I only hunt salt water beaches and wet sand/knee deep water in VA., i have the White's DFX, but feel that I'm not getting as deep as i could get. my PI is really not good for the Bay because of all the steel so i use the DFX . So my question is, do i sale the DFX and get a SOV. GT or keep my DFX ? ( I don't hunt deep enough in the water to really need a EXCAL.)
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DFX OR SOVEREIGN GT FOR BEACH? HELP!
- Thread starter jimmy jam
- Start date
The DFX is an underrated beach machine. Saying that, you really have to know how to set it up correctly. There are several options that need to be bumped up like preamp gain, AC sensitivity, while others need to be adjusted for the conditions like, sweep speed, recovery speed, filters, etc. If there is a lot of iron, correlate mode may be better than best data....all that good stuff ! Plus, you have to know what to listen for. A lot of deeper targets don't sound sharp and clear on the DFX, may break up and sound 'iffy' but you can gain a lot of information listening and checking the signagraph. Also, you should really dig everything that hits deep on the beach anyway.
Out of the box and with minimal set up, the Sov GT is better. Even after all the tweaking and setting up of the DFX, the Sov GT is probably still better. The DFX may hit smaller gold better in the dry sand if you decide you wanted to hunt that area because you can switch it over to 15kz frequency for better results on the lower conductive targets.
The stock 10 inch coil on the GT is probably one of the best coils you can use on it so you don't have to run out and get different coils to get great results.
Saying all that, the DFX has gotten great results on salt water beaches.
JC
Out of the box and with minimal set up, the Sov GT is better. Even after all the tweaking and setting up of the DFX, the Sov GT is probably still better. The DFX may hit smaller gold better in the dry sand if you decide you wanted to hunt that area because you can switch it over to 15kz frequency for better results on the lower conductive targets.
The stock 10 inch coil on the GT is probably one of the best coils you can use on it so you don't have to run out and get different coils to get great results.
Saying all that, the DFX has gotten great results on salt water beaches.
JC
Thank you therover, I also like the fact that i can hip mount the SOV. and there is no meter. (can't see the meter half the time in the sun anyways). I have found many rings with the DFX, and it has been great going from dry sand to wet. I just spend more time setting it up, and making changes all day long. I have ran it hot a couple of times, but there is just to much trash on the beaches i hunt. I always end up going back to the preset,SS1, GF3 maybe pre.amp 3 with AC at no higher then 72 to keep it stable. I can go on for ever about all the different settings i have tried. I just want to spend more time digging and less time messing with my detector.
I think you hit the nail right on the head. I never have used he DFX. But I have used other detectors on the beach. It was always a constant adjustment to get the best out of them. Not with the Sovereign. Wet to dry. Dry to wet. No adjustment needed. And I know the only detector out there hitting deeper is a PI unit. The simplicity of the Sovereign can not be beat. I did have an Eagle Spectrum and at one time an XLT. Scrolling the menus in the middle of a hunt was just not what I wanted to do. I think a great many hunters felt that way because I heard that Whites made the menu system on the V3I more user friendly.
I would always come home from a hunt and wonder if I set this different or that different would I have found more? Not with the Sovereign. If I didn't find it it was because my coil never went over it.
I hated menus so bad that I went to the XL Pro and IDX pro. Then I found the Sovereign.
If I only had the DFX I would take it to the beach and try to get the most out of it. If you are going to give me a choice on which to take I will take the Sovereign.
Maybe in the dirt I would take the DFX. But I want the Sovereign in the car.
I would always come home from a hunt and wonder if I set this different or that different would I have found more? Not with the Sovereign. If I didn't find it it was because my coil never went over it.
I hated menus so bad that I went to the XL Pro and IDX pro. Then I found the Sovereign.
If I only had the DFX I would take it to the beach and try to get the most out of it. If you are going to give me a choice on which to take I will take the Sovereign.
Maybe in the dirt I would take the DFX. But I want the Sovereign in the car.
