Whites M6 Or Minelab X-Terra 50

[JBM]

I have not owned a Whites detector fo many years.
With that in mind Iam about to buy a backup detector for my Explorer.
Iam seriously interested in the Whites M6 which is soon to be released in the UK.
Should I wait and get one or perhaps go for the X-Terra 50.
A number of you guys in the States have had the chance to use both machines,based on your hands on experience which one should I buy and why.
Many Thanks,Jerry.

 

[Monte]

Personally, for the types of hunting I do and the other detectors in my personal battery, I favor the X-Terra 50 w/o hesitation.

Check them both out, however, because your personal hunting applications might vary.

Monte

 

[Anonymous]

Do you want Notch Disc ? XTerra 50
Do you want full automatic ground balance ? M6
Do you want manual GB? XTerra
Do you want better ID resolution ? M6
Lower street price ? M6
7 tones ? M6
4 Tones ? Xterra
Do you want to use a small coil ? M6
You can use all DFX/MXT coils for the M6. For the Xterra you have 2 coils available right now. Both are 9 inch with different frequencies.
No smaller or bigger coil right now for the XTerra.
Do you want to change the frequency of the detector (by changing the coil)? XTerra
Do you need a Salt Mode ? M6

Both go deep and both are well balanced and lightweight.The M6 IDs better on low conductive targets.
The XTerra lower rod is too long and smaller guys may have problems to get the detector short enough.

I like the M6 better. I had the XTerra 50 and it was replaced with the M6.(i need to use a small coil). But that is just me, it could be the other way around for other guys.

HH,
Andy

 

[au4greg]

Having tried both the X-Terra 50 and the Matrix M-6, the points posted by Andy and Monte are valid.

The VDI resolution in the Matrix M6 is much wider.
The X-Terra 50 has a variable notching of its 14 or so segments.

I personally don't like to notch unless its an organized club hunt, because any notching, you risk eliminating/rejecting a gold ring not to mention mask a deeper target, like a silver dime.

Both are well balanced and comfortable. The X-Terra 50 has a slightly lighter field.

The steel bottle/crown cap will cause audible reaction with either detector. On the X-Terra 50, using a Corona 'Extra' Bottle cap, the X-Terra 50 reacted with the following numerical segments: 21, 24, 27.

With the White's Matrix M6 reacted with the following numerical segments, 32 to 40.

BOTH were conducted with the bottle cap lying @ ground level with the search coil passing over the center of the bottle cap about 2 to 3" above same.

BY DOUBLING the sweep speed, the X-Terra 50 rejected the bottle cap cleanly down around segment 3, high iron. The M6 with a similar faster sweep (both)over the center knocked the VDI reading between 0 and +4.

BY OFF-SETTING the Loop 20%, both detectors cleanly rejected the bottle cap. A coin (nickel) will not be rejected under the same scenario. X-Terra 50 (left) Corona Bottle Cap Center M6 Right.

 

[Monte]

Since you've been using the Minelab Explorer you should know it's strengths and weaknesses by now. Certainly wouldn't hurt to compliment it's performance.

The Matrix M6 might offer some benefits to you if you're wanting to go after more of the lower-conductive targets due to the operating frequency as well as the 7-Tone audio ID. It lumps a lot of higher-conductive targets together and provides more audio tones on the lower range. Personally, that's not what I want or care to use.

The X-Terra 50 offers a couple of unique differences to the M6. One is the fact that it is a multi-notch design and you can accept or reject ANY of the 18 discrimination segments. You have two (2) ''pattern' or program modes to set up the way you want them and can easily and quickly alter from one to the other. In addition, it has a short-cut button to access the 'zero' discrimination All Metal accept mode, which is the one I henerally am hunting in. (I do quick checks with some degree of discrimination after target location ... sometimes).

Another option is to hunt ata a different operating frequency. The standard X-Terra (30 or 50) operates at 7.5 kHz. You can go with an accessory coil that will operate at a higher 18.75 kHz (with the X-Terra 50, only), and this can provide you with hotter performance on the lower-conuctive targets.

Two of my four pimary-use detectors are White's because I like them and they do what I want and need. Again, all I can do is encourage you to check out any makes or models you're interested in, but after a little hunting yesterday and with both of the coils being worked together afield, I am leaning more toward recommending the X-Terra 50.

The M6 is 'OK' but the X-Terra 50's working much better for me, so far, in my ground conditions.

You didn't mention the types of environment you're planning on hunting or the types of targets you'd be going after.

Monte

 

[John LA]

I am a nubie; what do you mean by off setting the loop 20%? enjoyed your post.

 

[JM]

 

[Ralph Bryant]

I think Greg is talking about sweeping the coil over the target with the coil off-center from the target itself.

Ralph

 

[steve herschbach]

Hi,

I'd say Andy summed it up very well.

The one thing I would add it that the X-Terra does not have a single tone mode. You get 4 tones with the X-Terra, even in what Minelab is calling "all-metal". The all-metal mode is no different than one of the disc modes with all segments set to accept, and so you still get the 4 tones.

This makes for somewhat flakey readings on very small targets. I liked on the M6 where I could get a small target, then flip from 7 tones to single tone mode for a stronger signal that was easy to pinpoint. I never really needed the pinpoint mode with the M6 as the single tone mode is nice and sharp. For really hitting tiny stuff the M6 with a small coil in single tone mode is the way to go. It would be a pretty decent nugget machine.

With the X-Terra you can go to the single tone all-metal pinpoint mode, but it detunes rapidly to zero in on the target and so is not suitable for use as a search mode.

