Quattro Sovereign Explorer

[rpspencer]

Well let me say I am confused.

I posted a question "Can't decide which machine to purchase -Quattro Sovereign or Explorer".

I have gotten responses such as "Don't buy Quattro, it's a lemon".

Spend a little more and get an Explorer.

Stick with a Sovereign.

I'm more confused than before.

I would like the best detector not necessarly the cheapest.

I enjoy hunting old yards, school yards, and old churches.

I want a dector that's not to difficult to use.

And deep seaking.

 

[Mike (Virginia Beach)]

I've had all three and have hunted with all of them on the beach, in the woods and fields, and at home sites and school yards. I feel that all three are very capable machines. Which is the BEST one is a subjective call. If you're used to a Sovereign, both the Quattro and the Explorer will be an adjustment. The tones are different. Pinpointing is different. The way they "hit" targets is different. For the type of hunting you do, the Sovereign is well suited. If you tend to do more at trashy spots and a little more info and discrimination possibilities are what you need then maybe the Quattro or the Explorer would have something to offer you. But in trashy spots I feel the Explorer is the better choice due to previously mentioned slower recovery time between targets that are close to one another. A little harder to learn FULLY, and yet simple enough to use right out of the box and do well with. If your sites are cleaner in nature, the Quattro does offer FBS performance with more like BBS simplicity and a "linear" notch system as opposed to the Smartfind screen the Explorer has.

The Sovereign is no slouch machine though. And if you like what you have now, maybe the Sovereign GT is what you ought to do. Step up to the latest in Sovereign technology and have the old tried and true as the backup and "buddy" machine. Or go with the Explorer II and experience the flagship Minelab. If you decide it's not for you I don't think you'd have much trouble selling it if you keep it in pristine shape.

Best advice is to get somebody to demo each of the machines for you and spend a little time swinging over some of the targets you detect regularly to see what YOU think. If that's not possible, I don't think you will go terribly wrong with whatever you decide.

I had the Elite, then the Quattro, and now have the Explorer II.

 

[mtdoramike]

because they don't know what they are talking about and I'll bet they used one for about 30 minuts, then posted it for sale or trade. Now, I've never used a Sovereign or Explorer, but I'm currently using a Quattro now. I have about 25 hours or so on it now and since I put the 8" concentric coil on it, I really like it a lot. It's a simple turn on and go machine with a few adjustments. So if you want the power of the Explorer with turn on and go features, then the Quattro would be a good choice. But as with any machine, it takes time to learn it.

Good luck,
Mike

 

[rpspencer]

Mike,

Thank you for your reply.

I do enjoy hunting with the Sovereign.

The only reason I was thinking of purchasing a 2nd machine was so friends who want to go with me from time to time would have a detector to use.

I was thinking I would buy a better machine to use myself, if one was available.

I have been detecting for about 10 years, so I familar with the Sovereign, before that I had a White XLT, which I really liked but, I went to the Sovereign for the reasons such as depth.

I am now thinking I will purchase a Quattro.

Have you had good luck with depth?

Do you think you could find, say a dime at 8" in a yard.

I have never beach hunted, not really many beaches in Kentucky.

Thanks,

Randy

 

[mtdoramike]

but this is in my area, which is central Florida.

 

[Mike (Virginia Beach)]

I can say without a doubt that the Quattro DOES have good depth. At the beach it's the deepest I've seen. On land it's deeper than many and as deep as most. A dime at 8"? Sure, it should. Depending on the ground it's in, iron, how dry or how hard, etc. I've certainly gotten dimes that deep. And some deep bullets too. I will say that in order to get great depth you will probably need to come out of "Auto" and run manual sensitivity. Which has been my experience with most all machines.

 

[rpspencer]

I have found dimes at about 7" with the Sovereign, here in Kentucky.

 

[Black Davy]

You can check back about a month a read some of the fray I caused when I asked the same question. I ended up with a Used Quattro that I purchased from Richardntn and also a Floor model Garrett Infinium from this site.

If you find a reputable source used is a great option, you could pick up a Explorer for a good price.

I have used the Quattro twice. Once in Reno, NV. The parks I was working were pretty trashy. I scored over 30 coins in 6 hours most within 1"-4" range. This was my first drive with the Quattro so I left it the Auto Coin/Jewlery mode. I really couldnt complain about so called slow recovery everbody mentions as I am in no rush so I don't consider it slow, but yes it does not rebound as quick as other machines. The second time was here in Mass but the ground is still frozen at 3" so I couldnt did some of the potential targets that were down deep. The area I am working is very very trashy and limiting sensativity and another choice of coil may be required.

It really comes down to the option's the Explorer has it all the Quattro has what you need.

 

[Angela (Australia)]

That's an interesting comment you made Black Davy, concerning the Quattro, for I too am not generally in a hurry to pick up targets, so the slower recovery isn't a problem to me. In fact, if Quattro users were to detect in ground such as I'm faced with here, very high iron trash, some mineralization in places and a very thick dense undergrowth that's enough to drive most people a little nutty when first begin detecting here, the slow recovery turns out to be a bonus. It forces you to slow right down, sometimes unbelievably slow, but boy, when you start picking up targets, and sometimes at 12 inches down or more, in compacted and rocky ground, the Quattro leaves you in wonderment! Well, that's my experience with it thus far, in this type of hunting, and I've had it over a year now! At the beach of course, it's a breeze. Angela

 

[Mike (Virginia Beach)]

Yes, the slow recovery is also a good part of what makes the Quattro "lock on" so well to the deeper targets and give a more consistent ID on them as well. A lot of machines, Explorer included, will tend to lose some ID accuracy on the deeper targets. I've seen a the Quattro pick up a quarter at the beach in the wet sand that was som deep that my Excal got NOTHING off of it...not even a null. And the Quattro had a weak but consistent repeatable signal off of it and it was regularly hitting 38 with the right swing and wiggle. I won't give anybody any ammo to rag me with by even mentioning how deep it was, as only somebody that had seen it would believe it. It was actually my buddy using my Quattro that found it and I had my Excal that day.

 

[Rick(ND)]

I have used all 3 of them and I will always keep a Sovereign in my line up of detectors. I also have a Explorer XS II and sold the Quattro. The reason I sold the Quattro was the tones are not adjustable so the high tone of silver is too high tone for me and my bad hearing. The Quattro does good, but you have to spend some time to learn it and understand what it is telling you. The recovery is slow and some of these tones will carry over to the next metal target which will sound the same as a good target. One of my tricks i learned was every time I thought I had a good target I would lift the coil and let the threshold return, then go back to the target and see if the tones were the same or not. Many may not see this slow recovery if there is not a lot of targets as the threshold has time to return before the next target it sees. This also helps the Quattro to lock on to deeper targets too which is a plus.
Now if you feel you know your Sovereign well and want the challenge of a new detector the Quattro or the Explorer would be a good choice. With my own experience with the Sovereign and the Explorer I have seen where I dig more trash with the Explorer and the Quattro over the Sovereign, seen a little more depth with the Quattro and Explorers on some targets. I have dug just as deep coins with the Sovereign as I did with the Explorer. I find the Sovereign I can go a little faster than the Explorer and a lot faster then the Quattro. I find I can hear some targets closer to nails and trash with the Explorer and the Quattro and can do more with the Explorer over the Quattro or the Sovereign.
Like I say the Sovereign is one I will keep for my hunting of parks, ball field , school and my private yards I hunt as i like the ID. The Explorer is one I like in those well worked out area where good targets can be mask by trash.

Rick

 

[rpspencer]

Where would you recommend I purchase a Quattro?

Thanks,

Randy