Critterhunter
New member
Scroll down this forum a page or so and you'll see a thread on comparing the competition to the Sovereign & Excal. There was recently a message about the DFX or V3 where an Etrac and one of those re-hunted the same area of each other. The GT will get as deep as any Explorer or Etrac, so you can learn a lot from that. I used to be a Whites guy but the "flag ships" they've been turning out starting with the XLT and getting worse from there are just over featured mid level performance detectors IMHO. You can only spit shine and distract people from performance so much by making them pay attention to "all these great features". Even if you get them all tweaked just right for a given site you aren't going to get the depth of a Minelab in most locations. I'm fond of computer featured detectors but not when it's more of a hindrance than a help in achieving best performance. I think Whites next top unit is going to be called the boon doggle. 
Ain't nothing deeper on beach or land than a GT, and since it hip or chest mounts right out of the box it's the perfect land detector that can also water hunt here and there. I'm not one of those every day water hunters so when I do that I'm more than happy to just chest mount it and go as deep as my waist. Throw the meter back on for your old park hunting and you've got as good as it gets for both depth on old coins and also being able to split hairs on gold rings versus tabs/trash due to it's excellent resolution and audio in that VDI range. Since your a Whites fan I'll relate it this way. I'm sure you know of the excellent reputation the M6/MXT have for finding gold rings. That's due to their VDI and audio. Now imagine that same ability with a bit more resolution in VDI, just as telling of audio but with much more in the way of multitones, and still yet much more depth than either one of those machines on a gold ring or coin for that matter. What I've just described is the GT. It's got the long telling drawn out audio of a Whites that I was a big fan of but with even more audio detail and of course the best depth on the market.
The only positive thing I've read about the DFX/V3 line is the ability to hit on tiny gold like fine gold chains harder than a Sovereign. Fine, I'll give them that, but since 90% of what's gold to be found is rings I'll take the better depth and telling audio/VDI of the Sovereign over any other machine out there when it comes to my hopes of finding the most gold.
Ain't nothing deeper on beach or land than a GT, and since it hip or chest mounts right out of the box it's the perfect land detector that can also water hunt here and there. I'm not one of those every day water hunters so when I do that I'm more than happy to just chest mount it and go as deep as my waist. Throw the meter back on for your old park hunting and you've got as good as it gets for both depth on old coins and also being able to split hairs on gold rings versus tabs/trash due to it's excellent resolution and audio in that VDI range. Since your a Whites fan I'll relate it this way. I'm sure you know of the excellent reputation the M6/MXT have for finding gold rings. That's due to their VDI and audio. Now imagine that same ability with a bit more resolution in VDI, just as telling of audio but with much more in the way of multitones, and still yet much more depth than either one of those machines on a gold ring or coin for that matter. What I've just described is the GT. It's got the long telling drawn out audio of a Whites that I was a big fan of but with even more audio detail and of course the best depth on the market.
The only positive thing I've read about the DFX/V3 line is the ability to hit on tiny gold like fine gold chains harder than a Sovereign. Fine, I'll give them that, but since 90% of what's gold to be found is rings I'll take the better depth and telling audio/VDI of the Sovereign over any other machine out there when it comes to my hopes of finding the most gold.
Southwind
Well-known member
I would agree for the beach the GT would be a great choice. I've owned the GT and without a doubt it was the deepest detector I've ever owned. Now while for relic hunting and beach hunting thats probably a good thing, but for my type of hunting(coin shooting in schools, parks and lots) the GT was a nightmare. It hit on swing sets and other playground equipment from 4' away making searching near them useless. In parks with a lot of trash, which seems to be most of my parks and schools, I spent hours digging trash to get a few goodies. Having a good ID'ing system is far more valuable to me than a few more inches of depth.
I had a DFX for 2 years, I wasn't satisfied with its performance on the beach at all... It falsed a lot in the wet sand, and I was unable to run higher sens and preamp without falsing like crazy. If there is a lot of iron present, you will get a lot of the same nulls as the Sov GT but I feel my Sov Elite picks the good tones out from the iron nulls much more clearly. I did however enjoy the sweep speed on the DFX, the Sov is not forgiving at all in the sweep speed department, whereas the DFX had different settings and was much more forgiving if you sped up a bit.
