Choosing Between Minelab Soverign Elite, Excalibur or Fisher CZ-20

[Hank Fish]

Hi,

Iconsider myself a newcomer to the hobby even though I have over the years
owned a number of top detectors such as Whites Spectrum XLT, White's Surfmaster
and a Fisher CZ-20. I just didn't seem or make the time to fully use these
detector's to their full potential. Once again I have been consumed with the
idea of metal detecting once again. I now have more time to pursue my hobby
but I also live within a few miles of the ocean on the East Coast of Florida.
What a place to get some excercise and follow my hobby. I am now faced with
the daunting task of selecting a metal detector for use on the sandy beaches
of Florida as my primary use. My secondary use would be for land use. I have
read many forums and have done a lot of research. For the purpose intended the
Excalibur seems to be at the top of the list. As with everything including
metal detectors there are pros and cons to each item as well as dissatisfied
customers who use them as well as people who seems to love there equipment
and have had no significant issues with there product. With having said that
my choice has narrowed to two machines the Excalibur and the Soverign. The
Soverign seems to use the same technology as the Excalibur without the
waterproof protection. I have read some threads where some peopl have
modified their Soverign to be waterproof. Any suggestions, opinions or
ideas would be greatly appreciated.

Hank Fish

 

[Anonymous]

You have gone someway towards answering your own question but a final choice depends on whether you intend to go under the water or not. If not the Sovereign in any of its versions is a better choice as its cheaper to buy/service/repair. Lighter in weight. Huge range of coil options without risking fitting a thirdparty waterproof connector as you would have to with the Excaliber. Its not hard to make the Sovereign 'drop in the sea proof'but a different matter where water pressure comes into play.
The new GT's features have taken it a step forward from the Excaliber,and you could have a new one for the price of a good second hand Excaliber.

 

[Anonymous]

Keep the excal at the top of your list. I've had them all, it's the most verstial dector there is. I use mine mainly on land and it barely gets wet. The downside, you have to really take care of it due to external quality.

Even with that, I would never go back to fisher.

 

[Mike (Virginia Beach)]

I agree with Brian. Get the Sovereign. And I say this as somebody who currently has an Explorer II, Excalibur, Quattro, and CZ-70. And I had a Sovereign Elite for the last two summers and hunted the beach and land with it and did great on both.

The Excalibur is a great machine and although you CAN land hunt with it, I wouldn't want to. With the Sovereign you will have the same BBS technology (with some improvements over the Excal if you get the GT) and you'll also have a little more in the way of target ID for land hunting in the form of the meter. Which is the reason I would not want to land hunt with the Excal. I want some target ID beyond the tones for land. On the beach, not needed.

Now, if you want to go IN the water, I would get the Excal. But if you're only going to wet-sand hunt and you will be doing land as well, I would go Sovereign. Or Quattro, for that matter. The Quattro is a KILLER beach machine. Better than the Excal or the Sovereign in my opinion. If you don't need waterproof. But for the money, you can't beat the Sovereign for a dynamite multi-purpose machine.

 

[Anonymous]

I own a Fisher 1280-X & an Excalibur as my underwater detectors. I haven't owned a CZ-20, but if it's anything like any of the other Fishers I own or have owned, it has a discrimination problem when compared to a detector like Excalibur. Fishers go deep, but are poor in discriminaton.

I've never owned a Sovereign, but it sounds comparable to an Excalibur, but not waterproof. If that's the case and you don't plan to water hunt, buy it. Otherwise, get the Excalibur; I love mine!

 

[Anonymous]

I used an XLT for 7 years until recently buying an excalibur for use on the Florida east coast beaches ,it blows the xlt away . I just got back from England this week and the Excalibur worked great on the farm land , I was swinging about 6 inches above the thick grass and still picked up musket balls , silver coins,roman buckles at up to 18 inches depth in the ground , on the beach its great not having to worry about any rogue waves and on land its just as good in rainy England , get a better shovel your going to be digging deeper !

 

[Gene ( Ulster NY )]

Hank, I am as new to this hobby as you can be. The only detector I have ever owned is an "Elite" that I bought this past January. I don't know what any other machine is like because I have never tried anything else. I have a rescaled 180 meter, and a SunRay S-1 probe that is inline to the machine. This machine setup like this kicks BUTT big time! I definitely suggest a metered machine because there is a lot of junk that sounds good, but registers just a few numbers different. I have recently encountered a new bottle cap that reads 177 on my meter while pennies hit 179-180. I don't have the ability yet to make that tone distinction. This hunting is in trashy parks. If you are going to hunt just sand I would probably dig any good tone. Well, let me wrap this up by saying I will never get rid of my Elite! If the GT was available when I bought this I would own it. I cannot thank everyone on this forum enough for all the help they gave me learning how to use this machine. I recently found a 1865 two cent piece at about 10". I love this machine, and this hobby! Good luck with your decision!

Gene

 

[purdygold]

Silver, I too used an XLT for years till I graduated to a DFX for land hunting with my trusty 14" coil. Boy thats a real machine! I feel the same way about my Excal for beach and water detecting, soon with a new WOT.
I plan on being in England this Nov for three weeks in the Gloucester/Cirencester area (W, N/W of London) and I'm torn which machine to take. I could take both but my wife would retaliate with an extra bag or two costing me some serious extra lbs.
Question. How did you find the local folks re permission to hunt or did you stick to public areas or organized pay hunts? I'm one of those guys that asks before someone kicks my butt as I'm getting to old to run. Thanks for any England hunting tips, especially water/beach hunting..

 

[Anonymous]

I would take the excalibur over with you because of the rain & drizzle , you are allowed to detect on any of the beaches but if you want to detect on someones farmland just bang on the farmers door and ask ,english folks love a yank accent , they normaly say yes if you ask if you can detect on an empty ploughed feild and you will split any treasure you find . Im lucky I have the farmers permission where my parents live to detect on thousands of acres near Oxford . It was the first time for me detecting on land with the excalibur , I was having to swing 6 inches above the ground to avoid the thick grass and still made lots of finds at up to 18inches down , musket balls ,1890s silver sixpences ,roman buckles, medieval tweezers,1700s dated coppers & lead tokens etc.
Best of luck ,think cold & wet , the ground shouldnt be too hard in November .If it is frozen or you cant get permission there are hundreds of years of history waiting to be found on the beaches .

 

[purdygold]

Silver, Wow! Must have been good fun. Thanks for the advise and good hunting!

 

[Anonymous]

Gaining permission over here in england is getting harder all the time, drop me a line if youre west of London we can possibly take you out detecting on our land.
Gary.
www.garysdetecting.co.uk

 

[purdygold]

Gary, Thats very nice of you, I appreciate the offer. I will keep your web address handy and may take you up on your offer. I sure understand how a few can make it difficult for the rest. You ever get to the NW (Wash.) or Arizona during the winter, I would be happy to recipricate any way I can. Thanks again! Gary A. (purdy2@harbornet.com)