Yup... I met The Lama and his friend a few weeks ago and spent about an hour running the new machine against the SovWOT.
Lama, correct me if I'm wrong, but I believe this gentleman said he worked for Fisher in years past. Nice guy. He was very excited about his machine which I'll refer to as "The X". Yes, he said it was new technology, not single-freq, not multi, and not PI. And yes, he said his patent should clear any day.
My SovWOT is hip-mounted with a home made CF shaft holding the 15" WOT. The X had a CF shaft with the controls mounted on the handle and lithium batteries that, if I remember correct, dropped down into the upper shaft. I believe it had an 8.5"X11" coil. The X, with batteries, was about the same weight as my CF shaft with the WOT. The controls aren't waterproof, but he said it would be okay if you dropped it in the water as long as you got it out quickly.
I didn't play with the controls... volume, sensitivity, etc. He just set it up and I ran with it. He did mention you can change the hunting frequency, so it leads me to believe The X is capable of multiple frequencies, but can only transmit one at a time.
We focused on a nickel and quarter buried 8"-12" in wet, black sand just outside the water line. We didn't test gold or silver and didn't test the coins with nails or other iron near or on the target.
My SovWOT picked up every target his machine hit, but while I was digging a change in the threshold, The X gave a more clear, repeatable tone. I have a very purposeful slow swing with the SovWOT, but with The X I could swing much quicker and pick up a very noticeable tone over the target. When I slowed the swing speed with The X, it was as if you could hear the target approaching, then becoming louder directly over the target, and then fading as the coil moved away. This made pinpointing off the tip of the coil a little different, but I could get used to it. I did pick up some falsing as I scraped the sand while walking, but I presume this would be remedied by adjusting the sensitivity.
After using OBN's Skullys on the SovWOT for the last five years, I'm very particular about headphones cutting out ambient noise. This was my main complaint with The X. Wind noise, waves, and beach conversations came in loud and clear. I had to focus to hear average targets and it was VERY difficult to hear faint tones.
Overall, The X was a good unit. Light, quickly recognized targets, seemed to filter the black sand well, and good repeatable tones. I'd like to run one for a week to put it through the ringer... test gold and silver, mixed targets with iron, play with the sensitivity, etc. I would also like to experience it with much better headphones.
R5