can be important.
The 705 seems to find more but the ATP I believe pinpoints better. I also find the ATP gives false signals when the coil hits tall stalks of grass and the 705 does not.
And the 705 has a much larger learning curve than the ATP and the ATP can be submerged and the 705 can not.
Flip a coin.

The 705 has a higher learning curve? I found it to be the opposite. I had a hard time learning the ATP and traded mine for the 705 and found I was able to learn it much quicker.

I think the ATP is a nice machine but too chatty for me and the only thing it had going for it is the fact its water proof. But I don't water hunt so it doesn't matter to me that the 705 isn't waterproof.
With the ATP I got lots of false signals in tall grass and rocky soils.

 

[NectarDetector]

Don't forget the ATP has almost a 50% fail rate. I'm sure its a great detector when it's not in the shop.

Wow, point us to your fact based statistics on that figure... me things someone is exaggerating

 

[Dflan83]

ATP is a great machine, but then again so is the 705 and I would say the ability to switch frequencies with the coil is a good tradeoff between waterproof if you hunt on land only.

I may try to buy one eventually and waterproof it.

 

[Longhair]

Wow, point us to your fact based statistics on that figure... me things someone is exaggerating

Probably citing the survey done on this very forum. And while not scientific, it is still somewhat representative.

http://metaldetectingforum.com/showpost.php?p=1945048&postcount=1

 

[Dirtfishn350]

Probably citing the survey done on this very forum. And while not scientific, it is still somewhat representative.

http://metaldetectingforum.com/showpost.php?p=1945048&postcount=1

Thanks, couldn't find the link!
Also, I will add that I am reading post on this forum & others. The worst thing I have heard about the (xterra series) is the coil ears are weak! (So don't over tighten) Almost everyday I read, a post about an ATP problem. Don't get me wrong the pro was at the TOP of my upgrade list but after a lot of research! I wanted a bigger bang for my buck. I didn't mean any disrespect, & I am and always will be a Garrett fan. Found some awesome finds with the 350!
HH

 

[gianetics]

an educated guess says that The atp has sold 10x all of the xterra series combined. so of course you will hear about more problems. Also every always talks about the versatility of three frequency's. but how the heck can you know whats in the ground lets say you put the 3kz coil to target deep silver at a schoolyard then you miss deep gold or the exact opposite. not to mention the coils are expensive. so if you buy the xterra and a few extra coils you could have just put it towards a better machine to begin with.
finaly the resale of the ATP blows the xterra out of the water. the machine lists at 799 and routinely sells for below 500 sometimes below 400. where the atp sells at 595 and sells used for 400-450 on average.

Do i think the ATP is better NO i give the Xterra a very slight advantage in my limited use. however they are close imo and the whole coil thing is a ridiculous argument. everyone needs to be a little objective here. just because you own a particular brand doesnt make it the @#@# and just because you hated another one doesnt make it a piece of !!!!.

both good machines pic the one your leaning towards and call it a day.

 

[ohiochris]

I have no experience with the 505 , just with the AT pro. If you are gonna get it wet get the AT pro , if not then get something else. The AT is a decent machine but aside from it being waterproof there just really isnt anything about it that makes it special.

 

[Ice Scratcher]

The AT is a decent machine but aside from it being waterproof there just really isnt anything about it that makes it special.

Going into a hunted out spot and sniping two pieces of gold, .2 grams, and .4 grams, makes it pretty special IMO...

<*)))>{

 

[ohiochris]

Going into a hunted out spot and sniping two pieces of gold, .2 grams, and .4 grams, makes it pretty special IMO...

<*)))>{

Yeah it does. But what I am getting at is there are other detectors in the mid price range that can do everything the pro can do , some things maybe even better. I guess it would be more accurate for me to say there isnt much to make the pro stand out from among the rest , except for water proof. Not that it aint special , it just isnt all that different.

But Im saying that as someone who still likes my AT pro.