A couple of questions for an experienced user???

[Squirmingcoil77]

I've been using my Minelab X-Terra 705 for some time now and i'm quite happy with it. I've also been swinging a White's DFX which I'm not so happy with. I'll always have two metal detectors, so one has to go and it's definitely not the X-Terra. That being said, I'm now in the market for a new detector and have been looking at various units and have come across the Sovereign. Not ever having used one before, I have a few of questions...

I've never used a non-metered detector before so how do you judge depth?

Is it easy to recognize the sound of a good target, say a silver ring compared to a clad penny? With my X-Terra I always know when I hit a quarter or silver object. High tones!

How good is the discriminator and how exactly does the notching work?

What's the difference between the GT with a "s" rod compared to one that comes with a straight shaft? Older? newer?

I rarely go to the beach so I would be using this for relic hunting in the woods, open fields and park hunting around schools and playgrounds. Is this the kind of detector for those situations, or would I be better off with something else?

Any other input or additional info would be greatly appreciated. Thanks!

 

[Neil]

If your set on getting another minelab I would more look at an explorer or etrac. If your not set on minelab I would take a good look at the Fisher F75.

The Sovereign basically seperates targets up by a variety of tones, kinda like the Xterra does with the multi tone setting. Your gonna have a hard time seperating up clad pennys and silver coins by ear, but it can be done with the optional Sov meter.
Depth is tough also because of the broad sound the Sov gives off. It does have a diminishing sound on deeper targets but dont expect to tell the difference between a coin thats 2" deep and 6" deep by ear.
The notching on the Sovereign is basically an unadjustable window that you can move around the disc range. That window is a set size, you cannot adjust it like on the Xterra.

The explorer, etrac and F75 all have meters built in and in those meters are depth gauges, battery condition, target ID, all what your Xterra offers.

Based on where your hunting I would definetly look into an F75. Your Xterra 705 can suffice for your beach hunting as long as your not wading. If wading is something that could be important to you, look into a Garrett AT pro or AT gold.

 

[GeorgeinSC]

I have had my Sovereign GT for one year. I Love It. However it is a bear to learn. (That is just my opinion.) I purchased it July 2012 and was beginning to think that I had wasted a bunch of hard earned money. It was the first detector that I had ever purchased. I purchased one of the Meters from "Ron In Michigan". That is when I started to understand what the tones were giving me. The meter gives a digital reading to go along with the tones from the Sovereign. There is a sticky on this forum that gives a pretty good list of what the numbers should be for each metal item.

I have not found any way to accurately judge the depth of a target. Deeper targets do give a weaker/softer tone. I have dug dimes that were down 8 or more inches and I could just tell that there was some high tones in what I was hearing.

You asked about the difference in shafts. As far as I know the straight shaft is on all the later models of the Sovereign. My Gt came with the straight shaft and all advertisements for the GT show the straight shaft.

The Gt will discriminate out iron and steel. It usually Nulls the threshold when you pass the coil over such an item. In All Metal it lets you know for Everything.

I thoroughly enjoy using my GT. Don't know that I would recommend it to someone who has never used one but once I learned the tones I began to find lots of things and less junk. Of course as with most detectors Gold and Danged Pull Tabs are so much alike that I dig a lot of pull tabs just to make sure that they are not a gold ring.

Like I said I love my Sovereign GT.

 

[Nomad NJ]

I have been using my Sov Gt for about 4 years and use it mostly for beach hunting and been very happy with it. I won a 750 in a contest. I sold it right away without opening the box. I'm sure that it was a very good machine. I had a 180 when first purchased but rarely use it. I was turned off by all the different coils that I would have to buy with different frequencies that the Sov has. I would not use anything on the beach but a GT or Ex cal. For land I would use a ETC T2 which is the same as the Fisher 75 but a little cheaper.

 

[hydraglide]

The S shaft is fitted to European models, I don't know why, I've changed mine to a straight shaft, no real advantage,but it is a tad lighter.

 

[Ron from Michigan]

I answered your question on the PM.The Sovereign is my favorite detector.Good Luck Ron

 

[Squirmingcoil77]

Thanks everyone for your replies and your helpful info. The Sovereign may just be my next detector.

 

[Rick(ND)]

The Sovereign is a detector I will always have in my collection and the detector I feel for me gives the best ID as far as trash to coins. Gold rings is a tough one as they do have the tones of trash, but with some experience you will notice gold rings just sound smoother.I highly recommend a 180 meter to help learn the tones plus it can really help in IDing some of the iffy signals that are deep or close to iron.
Now if you get one chances are you will hate it for the first while, most of us did, but when you get to know it and the tones you will impress other plus yourself what it can do in many of those well worked areas some have given up on. It takes time and patience to get to know it well and I feel you will be able to judge the depth by the sounds it gives as surface, down around 2 inches and down 4-5 and those real deep ones better then any depth meter I have seen.
The Xterra 705 is a good detector, but feel once you get to know the Sovereign you may not use the 705 much at all.
Have patience, get out to learn all you can by using it and what ever you do DON'T GIVE UP!! as you will miss some great finds.

Rick

 

[deepdiger60]

I have both machines a DFX and a Sov GT 4 years now with a SEF 12x10 coil on both and would not give up either 2 great machines IMO . HH Jim

 

[xwyokid]

Well, I went from an X-70 to the Sov. I was totally lost at first, (still am at times, LOL). For me Ron's meter was the cat's meow. To date, the learning curve was hard but, it was very rewarding when I realized it was starting to come together. For a couple of weeks I thought to myself, "what did I buy?" Now I know what I have bought!! Patience, patience.

 

[jyt2017]

Learning tones are just a matter of practice. ..and a few other thibgs like soil content...how target is laying. Silver and pennies are hard to tell apart if coil is real close or ant edge of detectable range. There is nothing like hearing the bing of a silver coin. Depth is a guess. I love the gt. Foubd lots with it using wot.

If your set on getting another minelab I would more look at an explorer or etrac. If your not set on minelab I would take a good look at the Fisher F75.

The Sovereign basically seperates targets up by a variety of tones, kinda like the Xterra does with the multi tone setting. Your gonna have a hard time seperating up clad pennys and silver coins by ear, but it can be done with the optional Sov meter.
Depth is tough also because of the broad sound the Sov gives off. It does have a diminishing sound on deeper targets but dont expect to tell the difference between a coin thats 2" deep and 6" deep by ear.
The notching on the Sovereign is basically an unadjustable window that you can move around the disc range. That window is a set size, you cannot adjust it like on the Xterra.

The explorer, etrac and F75 all have meters built in and in those meters are depth gauges, battery condition, target ID, all what your Xterra offers.

Based on where your hunting I would definetly look into an F75. Your Xterra 705 can suffice for your beach hunting as long as your not wading. If wading is something that could be important to you, look into a Garrett AT pro or AT gold.

 

[Squirmingcoil77]

I really appreciate everyone's replies and the helpful info. It sounds like a great detector and I guess like most detectors, patience and learning what it is telling you is the hardest thing to overcome. I was also looking at a Tesoro Tejon, but I love the way the Sovereign sounds and I also like the multi-frequencies of the Sovereign. Decisions decisions.

 

[Birdseed]

I have a Sov and a Safari, Just love the Sov though.
Not easy to learn but is king of the heap when you get to the top of that steep learning curve.

I note the the Sovereign is about to be discontinued, it now available at heavily discounted prices here in Australia
This may influence your decision to buy new.

Peter downunder