Minelab X-Terra 305 vs ACE 250

[lloyd0161]

Do you think its fair to compare the Ace to the 305? Was following a guy tonight with one. He didn't seem to be getting much we talked for a few minutes compared notes........

........BTW I have the 505 with the standard coil 7.5Khz and each of the 3 quarters were at least 6 inches down and not in the plug I had to remove an inch or two of soil to retrieve them

I was just comparing these two detectors because they are the entry level detectors of each manufacturer. Actually, the ACE 250 in the hands of a practiced detectorist will do quite well. Since I have rejoined this hobby after a long absense, I purchased the ACE 250 as this was I could afford. I did very well with the ACE and have a good collection of finds. However, I am used to having a detector with a few more features such as manual ground balance and audible threshold.

When Diggler offered his 305 to me I jumped on it cause it sounded like what I was looking for in the interim period while waiting to afford another high end machine such as the E-Trac or V3 possibly. The X-Terra 305 has proved to be much better than the ACE 250 for me personally. My hunting buddy has invested in the ACE 250 and plans to learn its abilities. He received a pretty good deal on his package with 3 coils and should do fairly well. He actually out hunted me today at a local soccer field. It all depends on searching in the right area of a particular site. I thought I might pick up some older coins in a tree grove. During our brief hunt I found plenty of trash. On the other hand, my buddy, "edfire", with his ACE 250, found plenty of coins and a charm necklace. We plan to continue tomorrow and hunt possibly along a public sidewalk and at a local park we have not tried yet.

 

[TopPop]

Sorry lloyd,

I should have been more clear. I didn't mean the comparsion itself was not fair. I was thinking that the coil selection as described by of both machines in the comparsion by edfire made it unfair.

As I understand it and please correct me if I'm wrong the HF coil for 305 is going to increase sensitivity and to a certian degree descrimination of targets at the expense depth where as the that the coil ACE had on would increase depth at some cost of discrimination. I think edfire was trying to point that out by describing the configuration of both machines. But since everyone new to this hobby (self included) gets overly caught up in trying to buy the deepest seeking machine for the money. Which btw I've come to learn in some situations doesn't actually equate to more and better finds.

I think your comparision of the machines would be even more meaningfull if you can run both machines in there "stock" configurations as a base line comparsion and then switch out the coils to demonstrate how coil selection can alter there operation. I only offer this suggestion up because I rarely see anyone posting a thread stating they are going to uprgrade the coil

The threads go something like ... Well I've been using (insert entry level MD brand here) for about 2 months now... and I think I'm ready for (insert top of line model of your choice here) because I'll find more and better treasure

Just seems to me that It might be really helpfull to people if this comparsion could show them that changing the configuration of the detector can alter it to the point where they might not need to spend a ton of money and maybe even find different types of treasures at sites they have previously considered "hunted out"

 

[Edfire]

TopPop, my post was an "FYI" post and certainly not designed to alter one's purchasing decisions based on what I wrote. We were both using non-stock coils and hunting the same area to see what each of our finds "looked like" to our respective detectors, equipped as they were. Our mental notes and discussions were replied to in this thread by me after the hunt.

With Lloyd "checking" my finds prior to digging them, he assisted me in learning my detector's tones/display to verify what was in the hole. It was a great learning experience for me, who is fairly new at the hobby, to I.D. targets.

I would love to have hunted with my "stock" coil with Lloyd however it was inoperable right out of the box and needs to be returned to Garrett for service. I have been switching back and forth to the extreme, with the 4.5" sniper coil to the 9x12 deep seeking coil. I need that stock 6.5x9 quick, however the soccer field finds were all using the sniper (a lot of swinging!) so it will probably stay on for now.

Ed

 

[sectshun8]

Nice review Llyod... I reviewed the Xterra 30 vs the ACE 250 over a year ago and came to the same conclusion.

Both solid beginner machines, but my little X30 was a silver magnet for a few months and I fell in love with it.

 

[SeniorSeeker]

Garrett Ace 250 Vs. Minelab X-terra 305

The differences between the two is considerable but the one thing no one has mentioned is that, with the X-terra, you can change frequency by changing coils. Food for thought. The bottom line is: you get what you pay for and maybe more?

