Amen to that, If I could afford to get a new SE right now I would, but only to have a new unit, since my XS is over 6 years old and it has been 6 years of hard use in the thick woods and underbrush. It has not had a stock arm cuff since year two, made my own out of PVC and it 100% better than ML's. I sometimes have to use duct tape to help the upper shaft stay in, but hey, the guts of this machine is still tickin despite the lickin.
All I have read,and I have sat here and listened to all the comments over the years on the XSII and now the SE, have shown me, that in reality, the newer units are not much different. Since the depth and ability to seperate targets has remained basically the same, all the "improvements" would not allow me to go back to any site that I have hit and find something that my current XS has missed. JMHO
We all know, experience with the detector, experience with the individual, and Location are the three biggies for most general hunting. Regardless if you have a Top of the ML, Whites, Fisher, Garrett or Tesoro and so on.
Now, maybe next year Santa will bring me a new Minelab.
HH
Don