Minelab vs Whites

[curly80]

I've been looking into metal detectors for a year, and I've made a promise that this is the year!

I've been leaning towards Minelab. I've seen some good reviews for the Sovereign GT, X terra 305 and 705.

In my other thread they mentioned White's M6.

I'm just stuck on what to get. I have money to spend but what I buy I will have to be very happy with b/c I can't just go out and get another if its not working out for me. I would like to place my order this weekend.

I'm looking for versitility. I will be looking on farmland, forest, and sometimes beaches. I will be looking for anything.

I guess I should be happy that I have it narrowed down to 2 brands!

 

[h20hawgs]

Never used those Minelabs... Just the SE series new and old! Can not help with the other models. If you spend a little more the SE Pro will be a great choice! Good Luck...

 

[RWJR13]

Where are you located?

 

[curly80]

central illinois, and we vacation in Florida(all over)

 

[RWJR13]

You'll get all kinds of info from many different members on different brands.....One thing I've learned is not many of us just have one detector and not many have not upgraded a time or two.....It's part of the madnessm or addiction.....And I love it...There's brands of detectors I haven't used and never will....I just love the brand I use cause they work for me....I can honestly say my time is limited on the M6 but know many who have it and swear by it and the fantastic finds made with it.....Any brand you get there will always be extra coils you will want or need...Whichever you choose....Have a blast and Good Luck...........

 

[curly80]

Thanks very much! I'm so excited to get started!

 

[Ferrous]

Not to confuse you but I swing an MXT and my buddy swings a 705. The two machines seem to perform similarly but I would check both out at a dealer. My 2 cents, either unit is good. You almost need a second machine for beach detecting from what I have read. Other members correct me if I am wrong. Main thing is to learn your detector and try not to get frustrated. Oh and have fun.

 

[Metallian]

Minelab.

Whites has been trying to compete with Minelab's technology but they always seem to fall a bit short. The high end Whites detectors (V3, DFX, and XLT) are a nightmare to use, in my opinion, because of the amount of adjustments you must make in the settings menu. If you like the idea of having to scroll through dozens of screens and adjusting certain settings at every site you go to, then the "fine tuning" ability of the Whites detectors might be up your alley. The high end Whites detectors are about as far from a "turn on and go" detector as you can get. They are also very expensive.

Now, the high end Minelab's (E-trac, Explorer) take some practice as well, but there are no where near as many settings to worry about. You don't have to tweak the detector as much to get them to perform well. They just work. Press the noise cancel button, turn on the "deep" setting, "fast" off for non trashy areas (switch this for trashy areas), and then just focus on learning the different tones.

Go on Youtube and search for "Norfolk Wolf DFX" and watch the review to see what I mean about the finnicky nature that Whites detectors have. In the preset "coin" mode, the DFX had the worst performance of any detector I have seen in all of his videos. It wasn't until he put it into "relic mode" that it started to perform decently.

 

[RWJR13]

Yes the DFX and XLT has terrible preset modes.....They were just plain jane. No depth, very calm programs...The SV3 is completely different...Super hot presets out of the box....Too hot? Maybe for some grounds...Time it takes to calm it down on the menu....5 seconds......... to each their own.....that's what makes this Forum great....

 

[TogaLive]

Well they are both great brands! Personally, I have used an MXT, and I LOVED it! However, It was not my machine, so it had to go back at the end of the day. Currently though, I am the proud owner of a Minelab Xterra 305, and I couldnt be happier! To give you an idea, this is a link to a post I made after my first day out hunting with it at some beaches In addition to that, I've been able to pick targets up incredibly deep with this detector (in that post I got 16" after reburying the dime, but since I have dug up dime sized objects laying flat at 2+ ft), and besides the pinpointing accuracy and the clear display, that is my favorite aspect. Im able to go over an area and know that if there IS something, I'll be able to find it 99% of the time. Oh! And the manual ground balancing is easy to use, and works wonders if your in heavily mineralized areas. I've visited beaches that have sand black as black with minerals, where our MPX just goes crazy with chatter, but once balanced im off to detecting as usual

Being able to notch out individual VDI's is great in this detector too. I can just go along, and If I start getting a certain VDI that just rings in all over the place, I can just press two buttons and its notched out Having a preset "All Metal" mode, and two customizable discrimination presets is great aswell

So anyways, the Minelab XTerra 305 has my personal recommendation, I'm not recommending Whites over Minelab, or Minelab over Whites, but I think this is one heck of a machine at one heck of a price

Have any questions just toss me a PM

P.S: Take note of the volume of smileys? This machine makes my day whenever I take it out, and thats the bottom line on why I like it so much

 

[daveinoregon]

I've been looking into metal detectors for a year, and I've made a promise that this is the year!

