If the only signals you dig are clear repeatable solid hits, you're not digging the stuff the "pros" dig. We dig signals that are iffy, scratchy, bouncy etc. They sound like crap, and they never sound the same twice. If the target has a good amount of conductivity and is more than 1/2 way on the depth meter, dig it up! How do we get the message across that part of learning your machine is digging a lot of holes to find out what it's telling you? A lot of times they are junk, but equally a lot of times they are good stuff. I actually kinda hate clear repeatable solid hits, as usually they are shallower modern coins. I prefer not knowing exactly what treasure might await me. Pocket spills or coins on edge, for example, rarely give good solid repeatable hits.
I dig trash for sure. I don't dig everything, but I dig a lot. Being fast at recovery is huge in this. Dig, retrieve, move on. If you're wasting 5-10 minutes trying to find something in the hole that's a lot of targets you're not going to be able to get your coil over. A lot of times, I open the hole, stick the probe in there and listen. If it's crap or iron, I'm not gonna chase it...I close the hole back up and move on. You're not obligated to actually dig everything, but do some more investigating. I love when I have an iffy signal, open the hole and the probe sings out sweetly because I know I have something good.
I know some of you don't want to hear it, and think there is some magic elixir that will make you as good as someone who has been detecting for over a decade. It ain't gonna happen. Time in the field and digging holes and junk is where it's at.
Spending money on a high end machine doesn't entitle you to success or make it any easier. In fact, I think a high end machine might be the worst machine for a newbie. Too many controls they don't understand or need that they start tweaking and poking before they've ever learned the basics. I dug a good amount of silver and my oldest coins with my first detector, a White's Classic II, but I spent a LOT of time detecting. I was even mostly in a spot that had been detected by others before, no magic "virgin" ground. I did my research and found good sites that had potential and dug a lot of stuff. I learned the "round sound" - and if you don't know what the "round sound" is, nothing can teach it short of experience. It's a subtle tone variation that no recording would do justice to.
There is no audio tape or youtube video that replaces experience and dedication to the hobby. You're either a passionate detectorist and you know it like a second language or you're a weekend cowboy looking for the quick beep. I'm sorry that's how it is, but lots of other hobbies are the same way... fishing, hunting, cooking, etc. No one's going to be able to teach me all their fishing secrets in one video or one lesson. To be a master fisherman takes years of practice... finding good sites, having good equipment, learning the language of the environment - the water, the fish, the weather. Does that me I won't have fun going fishing for a weekend here and there? Nope. Does it mean I may not luck into a good spot or a huge bass? Nope. Have fun doing what you can and don't worry about what everyone else is finding. Stick to the fundamentals and the experience will come. The more you love it, the more time you'll find to get out and do it.
I know you want to know the "secret" - the secret is commitment, time and experience. That's the secret, and that's why we can't give it to you in 5 minutes or a few words. We can't condense 20 years of detecting into a video clip. It's an art, not a simple X + Y = Z equation. It's like a master chef... a little of this, a dab of that, boiling until it looks just right, or tastes just right. You can throw away a lot of soup before you're able to make the best soup.
There is no shortcut.
I repeat. If it were easy, everyone would be doing it.
If it weren't challenging, it would not be a fun hobby - it would be like shooting fish in a barrel.