MXT vs. X-Terra

[Casull]

I know what you mean, scoper. I actually posted this in the MXT forum, but it was moved here. In any event, I look for an overall "theme" to the responses, but do enjoy those that give specific info about the various machines.

 

[7centsworth]

Hey scoper I see you post on the mxt forum alot. Try the xterra and see for yourself how good they are.. I know they are both good machines . But I will always have an xterra .

 

[scoper]

I'd like to try one...thats why i've been looking on this forum......trouble is i've got an mxt and a sovereign and i can't find a good excuse to give the wife for buying another one.Any ideas

 

[7centsworth]

How do you like the sovereign I have heard they are good relic machines.

 

[scoper]

The sov is a great machine,deep and sable in most hunting situations.I originally bought mine so that i had a detector that would perform well on the wet sand at the beaches and for this it just can't be beaten.......minelabs multi frequency units excel in this situation.It's also excellent inland on fairly clean sites where it's depth is up there with the best.The only places i won't use it is when there are good targets mixed in with iron such as a site with a lot of nails.In these situations i'll use the mxt which will pick up the good small targets from in amongst the iron better than the sov.The mxt is also more sensitive to the tiniest targets than the sov.
Neil.

 

[BADBAJA]

Scoper please tell me the areas you hit with your mxt so I can go get all the deep stuff it's passing over. Now that would be my idea of FUN. I didn't buy a machine just to have FUN. I bought mine to find stuff, then I have fun, even if it's a penny. So my neighbor walks 50 feet in front of me on a river beach( mighty Columbia river). He passes a few quarters, dimes, and nickles then sees me finding them. Hate to say it but that does not sound like fun. I think my sons bounty hunter jr has pulled deeper dimes then that mxt. Thats my opinion seeing both machines in action so it is what it is. I was actually going to buy the mxt and a few places I went to ALL said the minelab is the one to get. It's like half the weight, does prospecting, multitone, just so many other things. Shoot just this morning I woke up and it had my coffee made already and the dishes done. I tell ya it does everything. LOL.

 

[Old Longhair]

Hi Casul,the problem with asking this question on this forum is that people will obviously be biased towards the minelab.If you ask it on the mxt forum people on there will be biased towards the mxt.....this is just human nature.What gets my back up is when you read comments such as "i follow my neighbour with his mxt and pick up the coins he's missed" and "if you want to go fast and just skim the surface get an mxt".Comments such as these can put people off buying a certain machine, such as the mxt in this case,when in reality you may find you enjoy using it more than the minelab.Comments such as these are made up by people who think that whatever machine they own is the best and most of them won't have even used the machine in question.

Well let's see here. You have an MXT and no 705. I have a 705 and no MXT.

I also have other machines, no two of which are made by the same manufacturer, so brand/model bias is something that I don't suffer from. My comment came from my own personal experience cleaning up behind an MXT user, who seemed unhappy that I was digging anything from ground that he'd covered.

And I didn't say that the MXT wasn't a good machine. In my case, it's a question of "Was it the machine? Or the user?" Being an Xterra newb at that time, I could only speculate. He was digging a lot, and I wasn't. And what I found was all deep, so he wasn't missing much. Hence my comment about going fast skimming the surface. My 705 won't allow me to go fast, which is in part why I think I'm successful. An MXT in other hands may have done better.....or may not.

In reality, each situation (ground conditions, targets sought, etc...) is a little different. And there are some machines that will do better than others in any given situation. Some entry level detectors have applications beyond hooking a newb, and many experienced users keep them for situations where a high end detector isn't as suitable. For this reason alone, I'll likely keep my F2 'til I die. But the fact is, that the XT705 with it's ability to change frequencies, and the coil sizes/configurations make it the most tailorable machine currently available, IMO. Can it be made the "best" in every situation? NO! Which is why it won't be the last detector that I buy.

If there was one machine that could do it all better than any other, then I wouldn't need to have more than one. Each have their forte', and I'm sure that an MXT has it's place.

