clondike clad
Member
I like my XL PRO the VXi is very hot and my M6 is a coin killer..... Hell I like the detector that is in my hands when I go hunting,
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All Time Favorite
- Thread starter jlw
- Start date
Original Gold Master (1975), 6000 Di Pro, Classic III, Classic III SL, IDX, IDX Pro, IDX Pro w/Mr. Bill Mods., Eagle II SL 90, DFX, BHID 300, Surf PI, Surf PI Dual Field, M6, MXT, MXT Pro, GMT, TDI SL, V3i. I think that's it for White's owned. Currently have 6 White's but I think my all time favorite was the Eagle II SL 90 and I no longer have one of those.
Wayfarer
Member
XL Pro.
Have used others, like the XLT, which is a very good machine, but the XL Pro is just "right." The basic design is excellent and represents the pinnacle of 30 years of analog detector design by White's. Basically, they spent 30 years perfecting this machine and it's as close to perfect as any detector out there.
The newer digital detectors have a little more performance, but only by a little bit, at the expense of FAR more complex operation. If you know exactly what you are doing, then you can squeeze another 10% out of the digital models. The XL Pro has 90% of the performance with 10% of the complexity compared to the digital models. I am actually one of those users who can squeeze out that extra 10% from my XLT, for instance, but I still reach for my XL Pro every time these days. Guess my goals are shifting away from absolute performance and more towards just having a relaxing enjoyable time. And it's not like the XL Pro is any slouch either. I'm not sure there's anything I've found with other detectors that I wouldn't have found with the XL Pro, since it's mostly just a matter of getting your coil over the good stuff.
Plus, I grew up on whites in the 70's and 80's, and there's just something about that analog meter, manual knobs, and classic audio that makes detectoring MUCH more enjoyable for me. XL Pro all the way!
Have used others, like the XLT, which is a very good machine, but the XL Pro is just "right." The basic design is excellent and represents the pinnacle of 30 years of analog detector design by White's. Basically, they spent 30 years perfecting this machine and it's as close to perfect as any detector out there.
The newer digital detectors have a little more performance, but only by a little bit, at the expense of FAR more complex operation. If you know exactly what you are doing, then you can squeeze another 10% out of the digital models. The XL Pro has 90% of the performance with 10% of the complexity compared to the digital models. I am actually one of those users who can squeeze out that extra 10% from my XLT, for instance, but I still reach for my XL Pro every time these days. Guess my goals are shifting away from absolute performance and more towards just having a relaxing enjoyable time. And it's not like the XL Pro is any slouch either. I'm not sure there's anything I've found with other detectors that I wouldn't have found with the XL Pro, since it's mostly just a matter of getting your coil over the good stuff.
Plus, I grew up on whites in the 70's and 80's, and there's just something about that analog meter, manual knobs, and classic audio that makes detectoring MUCH more enjoyable for me. XL Pro all the way!
exploregon
Member
I have to say that the IDX Pro is my favorite. I've found more stuff with this than any other detector (with the exceptino of maybe the minelab). White's we own: xlt, dfx, classic 5, classic ID, and the idx pro. Also have a minelab x2. Now, let me say that when we detect these-a-days it's mostly very remote places with nothing but sage, dirt and junk which is where these classics shine! My wife used to find more than me with her xlt and classic id until I geared up with the idx and the last couple years we've been out she's been left in the dust )
)jackintexas
New member
XLT my choice.....Jack
Phillip_in_NM
Member
[size=x-large]M6 !!![/size]
gringo-vikingo
Member
My all time favorite White's detector: Goldmaster II.
NathanShort
Member
XL pro hands down.
I bought a White's Eagle 11 SL 90 IN 1992 and it has never been in the shop. I use it for ghost towns, army camps, and coin shooting also. I have found more gold rings with this detector than any other and I've used and owned many detectors since I started in 1978. I recently just bought another one because I think that highly of them. Whites Eagle II S L 90 all the way.
Wayfarer
Member
I'm with 76 Ford, on this one, XL Pro. There are deeper, faster, more featured detectors out there these days, but the XL Pro is just a timeless classic. And it just clicks with me. I cut my teeth on the White's machines of the late 70's early 80's, so it's just natural feeling for me. The XL Pro is the pinnacle of 25-30 years of development and improvements of the same basic design of the White's GB Disc 6000. The XL Pro is basically the 6000 perfected. It's 90% as capable as the latest high-end machines, but it is soooo much simpler and classy.