I've been leaning towards Minelab. I've seen some good reviews for the Sovereign GT, X terra 305 and 705.

In my other thread they mentioned White's M6.

I'm just stuck on what to get. I have money to spend but what I buy I will have to be very happy with b/c I can't just go out and get another if its not working out for me. I would like to place my order this weekend.

I'm looking for versitility. I will be looking on farmland, forest, and sometimes beaches. I will be looking for anything.

I guess I should be happy that I have it narrowed down to 2 brands!

I was in your shoes, I know. Buddy of mine has a 305 great machine, good build quality, excellent pinpoint and incredible depth. Best whites I have used is a xlt (another buddy owns it) and it is a very solid performer although a bit dated in technology and a little harder to use than the 305 unless you just run preset programs.

I really liked the 705 after reading about it but it was a little more than I wanted to spend. I almost ordered a 305 when I came across the fisher f5.
Reviews where great the interface looked to be incredibly easy to use and versatile on the fly.

I took a chance and ordered it, knowing if I abolutely hated it that they hold resale and while I would take a loss, I could easily sell and pick up a 305.

That will never happen....this machine is amazing. The only thing lacking imo is the build quality in comparison to the minelab or whites, a touch less depth than the minelab, but the ease of use, ability to wade thru a pile of garbage metal disc that out and find a coin is amazing, so is the ground balance on the fly. And the user interface, pinpoint, etc, etc

After trying my machine out my buddies are jealous and they have what I consider to be very good machines.

If you dont like fisher products no worries, doesnt bother me, this is my first one. I just wanted to give you another option and my opinion.

Both of the machines you listed are very good and you would be happy with them I"m sure.

Happy Hunting,

Monolyth

 

[toehead]

As you can glean from the replies, opinions are varied as to which detector. You settle on one that fits you and your hunting. I haven't used either of the detectors you are asking about, so I am not much help there.
I will add that if possible go to a dealer near you and use one, hold it, ask questions. Then if possible go to another dealer, one that carries the other brand your looking at, do the same thing there. Some members have bought a detector online only to find out it is too heavy for them, or the tones it makes drives them crazy. Besides your local dealers are a wealth of information and who doesn't like to buy locally.
My 2 cents.
Hope this might help.

 

[pescadore]

Had a Minelab X-terra 50 and was a decent machine but slowwwww!!! I also have the Fisher F5 and have been very impressed with it. Great machine !!!

 

[Foundit]

I am curiuose to what you mean or what is ment buy "slow machine" ?

 

[hoser]

Opinions on different machines vary like sand pebbles on the beach. I have had the DFX, used the MXT, tried the ML 705, and now own the Etrac. All are great machines, and given the proper time to master will do just what you want it to. One thing I did just before buying the Etrac was I went to Kellyco, ckicked on the unit I was most interested in and just above the pic of the md there is a blue bar saying"compare this machine"
Here is an example for you to get started with. These are all the tech specs for you to mull over that may help in your decision making.http://www.kellycodetectors.com/whites/whites-eseries-MXT.htm
This GREATLY helped me decide thats for sure. That along with replies from the good people here on the forum should aid you a lot. Good luck on your quest.

 

[CAVScout]

Minelab

Minelab for sure E-Trac

 

[Vito]

The ML Sovereign GT is one excellent machine. If you're on vacation in florida it will do good in beach hunting. (just a thought). There are 2 things I didn't like, the pinpoint and the depth. Pinpoint wasn't dead on, and depth is too deep.

 

[itfchaos]

I have used both an XLT and just recently purchased the minelab safari (last week). I like the safari better. I am picking up deeper targets and I like the minelab design and layout of their menus, buttons, etc... The only thing I do miss on the safari that the XLT had is the trigger pin point. If minelab would put a trigger for some functions on their machine it would be better in my opinion. Maybe I am just so use to it being there on the XLT.

Either way both are great machines, I would love to try out a whites V3 someday.

 

[Haywire]

MineLab

The minelab seems to lock onto targets better. The noise cancelation of 28 is way better than Whites.

 

[Haywire]

white vs Minelab

There are 3 of us here. I have a M6- my husband a MXT and our friend has a DFX. ( ALL Whites ) We are all currently switching over to Minelab. We have 2 Kevin has so far 7 hunts and 11 pieces of silver with a minelab explorer II vs lots of trash and hard to use Whites DFX. NO contest!!