Ace 250 better than Prizm V or M6???

[stikman]

I'm working on buying my first metal detector and have been interested in getting a Prizm V or an used M6. I contacted a local dealer to ask him about availability and he questioned my choice of metal detectors. "Why do you want White's?" he asked, and proceeded to tell me that I should buy an Ace 250.
He would surely make more money by selling a White's detector but insisted on pushing the Ace 250, which led me to believe that he sincerely felt that the Ace 250 was a better detector. Is it?

 

[clondike clad]

WELL FOR THE MONEY HE IS RIGHT
But the M6 will go deeper and give much more infomation for what in the ground
So to answer your question WHAT DO YOU WANT IN A METAL DETECTOR.
I WOULD GO FOR THE M6 HANDS DOWN.
IF I CAN'T BUY A M6 THE ACE 250 IS HARD TO BEAT FOR THE MONEY

 

[gregl01]

Well, how serious are you going to get???? I started with a Bounty Hunter, moved up to an ACE250, got deeper with a Tesoro Cibola, and recently purchased a Whites M6. If you are limited to what you can afford, the ACE250 is a super machine for 200 bucks. If you plan on being a lifer in detecting, get the M6. These machines all have + and - but get what you need. The M6 is the best of the 3 but also the most money. Having owned 2 of your choices I can say the M6 tells you the most information, goes deeper, pinpoints far better and will give you years of enjoyment!!!!!

Greg

 

[BarberBill]

I'd recommend the Ace 250 if you need to watch the budget. If not, the M6 is by far the best way to go. I bought a slightly used Prizm IV this winter (the price was very right) and while it's a nice little machine for what it is, the difference between it and the Prizm V isn't worth the difference and in my opinion they're both priced too high when compared to some of the competition. Also, the Prizm series suffers from the lack of accessory coils as the only ones available are the 8" and the 9.5" - both bigger than you want in heavy trash. The M6 has a good line up of coils and is a very capable machine for the price. If you think you might get along okay with a dig and beep machine, (no target id) take a look at the Tesoro Compadre and Silver umax. Silver umax has a very good coil selection, the Compadre is hard wired to one. Both are capable, affordable decent machines for starting out or a backup and have a lifetime warranty. My two bits, HH
Barber Bill

 

[Monte]

[quote stikman]I'm working on buying my first metal detector and have been interested in getting a Prizm V or an used M6.[/quote][size=medium]... First, let me welcome you to a really wonderful outdoor sport/hobby! Now, let me ask you want it was that sparked your interest in the pastime of recreational metal detecting? What s it you mainly want to search for? What type(s) of sites are you planning to search? How did you arrive at these two models to choose from?[/size]

[quote stikman]I contacted a local dealer to ask him about availability and he questioned my choice of metal detectors.[/quote][size=medium]... Availability? Didn't the local dealer carry much inventory? I am surprised that he/she, if a White's Dealer, didn't at least have the M6 on hand. Was there a particular brand of detectors the dealer seemed to stock heavier than others?[/size]

[quote stikman]"Why do you want White's?" he asked, and proceeded to tell me that I should buy an Ace 250.[/quote][size=medium]... That sounds to me like the dealer isn't a very strong or active White's Dealer, and since you're interested in White's you ought to seek out some help from a more devoted White's Dealer.

Now, having said that, I will say that the dealer might very well favor the Ace 250 over a similar price-range Prizm model. I know I do, in some ways. The Prizm series lack a smaller accessory coil, and in my book that puts them in a "don't want" category. They lack a memory to save your settings upon shut down. The headphone jack is in the worst location I could imagine. On those points the Ace 250 is better. The Prizm series have, in my bad ground and side-by-side comparisons, provided a little better depth of detection than the Ace 250 with standard coils.

Both rely on a factory preset ground balance and, if you search sites with higher mineralization, you can encounter false signals, especially in the pinpoint mode, but also in the motion discriminate search mode.

