It chatters some, But in clean areas it is pretty quiet until you find a target. It makes the most noise when you are hunting over hot rocks, areas where people dumped their coal ashes which contained clumps of what is now known as hot rocks.(This is what I have been told about coal ashes, correct me if I'm wrong) The MXT and the pro version are among the most desired detectors around even though they emit a bit more chatter than others. Chattering CAN also be targets very close together and people blame 'chatter'. A smaller coil and moving very slowly could reveal good targets in these areas.
I have figured out that mine becomes chattery when the batteries are nearly expired, even though the 'low bat' warning is not shown yet. When I replace the batteries with fresh ones the chattering goes away. Also, when I first got my MXT I used 'Heavy Duty' batteries, very shortly, and it chattered alot. You should never used 'heavy duty' batteries, just make sure they say 'alkaline' and your good. So I think it gets a bad reputation in this case because some people don't know fresh batteries help fix the problem. As your moving along and you notice it gets a bit chattery just reground balance. In your case with the PRO tap the 'Grab Ground' button, no need to stop, just tap the button as long as you have the ground switch in LOCK position.
I have also hunted in an area, a park near my house, that had an odd electrical situation that made my MXT chattery. I was confused and thought the detector was messed up somehow so I started to leave and I figured out it was only in the one area of the park that it chattered. I went back and forth to confirm it was caused by the location. This happened before I knew fresh batteries helped solve chattering so I would like to revisit this 'unhuntable' area to see if it can be hunted afterall.
Answer: yes, sometimes. But NOT a deal breaker! After learning the MXT you can avoid alot of the chatter.
