the units are easy to get into action on beaches, requiring less in the way on manual adjustments, and because (for various reasons) many people who take on one of these Minelab's does so with a certain amount of confidence.
Too often we see that operator control, or lack thereof, is the main reason people have 'problems' getting good performance in <EM>any</EM> hunting environment, not just beaches.
As I mentioned, so many people at some of these resport sites I tested at favor the Sovereign models over other brands or even the Explorer's. In talking to Minelab <EM>users</EM> as well as Minelab <EM>dealers</EM> who are also active detectorists, they prefer the Sovereigns over the Explorers for a few reasons. One is that they are 'comfortable' with their Sovereigns because the know them, and another is that they find the Explorers to be a bit too intimidating in the way of adjustments.
I hunt with a number of Minelab users in several western states. I attend some monthly get-toghters with a 'Minelab Detecting Group' because a couple of us are avid detectorists, but don't use Minelabs. It is a small group of people who are into some serious detecting. Researching and traveling to sites in several states on detecting jaunts we take frequently during the year. Sometimes it is a group of 3 or perhaps a group of 7 or 8 of us. Most use the Explorer's, some use the Sovereign's, and then there are two of us who use mainly White's or Tesoro.
Needless to say, this frequently brings calls of <STRONG><EM>"Hey, come check this signal out!" </EM></STRONG>and the comparison, once again, helps to spark some discussion.
Well, naturally there are times when an Explorer user, for example, might be able to give a better or more accurate Target ID 'guess' based upon the TID performance in the way of accuracy and accuracy on deeper targets. Targets that many, using other metered brands and especially in 'bad ground', do not recover because they didn't get a decent 'lock-on.' Because of this, it would <EM>appear</EM> to many that the Explorer is the better detector and finds more good stuff. Well, that's not so. It is simply a matter of the Explorer identifying targets better at the depth they achieve.
It might also lead to some thinking that the Explorer detects deeper, which is also untrue. What we see is simply an Explorer ID's well, deeper.
Hit a McDonald's drive thru and grab some lunch and talk about comparing performance on the way to some site with a knowledgeable, skilled user of another quality model. When you get to the site you want to do some comparisons, use the sack your take-out lunch was in to cover your displays. Use the detectors w/o Target ID. Just set them up and go for the better audio responses you can get and make some educated 'guesses' what type of targets you find. My money would be bet on the detectorist using something like a White's XL Pro or modified Classic III or Tesoro Tej