I used to want the latest and greatest all the time, never would let anyone "outhunt" me because they had a tech advantage, etc., If a new detector came out that got 1/2" inch extra, I'd be out buying it. But in recent years, I am much less competitive and really don't care how much I find. Most of the good stuff is long gone now anyway. Now I just want to relax, have a good time, and use a machine I am totally familiar with and no fiddling. For this, the XL Pro is unequaled.
I used to want the latest and greatest all the time, never would let anyone "outhunt" me because they had a tech advantage, etc., If a new detector came out that got 1/2" inch extra, I'd be out buying it. But in recent years, I am much less competitive and really don't care how much I find. Most of the good stuff is long gone now anyway. Now I just want to relax, have a good time, and use a machine I am totally familiar with and no fiddling. For this, the XL Pro is unequaled.
Critterhunter
New member
I don't remember if I chimed in, but I've owned a lot of machines over the years as I like to "sample the wine" and see what's out there. Depth and separation with tone alerts (but with detailed analog-like audio too) and a good high resolution VDI is all I really look for in a machine. Any extra features aren't really important to me. When you think about it, depth and separation is where the tires meet the road in detector performance. For that reason a good coil can make all the difference, because it's the sharpness of the coil's field that "sees" between targets, and the depth of the coil's field that pushes depths deeper.
I owned a 6000 Pro XL and it was a great machine. Loved the high resolution VDI to tell silver and other coins from each other in some cases. But, lacking tone alerts, I found myself always watching the meter as I don't like to discriminate out anything (even iron) and like to listen to it all. Without tone alerts it was hard for me to constantly watch the screen while working through heavy trash. I only like to look at the screen when a high tone peaks my interest or some other lower conductor that still has a "quality" sound to it. For the same reasons, and also even owning machines lacking an VDI display too, I owned and moved on from many other machines over time. Always looking...
Then I got my hands on a QII. Fantastic machine, so I figured I'd up grade to the QXT. Even better because of the extra features on it. Fast, lighting fast ID, and I could set high tones or lows to any of the 8 zones I wanted. So once again I was able to hunt with nothing discriminated out and just listen for any hints of high tones among the trash. The QXT was deep, but then I ended up with a QXT Pro. Same machine but it lets you set sensitivity a tad higher without getting unstable (usually 18 instead of 16 on that setting). As a result it was maybe a tad deeper than the QXT. Both the QXT, QXT Pro, and 6000 Pro XL were my deepest machines in my soil for years. About 7.5" max on a silver dime, where all the other machines (especially higher frequency ones) couldn't manage that much depth in my low to high mineral soils. I atribute the better depth of the QXT and 6000 to their low frequency nature that my soil seems to like better.
But, I had only two complaints with the QXT (and Pro)...Only two tone alerts (high or low depending on what you set each zone to), and no VDI #s. The 8 zones made for rather poor resolution in terms of trying to split hairs on targets to say for example gold ring hunt while avoiding a common tab # or two at a site. Just couldn't do it with that kind of resolution, and so my nickle finds also suffered in that respect. I didn't mind zincs having only one zone and copper pennies and higher having their own zone. As long as I can avoid zincs at certain sites I'm happy when I'm in the mood to avoid billions of them at some spots. Far as copper penny or higher, I don't trust the high resolution on machines to tell me what kind of coin it might be, as I've dug plenty of silvers that a machine told me were wheats or something else due to depth, ground minerals, being on edge, being worn, the ground being dry, or for other reasons. For that reason, when I'm old coin hunting I only want to know it's a coin, because if it's deep I'm digging it even if a machine tells me it thinks it's not a silver coin, and if it's shallow but in trash then I'm digging those too because it could easily be an old coin that others missed due to the masking.
Oh, but my third and final complaint with the QXT...Lack of larger coils bigger than the 9.5" to push depths deeper, and I wanted that to be in a DD coil as when coils get bigger DDs seem to do better due to soaking up less ground matrix in general in soil with higher minerals. Plus a DD separates left/right wise so much better at all depths from shallow to deep IMO (in general). Had somebody come out with a bigger coil and it being a DD, like say a SEF 12x10, for the low frequency Whites models to push my depths deeper and also improve left/right separation I would have probably stayed with the QXT. Shame Detech doesn't make these coils for the low frequency Whites, because there are probably more of those machines out there than any other that are compatible with each other's coils (XLT, QXT, 6000, and so on). Seems like a huge market of potential buyers to breath new life into people's favorite machines.
