Minelab GT or the Whites MXT?

[jlw]

I'm thinking of upgrading to one of these two and would like some opinions, I presently use the Tesoro Cibola , hunt coins and jewelry in moderate soil but would like something that I could take to other parts of the country when needed. Can I here from those of you that have swung both?

 

[TURNMASTER]

Honestly I have swung neither, but for what it is worth you could could not be comparing two more different detectors. If you want a comparable detector to the MXT try the Xterra 705. Whites has no machine that is comparable to the Sov GT. (nobody does)

Funny thing is that both of those machines are on my in the future list! Probably the Sov GT or an Explorer. Sov is a slow machine.

Jeff

 

[Critterhunter]

A friend recently bought an M6, which is pretty much an MXT in performance on rings/coins. It won't get nearly as deep on coins or rings as my GT, nor handle ground minerals as well. If you want a fast machine to quickly rack up clad totals or to find shallow rings then the M6/MXT are great machines and much lighter out of the box. But, if you want depth and top performance in any ground conditions then it's GT all the way. It, along with the M6/MXT, is king of the hill when it comes to gold rings too (splitting hairs on them via VDI numbers). My GT is deeper than the previous 3 Explorer IIs I've owned as well, and I like it more for several other reasons too. It's a sleeper for sure...

What most people don't realize is that any of the older Sovereign models are deeper than pretty much anything on the market. Many feel there is nothing deeper in fact, including FBS machines. The GT is said to get slightly deeper than the prior Sovereign models but just a bit, so you can save yourself a bunch of money and buy any older Sovereign model for as little as $200 to $400 and blow away machines costing well over one thousand dollars. I got my GT for I think $650 used including meter, which I consider a great deal for having performance that is second to none in metal detecting IMHO.

 

[willy]

Well, now for another take on the Sov./MXT debate. I've used a number of Sov's (including the original and the GT) and found the MXT to be superior in the ground I hunt (extremely mineralised). The BBS detectors showed no improvement over the MXT in ground handling but... had a gawdawfully abysmal response to low conductors in disc. mode. I didn't want to believe it, but did some in-ground comparison tests (with a number of different detectors) and that was it for the Sov's. One caveat though.. I've ditched the stock coil on the MXT for a DD; it's all I use. In fact, that might be what gives the ML detectors their supposed edge when dealing with mineralisation, the DD coils they use. Stick a DD on another detector (MXT for example) and the situation changes somewhat. ..Willy.

 

[Neil]

I'm thinking of upgrading to one of these two and would like some opinions, I presently use the Tesoro Cibola , hunt coins and jewelry in moderate soil but would like something that I could take to other parts of the country when needed. Can I here from those of you that have swung both?

Ive used both, depends on what your mainly after really. what other parts of the country are you talking about? both are good detectors and as willy says the DD coils make a difference on any machine, good point willy

if your gonna beach hunt a lot I would grab the sov, if your gonna do some gold nugget shooting then the mxt would be the best. the cibola with a DD is more similiar to the MXT than the sov, so if you like the cibola but want some ID, get the mxt.

 

[Davy Jones Locker]

MXT because its a whites and they stand behind their equipment,and customers when it comes to service etc.For example they replaced my coil on my Spectrum XLT free of charge .If I was going to get another detector it would be a MXT if I had the dough.

 

[Larry (IL)]

The MXT is a killer with a D2 coil in the mineralized ground and a 12" conical in the mild ground like a beach. Add a 5.3 for the trashy parks and you have a detector than can do almost all, including relic and nugget hunting if you ever get the chance, not to mention the gold jewelry finds capability with accurate target ID. My biggest concern with Minelab is the announcement of not repairing machine 10 years old and older when parts run out, even if you can get a hold of someone at Minelab now, service is from one to three months and some have been waiting for parts even longer. Service and availability problems are well documented on all of the Minelab forums.