So I guess what I'm saying is that if you enjoy using the DFX and are finding items with it then stick with it... If you're getting frustrated with it and it isn't producing then consider a switch...
So I guess what I'm saying is that if you enjoy using the DFX and are finding items with it then stick with it... If you're getting frustrated with it and it isn't producing then consider a switch...
OldBeechnut
Well-known member
I got a DFX, and two excals {sovereign in WP wrap}, Excal/Sovereign is a better machine for the wetsand/surf. Have done a couple side by sides with DFX owners & my own, { and the beach hunter Id, which is a DFX in WP wrap, I think} they can not pull all the targets a excal can. This is OC, Maryland..results could be different at another location..................good luck
Rob in (Ca)
Active member
The DFX and The GT both are The best all around Beach Combers out there (non-submerge type) They both have there good and bad ......Like Therover says, The DFX must be set up correctly, as there both killer beach machines.
You mention getting knee deep in the water ... I'd lean towards a water proof detector. That puts you in Excal territory.
Why risk electronic destruction by a rouge wave break dunking you and the detector while you are concentrating on a target?
I got caught by a rouge wave in early August with my CZ6a. Was knee deep in very calm water. A rouge hard break that seemed to come out of nowhere dunked every thing. Was lucky that immediately taking the batteries out and letting it all set overnight to dry brought it back to life.
tvr
Why risk electronic destruction by a rouge wave break dunking you and the detector while you are concentrating on a target?
I got caught by a rouge wave in early August with my CZ6a. Was knee deep in very calm water. A rouge hard break that seemed to come out of nowhere dunked every thing. Was lucky that immediately taking the batteries out and letting it all set overnight to dry brought it back to life.
tvr
if I were knee deep in water I wouldn't think twice about getting an Excalibur. I don't think any machine beats the GT for hunting in and out of wet/dry sand but i'm not comfortable with it in knee deep water, i'd have to have an Excal... and I plan to have one before I go to the beach again.
If you sometimes hunt the dry sand I think the T2 will give the GT a run for the money but not wet sand. I think you can swing the GT a lot faster on the beach than you can inland without missing stuff but i'm not sure it will tolerate an airgap as well.
J
If you sometimes hunt the dry sand I think the T2 will give the GT a run for the money but not wet sand. I think you can swing the GT a lot faster on the beach than you can inland without missing stuff but i'm not sure it will tolerate an airgap as well.
J
Critterhunter
New member
Southwind said:
I dig less trash with my GT than I have with any other machine when I want to be picky. It's VDI and audio will clue you off to just how good the target is. If it ain't uniform in size (trash) it won't stick to one VDI #, and the audio will tell you everything you need to know as well. For tot lots I even use my 15x12 with no problem, but I prefer my S-5 to get real nice and close to poles and such or along fences. As good or better at that than any other detector. Even better, in fact....because not only can I get real close to something and outstanding separation, BUT this little S-5 is still getting 7 to 8" or more in depth for me on coins. That's about max depth on a silver dime for all the other machines I've owned *in my soil* using LARGER 8 or 10" coils! I've said it before but that really brings a smile to my face. This GT is getting better depth than most other machines on the market in my soil even when it's using the tiny S-5. If you think about it that's just outstanding.
The ID system on the GT is as good as it gets IMO. Much more resolution than most machines yet not overkill like some others which make the ID jumpy. The expanded low and mid range of it's VDI resolution is better than the MXT/M6 and most other machines, and that's were it counts in telling good from bad. Much more in the way of trash targets in those areas of the scale, so it can split hairs on them better. And as for coins, if it says "180" and gives you good audio from both directions I'd feel more comfortable putting money on that bet than I would have with all my other prior units...Whites, Explorers, and so on. One thing that really gets me is that I keep trying to second guess the machine and it always proves me wrong. I get a "coin" ID in a clean spot yet the audio is worbling on me just a hair. I ignore that and dig....Piece of copper pipe, smashed screw cap, or some other piece of junk that the audio was saying ain't worth checking out. If the audo and VDI are a perfect ten then it's going to be a coin. Keepers like buttons or cuff links will also give smooth audio and VDIs. Most trash won't.