The Matrix M6 is a far better and much different detector. It has a quicker response and recovery time than either the Prizm or Ace 250. It has better depth of detection, more audio and visual target information, a superior search coil selection, is is a more durable or rugged detector, but in a well designed physical package.

I will say that if an M6 is out of your price range right now, but you don't mind shopping for a quality-built, great performing used detector, try to find a clean White's Classic ID or IDX Pro. They will serve you well, and definitely hold their resale value. My #1 "go-to" detector is my modified IDX Pro and I almost exclusively use a 6

 

[robert roy]

Sounds like you were talking to ChucK C, My dealer.
Or maybe not, but thats how my dealer is as well.
He could make more money on the other machines but
recommends the newbies to try out the Ace first.
I have the Ave 250 and the MXT. I like the Whites better but then
it out classes the Prizm and the M6. You dealer probably thinks that
if you decide you DON'T like the MDing hobby you won't be out too
much money. If you decide you DO like the hobby, then he probably
as a new customer for life because he was being honest with you.

H@#% I don't knowbut the fact is he is trying to lead you in
the right direction. You'll get lots of help from the guys here at THIS forum
as well.

Personally, I'd start out with the Ace 250 as well. If you DO go that direction make
sure its the Ave 250 and not the Ace 150. I don't know why they ever bothered
to make the 150.

Good luck!

 

[robert roy]

[size=x-large]Everything everyone has said above is absolutely spot on![/size]

Good luck.
RR

 

[bill(de)]

The Ace 250 or Prizm V may be a good choice for a first detector but would classify the M6 as a detector that is very easy to use but has serious detection capabilities above the Ace and Prizm detectors. I had the GTP 1350 which is a bit above the ACE series and the M6 blew it away in my comparison in bad ground, target separation, coil selection and target ID. Garrett makes very capable user friendly detectors but separating the mincemeat is not their strongpoint in my opinion.Some Whites users say the MXT is heads and tails better than the M6 but not in my book if your hunting trashy parks,schools and other public areas with lots of modern trash.Love that Tone ID along with the small coils and quick recovery speed.
The better detector is the one that works best for the hunting conditions and between the 3 you mentioned the M6 is the best but if just entering the hobby and not sure if it's for you i would go with the Ace 250 or the Fisher F2 which is another detector i like using and it's cheap. Good Luck. HH Bill

 

[Dang]

I own the M6 and the Ace 250. The Garrett is a good little detector for the money but......
The M6 is just as easy to use as the Ace. And........Auto Track! Ace's GB is fixed and
your not going to get the depth as you will with the M6. I mean a lot more depth.
Ace has notch. Big deal. You can use your eye to notch on the M6. Ace has 3 coils
available for it and there only good for the ace. M6 has a lot more and not to mention
coils by other makers. And, it happens to all of us, if and when you do decide to move up
you have two great choices from whites (MXT&DFX) that you can still use your M6 coils with.
The Ace has a darling yellow finish where as the M6 is just plain ol' black. The Ace is lighter
and it is a fun detector, but you will out grow it fast. I really enjoyed my Ace but got tired of
just finding shallow targets in my moderately mineralized ground I have around my neck of the woods.

 

[stikman]

Alright, I made a decision and it was kind of accidental. I found a GTAx 550 on Ebay and bid $200. I came home from work tonight and checked on the auction to see how much it sold for and I won. Very unexpected. Hopefully it works. He says it works like new. It has the CROSSFIRE 2 EXTREME DEEP SEEKER 8.5 COIL which I don't know anything about, but will do a little research. Hopefully this will make a good first detector for me. If not, at least I'm not out much money. I already know where I'm gonna start hunting.

 

[Dang]

Uncle Willy on the Garrett Forum will be your mentor. Listen to him. For he is a wise man.

 

[khouse]

I think you got a great deal! It should serve you very well!

 

[BarberBill]

I believe there is a 4.5" or 5" coil available for that series. Works well in trashy areas if you can find one at a good price.
HH
BB