New member w/Sovereign Elite

[surf fisherman]

Just bought a used Sovereign Elite with Sovereign's 550 meter,10" tornado coil, stock S arm.This is my first detector and it didn't come with any headphones and was looking into buying some. What would be a best brand and model to compliment this unit? Will be using it at the beach mostly. Set the meter at 550 on a quarter. When the meter isn't on a target and is off the ground it reads in the minus range, is this normal? All the controls are set in the recommended settings-quickstart. Also should I think about getting a straight shaft for it, I'm about 6'1''.
Thanks for any advice........ >)))'> surf fisherman

 

[Art (NWOH)]

If the ground mineral is conductive enough and you abruptly raise or lower the coil, the normal response is a null followed by a returning low iron buzz in the threshold tone and a large negative (iron ) number on the meter.
Is this what is happening?

HH

 

[surf fisherman]

Yes it does. So sounds like it is working normal. This is my first time using a detector, so I am just starting to figure everything out.
Thanks!