I'm not one for heavy amounts of computer settings. Don't mind using them, but I'm the kind of person who always wonders if he set this or that up best for a site and that kind of ruins my hunt. Always find myself spending more time tweaking then hunting when the computer controls get out of hand with too many settings. That's why I'm waiting for Whites to come out with a machine with just enough computer controls to get the job done (like the QXT had), but without overkill to the point where I'll always have doubt if I set it up perfectly for the site. And I'd like to see it be a low frequency machine so it handles my soil better. Combine that with a good high resolution VDI for the foil to copper penny range so I can split hairs on common trash and what might be a ring or old nickle or something.
Everything above copper penny I'm happy just to be told is a coin and not what type because that makes the VDI too unstable for my tastes when coins are deep or in trash sometimes. Only coin I really want to distinctly ID is zincs and nickles (nickles get easy if you are using a machine with good low to mid range VDI resolution so you can avoid most tabs and foil and zero in on the nickles). With great low to mid range resolution it gives you more of a chance to avoid a few common trash items at a site and dig everything else hoping for a gold ring or something too. Throw in a good range of tone alerts on targets based on conductivity, but without the audio being highly processed to where you lose some details and are just getting short "beeps" or "blips". Meaning I want long analog like audio as that gives more detail IMO. All this combined on a low frequency machine that is deeper than the
old ones thanks to moderen technology, along with a good DD coil in about the 12" range to max out the depth on coins. Throw in a 4 or 5" coil choice too for heavy trash and I'll be one happy camper and will add such a machine to my line up.
Come on Whites, you can do it! You don't even have to make such a coil to go with it. Just let Detech make their 5" trash coil, 12x10, 15x12, and the new 13" Ultimate for it. THAT would be a killer machine IMO. Anybody with me on this? There is just "something" about those low frequency old Whites units. Smooth, stable, excellent discrimination (when you want to use it), and good analog-like audio (even on the digital QXT) that would give you all types of details on targets to tell if it's "fuzzy" or scratchy or "harsh" sounding obvious junk or not. Combine numerous tone alerts to that good old Whites audio of those machines and you'd have one heck of a machine. With modern technology to push the already excellent depth of low frequency machines even deeper (say south of 8khz somewhere), and not overmobbing the computer with too many settings to tweak, along with a good DD coil selection, I think they'd have a real winner on their hands and have a lot of return customers who cut their teeth on Whites when they first got into detecting.
I owned a 6000 Pro XL and it was a great machine. Loved the high resolution VDI to tell silver and other coins from each other in some cases. But, lacking tone alerts, I found myself always watching the meter as I don't like to discriminate out anything (even iron) and like to listen to it all. Without tone alerts it was hard for me to constantly watch the screen while working through heavy trash. I only like to look at the screen when a high tone peaks my interest or some other lower conductor that still has a "quality" sound to it. For the same reasons, and also even owning machines lacking an VDI display too, I owned and moved on from many other machines over time. Always looking...
Then I got my hands on a QII. Fantastic machine, so I figured I'd up grade to the QXT. Even better because of the extra features on it. Fast, lighting fast ID, and I could set high tones or lows to any of the 8 zones I wanted. So once again I was able to hunt with nothing discriminated out and just listen for any hints of high tones among the trash. The QXT was deep, but then I ended up with a QXT Pro. Same machine but it lets you set sensitivity a tad higher without getting unstable (usually 18 instead of 16 on that setting). As a result it was maybe a tad deeper than the QXT. Both the QXT, QXT Pro, and 6000 Pro XL were my deepest machines in my soil for years. About 7.5" max on a silver dime, where all the other machines (especially higher frequency ones) couldn't manage that much depth in my low to high mineral soils. I atribute the better depth of the QXT and 6000 to their low frequency nature that my soil seems to like better.
But, I had only two complaints with the QXT (and Pro)...Only two tone alerts (high or low depending on what you set each zone to), and no VDI #s. The 8 zones made for rather poor resolution in terms of trying to split hairs on targets to say for example gold ring hunt while avoiding a common tab # or two at a site. Just couldn't do it with that kind of resolution, and so my nickle finds also suffered in that respect. I didn't mind zincs having only one zone and copper pennies and higher having their own zone. As long as I can avoid zincs at certain sites I'm happy when I'm in the mood to avoid billions of them at some spots. Far as copper penny or higher, I don't trust the high resolution on machines to tell me what kind of coin it might be, as I've dug plenty of silvers that a machine told me were wheats or something else due to depth, ground minerals, being on edge, being worn, the ground being dry, or for other reasons. For that reason, when I'm old coin hunting I only want to know it's a coin, because if it's deep I'm digging it even if a machine tells me it thinks it's not a silver coin, and if it's shallow but in trash then I'm digging those too because it could easily be an old coin that others missed due to the masking.
