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Looking for opinions on se pro vs e-trac.

T

travis1460

Member
Hi,

I have owned quite a few machines through the years. I still by far love my explorer xs but think its time to upgrade. I was wondering if anyone has had the chance to compare the se pro and e-trac. I hear they are both really good machines and was wondering what people think that have used both.


Thanks,
Travis Quinn
 
I just bought the se pro on Saturday, and have not even unpacked it. I too am wondering if i should go with the etrac or stay with this one. I have been a whites guy for 30 plus years and have the xlt. I drove over to kellycos and spent several hours with Wanda and she convinced me that minelab was the way to go. The biggest concern i have is that the se pro is discontinued, but she assured me that the warranty will cover any problems for 5 years...3 from mine lab and 2 from kellyco. I don't want to pay 2500 for the latest minelab and was hoping to get some feed back here from those that have the se pro and also the etrac. I just joined the forum tonight and this is my first post. hoping to hear from someone. thanks
 
From what I hear they are really both great detectors. I hear the e-trac is a little easier to use and gets finds in areas a little more trashy. I hear the se pro is more like the older explorers and sounds off different than the e-trac. Either is a great machine just depending on how you use it and get to know it. Still waiting on some good opinions from peole who have used both though.
 
I have not used the E-trac, but I have been on this forum for years. Believe me; I have researched this. They are comparable machines with no great advantage going to either. Some folks may disagree. Bottom line: For folks that have learned on the Explorer series, the SE would be best. New to the series folks get along better with the E-Trac.

If you really know your XS then you already have the best one. If you get a new one, my advise is to keep your XS. You may find that it is better in some ways! I learned on an XS then went to the EII. I thought that was a marginal improvement. IMHO - I'll spell it out... In My Humble Opinion, the Explorer II works best for me. I had an SE and went back to the EII. The SE was not an improvement for me. I may have gotten a lemon. Deep iron hits sucked on my SE - could not ID easily!! I lost faith in ML and lost money.

The E-Trac... from reports I read, did not prove to go deeper or really open up old sites much (plus it cost $500 more!). Folks that learned on the XS, EII and SE did not like the new sounds and screen/discrimination changes.

I am under the impression that the CTX is a similar marginal improvement for $1500 more, plus it is heavier, Good Lord! I would love to try a CTX, but with the price, weight and mixed reviews, I would feel like a fool to go back to my Explorer II again. I will stick with my trusty EII and enjoy the hunt that I know. That is until they come out with the CTX ultra light, weighing in at 2.5 pounds and with a reduced cost of only $999. Hahahaha, like that will ever happen.

Hope this helps you guys. Take care and HH
Robin
 
Thanks Big fang coin hunter, with all the research i have done and with the opinions on here as well as other sites, i think i will put the se pro together tomorrow and try it out. Im a photographer by trade and belong to many photography forums and we get this all the time: "should i upgrade to the new such and such camera"? or stick with what i have?....and i tell the newbies that the camera doesn't make the photographer. i need to take my own advice and not get caught up in the which is better, and just go and learn the explorer pro. With technology advancing as fast as it does unless you have and endless supply of money you cant always keep up with it. So a big thank you to You and all the others that have posted on here. Its nice and also rare to have so many experienced users that are willing to share their expertise.
 
Travis,
Don't quote me on this, but I'm pretty sure I read a post from this form's moderator, Bryce, that gave his opinion after becoming familiar with both machines. If I remember correctly he said each machine had a time he would prefer one over the other, but that he went to the SE most. It has been a while back, so I could have it wrong. I think the SE is the one he was the most familiar with at the time.

Folks like the one they are using. Really, the people who went from the SE to the E-Trac, and did not like it, discovered that soon after switching years ago. They have since switched back or moved on in some way. Look for posts that show side by side comparisons. Test garden comparisons are good too.

HH - Robin
 
Thanks to everyone here that has posted. I have done some pretty extensive research and have decided to go with the e-trac just because it seems to have a slight advantage. I also figured since the SE is discontinued that the etrac will retain its value slightly more since its still being produced.
 
I have used both. Granted, I have used the SE Pro for FAR more hours, but once I understood the SE Pro and what it was telling me, I borrowed an E-Trac and used it quite a bit. I ran it through my test garden and did thorough testing and comparison with my SE Pro; I hunted with it in the field, marking targets with one machine and then checking the targets with the other; I also performed other hunts where I simply left the SE Pro in the car and used the E-Trac exclusively.

In all of these scenarios, I found performance of the two units to be very, very similar. NO major advantage, finds-wise, for either unit, in my opinion. There are some nice features on the E-Trac that I like, and some things I prefer on the SE Pro. BUT -- bottom line, I do NOT feel, after all of my testing and experiences with both units, that either offers subsantial advantage over the other in terms of depth/performance/quality or number of finds. That's my honest two cents worth. You can't go wrong with either, IMO, but I would NOT get hung up on trading one for the other...

Steve
 
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