 

[Critterhunter]

There is no way based on what I've seen that the MXT will handle mineralized ground nearly as well as the GT, or getting even close in depth using the same size coil. What I've recently found is that what seems like max stable sensitivity on my GT doesn't mean best depth. Often 1/2 max sensitivity will produce much more depth than running it at max, and even in auto it's hitting coins 7 to 9" loud and clear with perfect ID (with much more in depth to give on coins yet). Based on what I've seen the M6 do (same depth as MXT for rings/coins) even using the 10" DD coil in moderate to highly mineralized ground getting 7" on a coin was a real feat, and no where near a loud and clear ID/tone. That's pushing it for coins on those high frequency units. Remember that the GT is using multiple frequencies from 1.5khz and higher in 1.5khz steps, so it will hit just as good/loud/clear/hard on high conductivity targets (silver/copper) as it will low ones (gold/nickles), which can not be said for just about any other machine on the market including the Whites. Sure, the MXT will do better on real tinny gold nuggets or say a tiny/thin earing, but it won't hit as good nor as loud on a gold ring at anything near the depths the Sovereign can achieve. Seen it, done it, spent enough time and money to know what the real "flagships" of detectors are these days, and it aint any Whites. You're talking Sovereigns, Etracs, Explorers, T2LTD, F75LTD, and one or two others out there. The M6/MXT are great quick clad hunters, decent for virgin ground (mean more shallow old coins), and have a good reputation on finding shallower gold rings because of their great VDI (which is slightly less sharp (less resolution) than the Sovereign's, by the way), but when it comes to depth, unmasking ability, and performance in any kind of ground, Whites hasn't got a dog in that fight IMHO.

 

[Critterhunter]

Yes, a DD coil will help any machine handle minerals better but high frequency machines in general (no hard and fast rules here) tend to have more trouble with ground minerals, resulting in less depth or erratic IDs. The ability of Sovereigns to handle just about any kind of ground conditions (minerals, iron, hot rocks, black sand, etc) and still achieve great depths and proper IDs is only partially related to using a DD coil. BBS technology with it's multiple frequencies doesn't handle the ground signal in the same way as other VLF (very low frequency) machines such as the MXT/M6, and just about any other machine out there. BBS machines take a picture of the ground and then compare that to the picture of the ground with the target present. That allows them to give greater depth, handle worse ground, and yet still give proper IDs. As an added bonus, having multiple frequencies not only allows it to hit harder on a wider spectrum of metals (never dug so many nickles than I have with my GT) at greater depths, but those numerous frequencies also can be the very reason WHY it's penetrating deeper. Certain specific frequencies will bounce off or not "see through" the ground matrix as well as others at certain sites. You might say have one spot where 3khz gets best depth for copper/silver, while at another site 6khz does, or say 14khz gets best depth on gold and nickles, where as 18khz does at another spot. One machine stuck at one frequency (M6/MXT, and just about anything else out there) won't get best depth or hit hardest on certain metal types for that reason. Other machines, such as the DFX/V3 have 3 or 4 frequencies to try to do better, but are still prone to the same problem. Still yet, if say the low frequency best for silver/copper at a site is being "blocked" by the ground minerals then it's out of luck since it doesn't have other nearby frequencies to compensate, where as the GT does...in 1.5khz steps.

On the other hand, the Explorers have even higher and more frequencies than a Sovereign, much higher than what is needed for good gold sensitivity. While this can be a help at some sites, I found those extra/higher FBS frequencies to more often than not be a minus for stability and depth for me. Translation- I'm getting deeper with my GT, and also recovering coins that my Explorers flat out missed at spots I've gridded from several directions. That's me, the way I hunt, in my ground conditions (most common being moderate to high mineralization). Others with different soil might not see that difference where they hunt.

 

[coin hunter]

Don't buy a Garrett 1500 or 2500. Save the goodies for me.

 

[larryk56]

If you are going to consider the MXT then by all means you should look at
the Minelab Safari. It is a full band spectrum machine that is easy to use out of the box
and .....you never have to worry about ground balance etc.....

A real solid detector however the MXT is a good second choice!