 

[Dustyloins]

I LOVE my 705 and the 18.75 kHz DD coil it comes with is perfect for gold. It IS nice knowing I can have a "2nd detector" with another coil at less cost than another quality detector.....

Dusty

 

[sllingshot47]

Well, I made the right choice with the Ace. I'm only a totlot and shallow coin and jewelry hunter and the sniper coil gets me almost against the playground equipment and that's where I find a lot of stuff others can't find. I just got tired of the deep stuff and am really enjoying this hobby the easiest way possible. It's all fun to me! If I'm able to retire next year, I might try one of the deep machines. Wouldn't know what to do with one of those, probably think I was in detector heaven.

 

[Tropical]

I bought the Minelab X-Terra 305 because of this post..
Thanks

 

[KellycoChick]

I recently made the transition from ACE 250 to the X-Terra 305. I am very pleased with this change as the X-Terra IMHO has an edge over the ACE. Don't get me wrong, the ACE 250 will find a lot of stuff but the X-Terra appears to have an edge, at least for me personally.

One thing that has improved for me with the X-Terra is less falsing over iron. The ACE seemed to false a lot over iron. This happened for me even when reducing the sensitivity (and depth). With patience this can be sorted out with the ACE before digging most of the time. On the other hand, I am finding that the X-Terra deals with iron much better with minimal falsing. I even found a nickel sitting right on top of a piece of corroded barbwire at about 5 inches depth. The target separation was made possible with the 99 tones of the X-terra where both iron and nickel were heard in close proximity. This last nickel is the only coin that the ACE 250 could not find in my yard. In other words, the ACE did its job very well. But I was required to use all three coils available to the ACE. On the flip side, the X-Terra seems to be able to sort things out with just the stock 9" concentric coil. Unfortunately the coins had already been dug using the ACE so a signal comparison could not be done.

I will say that a follow-up trip to the local ball field produced 4 more quarters and 2 dimes in 30 minutes with the X-Terra in an area that I had already covered with the ACE. I also found a stainless steel mood ring in a brief hunt the evening before.

I really enjoy having a threshold and manual ground balance again with the X-Terra. I am used to this type of detector and was dismayed when the new fangled detectors were made silent search. I hope they keep building this feature into the Minelabs. I think it is better to hear a slight tone (hum) and have the notched out targets drop out when sensed.

Also, I think the pinpoint on the X-Terra is slightly better than the ACE. I say "slightly" because I had absolutley no problem pinpointing with the ACE. The X-Terra 305 is a little more precise and has the VCO feature and overload on shallow targets. Both detectors feature non-motion pinpoint which I prefer over detectors like the Vaquero which I found to be strange.

I have also found that it is important to master the manual ground balance with the X-Terra 305 right away as you are required to do this before detecting. If you don't, the good targets "will" be choppy and appear to be junk. I tested this, so accurate precise ground balancing is essential to success with the X-Terra.

The X-Terra 305 I purchased as used is equipped with the high frequency 18.75 khz coil. I have read that this is very good for gold and nickels and this has proven to be the case with an increased nickel finds in the day and half I have had this detector. I have also read that the downside of this HF coil is a slight loss in overall depth over the 7.5khz standard coil. So I plan on adding the 9" 7.5 khz coil as well as the 6" coil in 7.5khz.

A couple other features I like about the X-Terra over the ACE is the location of the headphone jack being on the right hand side (good for right handers but not for lefties) and the overall balance. The ACE seemed to me to be front heavy whereas the X-Terra is very light in overall feel and is more balanced.

I have a new hunting buddy locally who will be using his ACE 250 and I definately plan a side by side comparison on found targets in the near future. I will keep you posted if interested.

Both are excellent, low cost detectors. I just prefer the X-Terra. Unfortunately I could not keep both due to the "wife factor".

Lloyd! what a wonderful review! We would LOVE to have you post it on the Kellyco website.

http://www.kellycodetectors.com/minelab/minelab-xterra305_buy.htm

We LOVE to hear about the different detectors and what you love or even don't love about them!!! Happy Hunting!

 

[biliff1]

OK, here we go again..."patience". I guess I have any issue with this word. I don't use the spell/ grammar check, I guess I should from now on.

Who cares about spelling or grammer. As long as you get your point across.