I hesitate to do so, but since this is the Sovereign forum I feel a little retort is in order just to defend this fine machine...I've compared and contrasted the Etrac on undug targets for a few years with people and used it a bit in the field, and at least with the 12x10 on my GT I have yet to see neither machine as what I'd call "better" in the respects that count for me when we've compared undug targets in the field with each other.
Badly masked coins, super deep, on edge, and combinations of all three, we've compared extensive notes and not a dime's worth of difference between them on undug targets when we call each other over to compare, working our way around them to judge the response of both machines. I'm even now pulling my headphone plug just to make sure everybody has a good grasp on the comparisons. The GT will hold it's own against anything out there, in particular with a 12x10 on it, although by far even the stock 10" Tornado is no slouch either when I used to use that on land.
The term better all depends on what you jell with. I have used an Etrac and prefer the GT. With these Minelabs it all comes down to coil choice for the given site and day, far as I've seen. And I mean that. If I thought otherwise I would have long since moved on, because I never like to think I'm somehow using a less good "stick" than the next guy in my hunting circles. At least in my mineralized soils, better is a very relative term. All I care about performance wise is depth, unmasking (separation), detailed audio, and stability. Lastly but no less important to me is *conductivity* resolution. I can snipe out nickel signals, among other intersting low or mid conductivity targets, with far less junk dug such as tabs, due to the super high conductivity resolution on the 180 meter.
If people want a rough idea of coin type above zinc pennies then for sure the Etrac would be the better choice for them. However, just the other day I got a signal I suspected was a silver dime by how quick it jumped to 180 and the slightly extra sweet tone. Called a friend over and his coin resolution told him clad dime. Called him back over after I saw silver at about 5". Merc dime.
Far as depth goes, most of the time the 12x10 allows me to run full blast manual and it's rock solid stable. Have had a few occurences (rarely) where I'd call over a friend and say "Check out this super deep whisper", and they'd say "I can't hear it", running Auto + 3 and an entirely open screen besides some very minimal iron rejection, and otherwise all the mostly agreed upon "best" settings by the heavy hitters we researched and saved program wise. Even though Auto +3 was riding every high, only after putting it into manual and raising it the last few clicks to full blast could they hear those signals. That right there tells me that they are pretty evenly matched in my soil. Sure, the 12x10 is an aftermarket coil, but if cost is a concern there is still money being saved via a GT.
All these Minelabs are pretty much maxed out in VLF technology IMO. It all comes down to coil choice for the given site and given day IMO, along with which unit you just get along "right" with. Again, if I thought otherwise I'd move on, as I've moved on numerous times over about 20 years, owning many brands and many models over those years, always looking for the particulars I wanted for my personal tastes. Until I see otherwise, I'm staying put, and even if I do one day the GT still says. Too unique of a beast.
That's not brand loyalty speaking, nor model loyalty. I've owned and used many over the years, always looking, always searching, for my wants and needs. Some lacked coil choices, some lacked depth, some lacked separation abilities, some lacked numerous tone alerts, some lacked detailed audio, some lacked stability in my soil or sands, and on and on. Not saying what I found for me is right for others, just saying that one size don't fit all by any means for whatever you're out there looking for. If it did, we wouldn't have many brands and models, that's for sure.
Some of what I find unique in this machine- The numerous tone alerts of a Minelab yet with the long detailed robust audio of say some Whites or the best of the old analog units. It's a low fuss, high stability, extreme depth type of deal to me. And for that reason, for the first time ever, I can honestly say that regardless of what else comes in and out of my line up, this here GT is going to have a very prominent place in my hanger.
What I see, is that every few months when a new smart phone comes out, everybody dumps the old one they just paid big money for mere months ago, and suddenly it's the worst piece of junk that only a short while ago they were praising left and right, just so they can get those extra bells and whistles. I'm the kind of person who asks myself..."Does that mean it answers calls any better, provides clear voices over the phone, or dials calls for me any better here?"
Largely what is driving the consumer market these days is just extra bling, which to me where it counts don't mean a thing IMHO, but that's me. Air pressure sensors on cars, seat warmers, motorized mirrors. Sure, it might make the ride more comfortable, but does it still get you from point A to point B any faster? And now rather than driving and enjoying the ride, I'm spending much of that time monitoring this gauge and that, all the time I've missed the view and joy the ride had to offer.
I recently saw a test, where the same wine was put into two different bottles. One an expensive looking bottle, and one a cheap looking one with a cheesy label. Almost invariable every blind taste test said the more expensive looking bottle was the better wine.
The real place where the rubber meets the road is how people mesh and believe in what they got. If you have the right attitude and more importantly gell well with a detector, then that's 99% of the battle right there. If you go out with the mindset that you are somehow using something "less", then you've pre-judged the results and potential. Seen plenty of newbies over the years head out with a dime store machine and make some amazing finds at spots people considered "dead". All comes down to attitude largely, to push what you got to it's full potential.
Yes, all these Minelabs are like alien technology in terms of performance of VLF in some respects, but the bottom line is that you have to find the machine that gels with your personality and wants in small particulars, just like the deal when finding the right women to love. Some women have these traits, and some have those traits, but that doesn't necessarily make either one of them better. One guy's wife might be the love of his life, but another guy might have thought of her to be his worst nightmare.
As a final thought in these respects, in terms of fishing I know guys who swear by certain lures, and I do as well. We might use those wrong lures for the wrong situations, but I've seen guys catch fish in places they shouldn't with such lures. Why? Because they had confidence in them, and knew how to push those lures to the very edge of fish attracting traits.
Had one guy, a well versed fisherman, laugh at me when he saw me use a surface lure for smallmouth in a river. He was convinced that only a led head jig with a twister or such hopped along the bottom was the best lure, as is often said, to use for smallmouth. After 2 or 3 massive surface blasts, it wasn't long before he was asking if I had a spare for him to use.
We still laugh about that all these years later, and to this day he prefers a surface lure for his river smallie fishing. Is it the best lure for that job? Probably not, but fact is he catches more fish with it usually than any others he uses. He believes, and he likes. Much of what is out there in fishing lures is more about attracting a customer at a store than it is about catching fish. That's most of the battle right there, snaking through that mind field of what you need, versus what looks "best"...
. I haven't used an ET at the beach but I would take NO OTHER MACHINE than my Sovereign Elite to the beach if I planned on nothing deeper than ankle deep water. My Sov Elite kicked an MXT Pro's butt yesterday at the beach. It's operator even walked right over a couple good targets and didn't even hesitate over them. That Sov Elite when used properly is a MONSTER on the beach, but I really would like a different machine for Relic hunting on dry land with a VDI readout, so I still plan on getting an MXT Pro.
