I had the EX II a few years back and sold it due to arm/elbow problems. I owned other Minelab machines (Quattro, X-Terra 70, 705,) and sold them, bought another EX II, sold it, tried a buddy's SE for a bit and then bought an E-Trac. All good detectors in my opinion, but I am back to the EX II again. I don't know what it is about this machine, but I have found more silver coins and good stuff with the EX II and the 1050 coil than any of the other machines. This is hunting most of the same spots again that I've searched with the other detectors for years. I like the audio, digital display, smooth operation, etc.. For me, it has been the best FBS detector I have ever used. After detector hopping all of these years and no more arm/elbow problems, I have finally settled back to the EX II and X-1 probe. I may get a Pro Coil for it or I may just leave the stock coil on, I don't know. But what I do know is that it will be a good long while before I ever get another detector. I liked the E-Trac pinpoint and used the Garrett Pro Pinpointer in leiu of the X-1. I also liked the way you could see the sensitivity while you hunted. I hunted "worked out" areas with it and really didn't get too many coins. A silver here and there. The 12 line was OK for the ID, but I prefer the way the digital numbers are set up on the EX II, but I mostly dig targets by the sound anyway. You are right on about the expl.11 I think. On the e-trac if you put the sen. to high you lose a lot of coin.
Good Hunting!
Jim