Oh, but my third and final complaint with the QXT...Lack of larger coils bigger than the 9.5" to push depths deeper, and I wanted that to be in a DD coil as when coils get bigger DDs seem to do better due to soaking up less ground matrix in general in soil with higher minerals. Plus a DD separates left/right wise so much better at all depths from shallow to deep IMO (in general). Had somebody come out with a bigger coil and it being a DD, like say a SEF 12x10, for the low frequency Whites models to push my depths deeper and also improve left/right separation I would have probably stayed with the QXT. Shame Detech doesn't make these coils for the low frequency Whites, because there are probably more of those machines out there than any other that are compatible with each other's coils (XLT, QXT, 6000, and so on). Seems like a huge market of potential buyers to breath new life into people's favorite machines.
I'm not one for heavy amounts of computer settings. Don't mind using them, but I'm the kind of person who always wonders if he set this or that up best for a site and that kind of ruins my hunt. Always find myself spending more time tweaking then hunting when the computer controls get out of hand with too many settings. That's why I'm waiting for Whites to come out with a machine with just enough computer controls to get the job done (like the QXT had), but without overkill to the point where I'll always have doubt if I set it up perfectly for the site. And I'd like to see it be a low frequency machine so it handles my soil better. Combine that with a good high resolution VDI for the foil to copper penny range so I can split hairs on common trash and what might be a ring or old nickle or something.
Everything above copper penny I'm happy just to be told is a coin and not what type because that makes the VDI too unstable for my tastes when coins are deep or in trash sometimes. Only coin I really want to distinctly ID is zincs and nickles (nickles get easy if you are using a machine with good low to mid range VDI resolution so you can avoid most tabs and foil and zero in on the nickles). With great low to mid range resolution it gives you more of a chance to avoid a few common trash items at a site and dig everything else hoping for a gold ring or something too. Throw in a good range of tone alerts on targets based on conductivity, but without the audio being highly processed to where you lose some details and are just getting short "beeps" or "blips". Meaning I want long analog like audio as that gives more detail IMO. All this combined on a low frequency machine that is deeper than the
old ones thanks to moderen technology, along with a good DD coil in about the 12" range to max out the depth on coins. Throw in a 4 or 5" coil choice too for heavy trash and I'll be one happy camper and will add such a machine to my line up.
Come on Whites, you can do it! You don't even have to make such a coil to go with it. Just let Detech make their 5" trash coil, 12x10, 15x12, and the new 13" Ultimate for it. THAT would be a killer machine IMO. Anybody with me on this? There is just "something" about those low frequency old Whites units. Smooth, stable, excellent discrimination (when you want to use it), and good analog-like audio (even on the digital QXT) that would give you all types of details on targets to tell if it's "fuzzy" or scratchy or "harsh" sounding obvious junk or not. Combine numerous tone alerts to that good old Whites audio of those machines and you'd have one heck of a machine. With modern technology to push the already excellent depth of low frequency machines even deeper (say south of 8khz somewhere), and not overmobbing the computer with too many settings to tweak, along with a good DD coil selection, I think they'd have a real winner on their hands and have a lot of return customers who cut their teeth on Whites when they first got into detecting.
I have been detecting since 1978 and have owned and used many detectors. I prefer the Whites Eagle II SL better than any detector new or old. It's hard to learn but when you do it is the best ring, relic and coin detector bar none. I've found more gold rings with it than any other detector. I'd tried many detectors but always go back to this detector. Since I'm 71, I do wish it wasn't so heavy but other than that I love this detector.
DETECTORS OWNED IN ORDER:
1. GOLD MOUNTAIN BOSS
2. GARRETT GROUND HOG
3. TESORO DEEP SEARCHER
4. DE-TEX
5. FISHER 1210X
6. FISHER 1265X
7. FISHER 1266X
8. TEKNETIC MARK I
9. TESORO SIDE WINDER
10. WHITES EAGLE II SL
11. TESORO TEJON
12. WILSON COIN SELECT
13. TESORO OMEGA
DETECTORS OWNED IN ORDER:
1. GOLD MOUNTAIN BOSS
2. GARRETT GROUND HOG
3. TESORO DEEP SEARCHER
4. DE-TEX
5. FISHER 1210X
6. FISHER 1265X
7. FISHER 1266X
8. TEKNETIC MARK I
9. TESORO SIDE WINDER
10. WHITES EAGLE II SL
11. TESORO TEJON
12. WILSON COIN SELECT
13. TESORO OMEGA