The bottom line is I liked the M6 "all-metal" single tone mode more than the X-Terra "all-metal" four tone mode for working with tiny targets.

I found the M6 with its DD coils and beach mode to be superior for saltwater use. The coil selection for the M6 is fantastic.

As far as lower rods go, the lower rod for the M6 is too short!

Both machines are good units, and will simply suit different people more depending on the task. I tend to lean X-Terra myself for my uses but that does not mean it is a better unit than the M6. As Andy notes, he prefers the M6 for his uses. His choice was no less valid than mine.

Steve Herschbach

 

[Monte]

"Quick-Out" and "E.P.R." or "Edge-Pass Rejection".

These are techniques which can assist in audible and/or visual target classification of problem trash targets such as bottle caps (not the high-conductive screwaps, but the crimped-edge types you used to have to pry off. Some today can be twisted off).

These techniques are helpful when hunting in any motion discriminate mode because there are some discrimination problems associated with this type of circuitry, whereas a traditional TR-Disc. circuitry has no problem and is considered a true, progressive discriminate type circuitry.

I disagree with the suggestion to offset only 20%, however. If using a 9

 

[Jackpine Savage]

Good info Steve! Especially on the difference in performance on the small stuff using single tone compared to the 7 tone mode. Dit it handle the wet sand without much falsing?

Thanks a bunch.
Tom

 

[steve herschbach]

Hi Tom,

I must emphasize I used the Eclipse DD coils and not the stock concentric coil on the M6, so a direct comparison to the X-Terra and its concentric coil is not to be had by my comments here.

The fact is I was not trying to be "fair". I just wanted good saltwater performance and I think DD coils are the way to go on the beach. And the M6 does have an advantage in being able to use the entire array of coils available for the MXT/DFX.

The 10" DD ran very smooth in the drier sand (dry on top, wet underneath) while in the normal, non-beach settings. It ran quiet up until the 100 plus cross-hatched area of the sensitivity control was reached. Then spurious noise some have termed as a threshold of sorts kicks in. Just sounds like a machine pushing into max sensitivity to me. So you could run at 100% and quiet, or push to max and run a tad noisy. I'm not sure if the cross-hatch area is a true higher sensitivity region or boosted audio, but it does hit tiny targets harder. Not sure if it adds depth.

The 6" DD ran eerily quiet even at max sensitivity in the drier sand.

In wet sand both falsed, but running in beach (salt) mode eliminated the falsing. I did not attempt much work in the wet sand, and so I do not know how much depth or sensitivity is given up in beach mode. Probably just the normal loss of sensitivity to small gold items. I switch to PI for wet salt. It would be fun to try an X-Terra with disc set to reject salt against the M6 in wet salt sand in beach mode to see how they compare, as a beach mode is nothing more than a preset salt disc setting.

The 10" DD is close to as sensitive to small items as the 6" and gets much better coverage. The 6" does have that tiny edge on small stuff and runs quieter.

The M6 detected the basalt rocks, even small ones, on the beach in Hawaii. It did call them "hot rock" on the meter and give the ultra low tone, but they would not ground balance out. In areas of solid basalt the machine simply overloaded unless the sensitivity was reduced to the point I'd as soon use a lower frequency or multi-frequency unit. More work will be needed by others to see how it handles hot rocks in other areas.

On tiny items the X-Terra works but the tones bounce, as you know, from ferrous to non-ferrous. So tiny targets sound "bouncy" if you know what I mean. Same with the seven tone M6 mode. In M6 single tone mode you get a nice, solid beep" on tiny targets. Still, with both machines the mixed bouncy sound of tiny non-ferrous items is different than the more solid "bad" sound of ferrous items, and so I'd initially hunt with the multi-tone as I do normally hunt by ear and could discern tiny non-ferrous items as opposed to ferrous items. But the bouncy sound makes it a bit hard to get a solid fix on the target, and so the single tone mode of the M6 did really feel better to me when it simply got down to the quality of the signal on the target. I wish the "all-metal" mode on the X-Terra was single tone.

Long story short, I still prefer the X-Terra for general use, and my MXT for tiny stuff. The M6 is a good unit, and was fun to play with, but for the type of detecting I want to do that I prefer not to do with my MXT, I like the X-Terra.

But if I had to trade my X-Terra and MXT for a single unit it might be the M6. Does that make any sense?

Steve Herschbach

 

[BarnacleBill]

And your description of "good bouncy" versus "bad bouncy" is about as close as anybody is going to get in describing it. I know Tom is a great supporter of running the disc just slightly below complete iron reject to work the "bouncy" audio info.. For those who don't completely understand what Steve is talking about, it's just one of those things you have to have experience with to "get it". Trying to find small gold mixed in with nails and foil chaff is a great way to become familiar with the "bouncies".

HH
BarnacleBill

 

[Jackpine Savage]

Steve,

Thanks for the report! The M6 sounds like a unit that would suit my needs well. Although I do not have to deal with wet salt sand I still prefer DD coils for beach work and its good to hear the 10" coil does not give up much to the small DD, which is what I found with the MXT also.

Yup I'm a single tone guy for most hunting. Even when using a multi tone detector I do not use notches. I find myself spending too much time checking out non-repeatable hits on the bouncers that fall mostly in a notched out segment. When running wide open its much quicker to see those for what they are.

Are the problem rocks at Moore creek basalt? I know you have said very few VLF's work well there.

Too answer your question, Yeah it does. The M6 would make a good backup detector on those fly in trips you and your dad make. You might even get him to use one instead of the LST.

HH
Tom

 

[Jackpine Savage]

Hey Bill,

It looks like the M6 single tone give the same audio clues on tiny foil as the MXT.

Tom