 

[Digger]

Over the years, I've used the MXT and X-TERRAs extensively. For what it is worth, here is a post I made over 3 years ago. So the X-TERRA information does not include the updated models. (305, 505, 705)

http://www.findmall.com/read.php?55,730915,732069#msg-732069



Randy

 

[scoper]

Badbaja and old longhair,your most recent comments only strengthen what i have said in the first place.It seems that neither of you have owned the mxt or used one for any length of time....you are both basing your comments on the results of others.The xterra may be deeper than the mxt but i can't comment because i've never used one.Unless you have used both of the machines that you are comparing,your comments are little more than irrelevant.

 

[Casull]

Thanks all. This is just the sort of information I think I needed. I had been strongly thinking about selling or trading the X-Terra for or towards an MXT. But, I think I'm going to stick it out awhile first. The property I'm detecting is at least 200 years old, but there is an abundance of ferrous targets, as well as pretty heavily mineralized soil. I spent about 3 hours detecting yesterday. I decided to use Pattern 1. Sensitivity 17, 2 tones. Not much compared to what I see you fellows doing, but I managed to pull out 3 wheats ('35, '45 and '51) and 17 cents clad (nickel was a solid 10/12). Only dug repeatable signals. Also picked up what looks like the hammer to a toy cap gun and brass valve of some sort that is about the length and diameter of my thumb. The valve was a solid 36 reading about 4 inches. I thought (hoped) this would be my first silve dime with the X-Terra, but not to be. BTW, the valve was about 6" deep. Still looking for that first silver with the X-Terra. Oh well.

 

[BH_Landstar_]

Casull,

I've never used an MTX, but have used many other detectors in the last 2 years.

I've found that the X-Terra 705 is a heck of a detector for the money over the others that I've used and owned (not including the E-Trac). The X-Terra is so versatile it's with it's options and can be used in so many different locations that other detectors have trouble in. Most of the X-Terra 705 users that have posted here have always said that the trick is to take it slow with this detector and back the gain / sensitivity down a bit to get the optimum performance from it (now, if Minelab was to make the X-Terra range 100% waterproof to 10 feet, they would have one heck of a multi-tasking detector that could not be beat !). The X-Terra's coil choice is also a major point with this detector, there is no other detector on the market that can compete with it's ability to change it's frequency via coil selection.

The X-Terra range of detectors are by far the best low - mid range detectors, and it seems such a shame that people do not stick with them for long, because they don't have the patients to learn them. Once you have taken the time to learn what the detector is telling you, the more things will fall into place, and those silver coins and gold items will just start to appear.

 

[Digger]

Congrats on the recoveries. If you're digging Wheats and hitting targets at those depths, its just a matter of time that you hit some old silver coins. Funny thing about digging coins..........that next target could be something spectacular! HH Randy

 

[BADBAJA]

I ran my neighbors mxt for 30 minutes before I wanted to trade back. The thing felt easily twice as heavy as mine. I also took the advice from my dealer being I was prospecting also. I tried both units on his showroom floor. His 30 yrs of expierence only strengthened what I already knew. I was waking out with a xterra.

 

[TURNMASTER]

If you were running an MXT and only had limited hours on it I would give the same advice, you need more time on the machine before you make a decision. I bought the Xterra over the MXT because of weight, battery life, notch, and the control panel made more sense to me. If I had bought the MXT, I hope I would have spent the time to learn the machine before deciding to trade. I have 2 other GOOD machines and still prefer the 705. I still have kept both because they have capabilities the 705 does not. I will be getting rid of at least one though.

