The MXT is actually based on the GMT circuits, with the GMT being designed as a dedicated gold detector. Dave Johnson, the primary design engineer on both units, has stated this several times. It shouldn't be surprising that the MXT does better as a gold detector. The coin/jewelry and relic modes were "add-ons" to the basic design to produce a true "all-purpose" metal detector, but as with any such machine, there are going to be some trade-offs involved. I would still opt for a fully-dedicated gold machine for prospecting work, my favorite VLF being the Goldmaster GM-3 or one of the Minelab SD/GP series where they excell. Dave Johnson also did engineering work on the Fisher Gold Bugs, the Tesoro Lobo Super Traq and Diabo uMax, and has one heck of a track record in that regard, designing some of the best gold detectors ever made. But when comparing one machine to another, we have to remember too that one machine will always be able to do certain thing that the other cannot. Alot depends on your expectations, needs, and preferrences, and the fact that there is still not a single machine that does everything "best". If I head out west, my choice of machine for hunting gold is going to be much different than what I choose to use for digging relics, or what I might use on the beach or in a park for coin or jewelry hunting. Diversification in machines according to their individual "best use" is important if you want to get top performance in all aspects of this hobby. A wide range of versitility in a single machine is always great to have, but specialization in others is just as important.
Here are some of the machines I currently own and use and the different specific tasks they are used for, just as an example:
Relic Hunting in most conditions: Nautilus DMC IIb w/various coil sizes.
Dense Trash coinshooting: Tesoro Compadre modified w/4 inch coil.
General Use misc. coinshooting and jewelry hunting: Shadow X-5 with full range of available coils.
Gold Prospecting: White's Goldmaster GM-3 w/ various coils.
"Casual" Coinshooting - Jewelry: Minelab Xterra stock coil (hoping for a 5 inch in the near future). Also Tesoro Compadres with 5.75 and 7 inch coils.
Do I (or any of us) need another detector ? Yeah, like a hole in the head.
Will we get another ? ....... DUH !
So why the interest in the DFX ? I really just want to see how many of my other machines I can realistically "mimic" with its range of adjustability and features. That is something that has always intrigued me.
Ralph
I've seen a few on the classifieds sell more detectors over the years than I ever knew existed in the first place. What a life !