At the very top you have the White's Spectra V3 and the Minelab E-Trac. The same battle between White's and Minelab that has been raging for years. Both of these detectors are relatively new, with the V3 being the newest, so reports for comparisons are few. Looking strictly at specifications one would think the V3 is more versatile.
Next in line yet still high-end is the White's DFX, the Minelab SE and the Fisher F75. Although the Fisher F75 is in the same league as the DFX and SE, you really don't see it in the fight like the other two. The battle between the E-Series and the Explorer series tends to hold the top spot. Over the years both have had their pros and cons, but you can see a pattern where these two take different paths.
The Minelab claim to fame is "deep silver" whereas the White's holds the "most versatile" belt. It does seem that the gap is closing somewhat between the V3 and E-Trac as I've seen reports that the V3 can match the E-Trac for deep silver, and the E-Trac, with expanded VDI, can do a better job of target ID that the older models. One weak point of the Minelabs I have yet to see addressed is small gold sensitivity. This is one area where the White's does a better job.
One of the myths you often read about the White's top gun is "it is a complicated detector." To this I say hogwash. This is a myth passed by what I call the knob users. Some people prefer a basic approach to metal detectors and feel the fewer adjustments the better. Fact is there are some killer detectors in this range, and most of these users are very very good at getting the optimum performance out of these scaled down detectors. I believe Tesoro is the leader of this type of detector. I look at complicated like a stereo. Yes having a simple tone control(clockwise for highs counter clockwise for lows) makes operating the stereo simple and can be just as loud(depth) as any top of the line stereo, but not everyone is simply looking for volume.
Add a 32 band equalizer and you now have more control, but if you do not understand how to use that equalizer, you can make it sound like crap. Learn and understand how to use that equalizer, and there is no doubt when it come to performance.
Choosing the right detector is tough simply because what is right for Johnny, may not be right for Bill. To make matters even more complicated is the reports you read. George posts about finding a crap load of old coins with brand-a yet Tom posts with brand-a is total crap. I prefer to look at reports and not see what is being found, because even that $50 detector can make some fantastic finds in the right conditions, but see what is not being found. This is a more reliable way to compare detectors. If you like finding jewelry, for example, look at the users of brand-a and see if they are finding that jewelry. If not, chances are that is not the detector for you.