Jeff

 

[scoper]

Good advice badbaja,first listen to the advice of a SALESMAN who tells you that for prospecting you should go with the xterra,even though the mxt has one of the best reputations in the industry for this type of hunting.Then, you can test the detectors you are interested in on his showroom floor which is a highly accurate way of seeing just how the different machines will perform in the field.Once you are happy with this you can then take away your new detector knowing that you have just made the correct choice.As a back up to the experience you gained with the detector on the showroom floor,borrow the detector you decided not to buy and give it a good 30 minute field appraisal which is more than enough to tell if a detector is any good or not.Excellent,i can now buy my next detector with complete confidence.Thanks

 

[BarnacleBill]

Scoper you seem to have a chip on your shoulder. I don't believe the word "SALESMAN" was used in the post therefore you are projecting for the purpose of derision. The word "Dealer" was used in the post. Most individuals in this industry were Users before they were Dealers and therefore have experience. Let's take for example Gerry of Gerry's Detectors, here is an individual that gives classes and arranges trips for Prospecting and has been doing it for many years. If I walk into Gerry's showroom he is going to qualify me, and that process does not only concern how much I'm going to spend but also what variety of detecting I am going to be doing, and where I am going to be doing it. I dare say that someone like Gerry is going to give me his best advice because he wants me to come back and buy more equipment. Now if you trust his judgement, and he sells 5 different brands of detectors then you'll have confidence in what he recommends.

So let's tally the score here:

A Dealer like Gerry with a couple decades of experience who trains customers in Prospecting or Scoper who just parachuted onto a forum two months ago and has a total of 79 posts. For me the choice would be easy, but that's just my logical side showing.

BB

 

[Mtnmn]

Guy's, when it comes right down to it a person isn't going to go wrong with using either the MXT (Pro) or the XT-70 (705). I know several years back when I decided to up-grade from an old Coinmaster 5000 D, not too surprisingly my final two choices came down to the XT-70 and the MXT. What finally tilted my choice in favor of the XT-70 was its lighter weight and fewer batteries, other than that I would have rated them a toss-up. This past week I got a steal on an almost new entry level detector and today just on a whim took it to a spot that because of severe EMI and iron problems, just gives my top two detectors absolute fits. Amazingly I only had to turn the sensitivity down two notches on that ($180) entry level detector and it sailed thru that area like a piece of cake. Guess that just goes to prove like what "Old Long Hair" was talking about earlier, there's a place for even entry level detectors and here we are worrying about what two higher end detectors will or will not do. Kind of funny isn't it?

 

[BADBAJA]

Honestly he was a SALESMAN. He is also a small business owner just like me and I try to support that as much as possible. I get invites from him to come stay on his claim down in AZ all the time. He does give classes as well.

I had literally weeks of reading and reading reviews from actual owners. I actually had my heart set on buying the MXT. Every review said it was great. And I believe it to be a great machine also, but the second I held the two I knew which one I was going to buy. The coils changing the frequency is really nice. I am happy with my decision. Also just went with energizer rechargables. Only took 4 for $10. I already have the charger for wii remotes. Lol

 

[crazybill]

Mtnmn, how about letting us know which entry level detector you were using. I think i need a spare just to let someone use who wants to try the hobby with me. My own 5000D has finally given up the ghost.
-Bill-

 

[scoper]

BarnacleBill,i may have parachuted onto the forum 2 months ago and only have 79 posts,but after 26 years of using various detectors i have come to the conclusion that you cannot tell anybody that one detector is better than another without conducting an in depth test of both.This is what my original post was about....somebody being told that one detector was better than another by people who had very little practical experience with the detector they were making remarks about.Far from having a chip on my shoulder,i like to give information to those who need it based on experiences i have had out in the field and after using a particular detector extensively.If disagreeing with remarks made by those who have had little experience on the topic they are discussing qualifies me to have a chip on my shoulder, then i am more than happy to be labelled in that way.As for dealers,one dealer may recommend the xterra,one the mxt,one the garrett infinium,one the goldbug and one more different dealer with their own different opinion for each of the other detectors that are capable of prospecting that are on the market.So which dealer is right.....let's see if you can give us all a logical answer to that question barnaclebrain.