Lee, as you may know, I've been around the X-Terras since they were first introduced. In addition, I bought a 705 when they came out this spring and got an Etrac about 2 months ago. The reason I wanted the Etrac was due in part to what I'd read about it's excellent target separation. Most of the places I hunt are now farm fields which are not able to be detected until after harvest. So in the summer months, when the crops are growing and the lawns are too dry to dig (without killing the grass), I wanted the best detector I could find for the local "pull tab parks". I have spent the last couple months pitting my X-705 against my Etrac. I will say that using the X-Terra in multiple tone mode for the past several years allowed an easy transition to the Etrac with similar audio settings.
My X-Terra coil preference for these sites has been the 6-inch DD at 18.75 kHz. I'd rather have a lower frequency. But at this point in time, the 18.75 is the only 6-inch DD available. I purchased a Joey coil, the 6X8 Butterfly and the 6-inch Excelerator for my Etrac. Over the past couple months, alternating between the X-705 and the Etrac, I've located and tagged hundreds of targets. Once tagged, I'd go back over the same area with the other detector. There has only been one coin that I found with the Etrac that the 705 had difficulty finding. It was a "no date" standing quarter, surrounded by old square nails. With the Etrac, multiple tones, conductive mode and a modified quick mask, I'd get a fairly consistent chirp and a TID of 12/44 when hovering over a very narrow spot that turned out to be the quarter. The other targets ( which turned out to be 3 individual nails) would all give a high tone with a similar conductive reading and ferrous readings varying from 29 - 35. With the X-705 in all metal, multiple tone, I got several distinct low tones, with an occassional high tone chirp as the center of the coil passed over the same spot. The numbers bounced, due to what turned out to be the nails. But it would chalk up a 44 - 46 when sweeping from one direction. To be honest, it sounded enough like the high chirp of a bent nail that I doubt I would have dug it if I wasn't so "possesed" by testing detectors in head to head situations. But since I am trying to figure out which detector I want to use for which sites, I do spend a lot of time that other's may not, trying different methods and testing different theories. What I concluded in the park is that the only worthwhile target that I dug with the Etrac that I would probably not have dug using the X-705 is the forementioned quarter. With those other three nails within a couple inches of that quarter, I just don't think I would have taken the time to dig it out. I'm not sure why the Etrac did a better job of separating it. I suspect it has something to do with the sensitivity levels I was running. I have the Etrac set to "auto sensitivity" and occassionally bump it to +1 or +2. In this site, it hovers around 14 -16, which is extremely low, compared to most of the other sites I've had it. I wish I had thought of that before digging the quarter as I would have lowered the sensitivity down (I had it set on 22) on the 705, just to see if I could isolate the coin from the 3 nails. 20/20 hindsight! LOL
Today I took both detectors out to a torn down homesite in a field where the soy beans were just harvested. It was cold and windy, but I stuck it out long enough to see how the Etrac performed in the stubble. I may have just been having a bad day, but at this point, I don't see it being my first choice for hunting the long-forgotten old homesites, fair grounds and racetracks that are now in farm fields. I was running a modified coin program with volume gain of 30, variability at 27, conductive tones, auto sensitivity, deep off, fast on, trash density high and normal response. On Quick Mask, I reject 1 -3 Conductive and 35+ ferrous. In the modified coin mode, the detector was nulling out a great deal of the time. I understand that nulling is the audio response to a rejected target. But the speed at which the Etrac recovers seems to be much slower than the 705. Switching to Quick Mask, nulling was replaced by the high pitched tone of those pesky old nails that come in as high conductive targets. I was able to slowly drag the coil over the target to hear the "thump" that iron often gives. But doing so every few inches really breakes your stride! I also noticed that when the coil "bounced off" of a broken weed or bean stubble, it would false. I won't blame the Etrac as it may be due to the specific coil I was using. By the way, I had the butterfly coil on today and remembered why I typically chose a closed coil for working harvested fields. I spent a great deal of time redirecting my coil as it got hung up on the stubble. I grabbed the 705 and set it up in my normal "farmsite" mode of multiple tone, all metal. With the 6-inch coil, I didn't experience the falsing of the stubble. Nor did I find myself digging anymore "trash" than with the Etrac. Although the deep iron can give readings of 44, 46 and 48, working the coil properly will provide the "tell tale" low tone of iron. Kind of like the "thump" I mentioned on the Etrac.
So what conclusions have I reached? In the places I have hunted with both, with proper settings, the 705 holds it's own for depth and stability. Knowing how to set each of those on the 705 can be the difference between success and total failure.The Etac does have the additional functionality of auto sensitivity. And, it comensates for the ground mineralization. As well, the Etrac provides additional target information with the dual readings. (ferrous and conductive) So for separating trash from targets in those nasty trashy environments, I'd have to give the nod to the Etrac simply due to those three functions. The 705 does quite well. But the Etrac makes it much simpler to keep the proper settings. However, in farm field hunting, or for hunting in areas where modern trash is not overly abundant (less than a couple per sweep), I'll probably be using the 705. Although it doesn't provide as much TID information as the Etrac, the speed at which the processor "resets" allows me to hear more audio information. I won't try to convince you to buy either. You've already had an Etrac and know how good they are. But don't pass up on the 705 thinking it isn't an excellent detector. It just depends on what type of hunting you do and the sites you hunt.
As to the coils...... the X-705 will likely come with a stock 9-inch concentric at 7.5 kHz. I personally prefer the 9-inch concentric at 3 kHz for the places I like to hunt. Old coins at old sites. My moderately mineralized soil allows me to get a bit more depth out of the concentrics, compared to the DD coil choices. And the 3 kHz allows me to hear subtle audio changes (produced by deep iron) that I can't hear as well on the other two frequencies. If I run into an area that has too much trash for the 9-inch coil, I put on the 6-inch DD at 18.75 kHz. This highest frequency is my least favorite frequency of the X-Terras. But that small DD coil is hard to beat for target separation. If you live in an area that is considered to have higher levels of mineralization, or if you enjoy hunting with a larger DD coil, there are many who enjoy success with the 10.5 inch coils. If that is your preference, I'd recommend the 7.5 kHz for coinshooting and relic hunting. And I'd suggest the 18.75 if you are hunting beaches or concentrating on jewelry. The only two I haven't mentioned are the 6-inch concentric at 7.5 kHz and the 5 X 10 inch DD at 18.75 kHz. The small concentric is a hot little coil. In fact, when I field tested them, I thought they were a bit too hot for what I want a small coil for. Similar to using a 5.3 Blackmax on my XLPro, it will "hit" on a target before the coil even passes over it! I use a small coil for separation. And I believe the 6-inch DD does a better job of that. The elliptical coil is a good choice for beach combing or even field hunting. Being a closed design coil, I don't have to worry about it getting caught up in the weeds or stubble. However, it only comes in 18.75 kHz and that just isn't the frequency I prefer for the type of hunting I enjoy. At this time, I am unaware of additional coils "in the works". I've discussed it with the Minelab folks on several occasions. But as far as I know, no new coils are being developed at this time. On the other hand, they might not tell me if there were!
Hope this provides some of the information you were looking for. If you have any other questions, don't hesitate to ask.
HH Randy
