opinoins needed please

I thought the original Explorer was better than the Mk II but the build quality was a real problem. Had two DFX's as I bought one then won one.
Its hard to make a suggestion without knowing what you want to do with the machine, relics, coinshooting, wet beach etc.
Then consider weight/balance as you don't want to be giving up after a couple of hours with muscle strain.
Then there's the learning curve. I would think its easier to get better depth out of the Explorer. To match the Minelab you do have to tweak the DFX functions.
Then there's the state of your hearing if its poor.
Last of all, have you selected the two machines as you feel or been told twin or multifrequency is far better than single ?

Hi Bob... welcome!
This is a (touched-up) post that I made in the old forum (before we "up-graded" to a new forum format a couple weeks ago):

IMHO, the DFX is built more "ruggedly" (I'm talking "framework" here. The shaft of the DFX, for instance, is metal, compared to the Minelab's plastic shaft)... but don't forget... they both have their own individual "distinguished" learning curves, though, they both come through with flying colours.
Weighing all the pros and cons of both machines (through personal experience with my own DFX and someone I know that has a Minelab), I'd have to say that they both can do everything that's expected of them.
I'd be the first to say that I would not hesitate to purchase either one. That's how highly I rate them both. I guess you should do a lot of reading about both of them, then decide which is best for you. Whichever you choose, you'll zero in on learning it's abilities (it's individual sounds for different targets) with a little practice...!
All the best of luck in your choice, Digman... an' very HH...!

Krom

Hi Bob. Give me a call and we can go over the two. Simply put though , the Explorer II is the better , deeper detector but you need to understand more of what it's telling you. The DFX is not quite as deep but is much easier to start out with and adjust. Like Brian said , what are your main hunting interests ? This will alos help determine what model you will be comfortable with. All in all I use both with the DFX being my main detector because I like the sound , programmability is easy and it finds the goodies with better pinpointing.

I use an Explorer II. For the record, the lower shaft is carbon fiber, not plastic. I find that the pinpointing may be the only "weakness" of the Explorer. Through my six months of use, I have found that the pinpointing varies with the target, and or conditions. 75 % of the time, I'm dead on without going to the pinpoint mode, other times, I am as much as 6 inches off. This may be due to my limited experience, but I find it mostly when in trashy areas where one type of target may be disc. out, and is lying next to an acceptable target type. I just added a Sunray probe, which I find well worth it, and a real time saver, although I still carry my Bullseye II. I have retrieved BB size targets from over 18 " in a cornfield where conditions were good, as well as outstanding depth at the beach both in the wet and dry.

I started off with a Bounty Hunter. This was very easy to use, much like any beginner MD. But I decided quickly that I love the hobby and wanted to purchase the most advanced, deep running, multi purpose detector available. I believe it is the Explorer ll. But, my experience is limited to less than 8 months. As you can see these folks here have 20 years experience on me.
That?s my

Just for the record I find pin pointing very accurate with the Minelab. I think it may be part of the learning curve. Cladius.