<span style="background-color:#ffff00;"><STRONG>DETECTORS:</STRONG></span> Accessories, to me, include metal detectors themselves. There is absolutely NO perfect detector, or coil, or pinpointer, or ????
I state this because all too often I have seen people overload on a wide array of search coils in an effort to make one detector the absolute master for every application. The fact is, you just are not going to achieve that goal.
Sure, you might have all sorts of coils that help a particualr detector model do a little better in one environment of challenges than another coil would, but that doesn't make it the best detector (or detector & coil combo) for the particual task at hand.
If the MXT is your one and only detector, perhaps you ought to evaluate what the many different assignments you might have for it are and ask yourself if, perhaps, there isn't a better make or model to handle some of that duty? In the 60's and half-way thru the 70's I was a 1-detector user, like most others were, but as detectors started being refined more I realized that it would always be better to have at least two models in a detector battery. To be quite honest, you might want to have three or more, depending upon the types of detecting you do and the site conditions you might frequently encounter.
For example, I used to do some nugget hunting but I only got into good gold nugget country once or twice a year so when I had a more nugget-specific model, it was seldom used. This is an excellent example why I like the MXT. Not only is it a terrific "multi-purpose" model, it is a darn good nugget shooter for those times when I have need for one. This lets me keep my personal detector battery trimmed by one unit.
<span style="background-color:#ffff00;"><STRONG>SEARCH COILS:</STRONG></span> Of course, for any detector to do what is expected of it, it is important to have a good detector and coil match-up. Since you have all of the four coils White's makes for the MXT, then you should have a good idea of which ones work for you the best, as well as which ones don't. Maybe there is something still lacking and for that you might consider an accessory search coil.
With my first MXT I got it with the Mini Double-D and felt it was a good coil. But later I acquired a 5.3 Eclipse and found that it was the best general purpose coil for <EM><STRONG>me</EM></STRONG> with the MXT and I got better performance with it than I did with the smaller Elliptical D-D coil. I seldom used the 950 once I got the 5.3 Eclipse.
I sold that unit but later replaced it after experimenting with a couple of other models. That time I just got the MXT w/950 & 5.3, but also wanted to give the bigger DD Eclipse a try. In my ground and for what my hunting needs are, I ended up still preferring the 5.3 for general use and the 950 for 'back-up' duty. The bigger Double-D just didn't seem to provide the depth I was getting with the 5.3 or the 950.
By late last year I was back to wanting to get a little better target separation in some trashier conditions and again got a smaller Mini Double-D. I also wanted to try the Excelerator 5" coil because I have a personal preference for round coils.
The vast majority of my hunting is in trashier conditions and I do a lot of 'bushwhacking' and hunting around rocks and building rubble, so a smaller coil can work in and around obstacles better. The 5.3 Eclipse is actually 6
