RE: Sovereign versus Explorer

[Anonymous]

Hello Everyone,
Just wondering for you guys/gals who have or had the Explorer or Explorer II and compared it to the Sovereign side by side. Is there an depth advantage for using the Explorer, especially on Silver coins over the Sovereign? Chatting with someone the other day with experience with both units, strongly felt that the explorer can and will beat a Sovereign for depth on silver coins. What are your thoughts?
I just recently bought my first Minelab, which is the Sovereign GT. I keep playing with it and slowly starting to feel comfortable with it. I come from using the White

 

[Anonymous]

I've had times when the Sovereign and Explorer and several others would not see a target above the ground. I think what's happening is that the coil is to close and it kind of throws the detector into overload or simply an incorrect set-up for that particular site.
As for depth difference between the Sovereign & the Explorer, I've been using both for 3 years and don't see any difference. I truly believe the new GT is even better around iron infested sites than my Explorer is but again ... it's my opinion.
We have some nasty iron ore dirt where I live and the Explorer and GT both have no trouble hitting coins, lead, brass and even small gold with very respectable depth.
H.H.
Mike

 

[Anonymous]

With all the different coils around and different mineralizations sometimes its the expertise of the user and not the machine.
I would say get an experienced user of both and the Explorer would be a little deeper.
Do remember the Explorer usually has a long learning period and the Sov. is relatively user friendly and Sov. can be hipmounted comfortably or an older model modded for Comfort and the Explorer is just heavy and the ergonomics are not the best.
Taking this into consideration many excell with either and remember depth is just one facet of the hobby..
Minelabs do not test well on air tests or recently buried coins so take this into consideration when comparing to other units..Remember its in the field where it counts on those old coins buried many years.
Last but not least Sov's are easier on pocketbook...

 

[Anonymous]

That dime you seen on the ground was it a Canadian dime?? These will give all kind of differnt signals if it is a new one. These have a ferrous content in them as they do stick to a magnet and if the iron mask was off I can see it not get a signal at all while with the iron mask on it could give some weird signals. Look at the owners manaul section 7-5.1 as it explains the iron mask why for a person new may preferre it off and those that know the Sovereign will like it on as it will see coins in with iron that with it off it may not. It will run smoother in the iron mask off that iron mask on.
On the MXT and the Sovereign as you see you have to go slower with the Sovereign so the MXT may be better for picking up clad and some of the older coins while the Sovereign you may not get quanity, but get quality as it will see coins in the ground deeper that have been there over the yerar. If you burry a coin the MXT may show deeper than the Sovereign will, but those that are accualy there the Sovereign will see them deeper.
On the Explorer and the Sovereign i will say the Explorer is a very impressive detector and has some great depth if you have all the setting correct for the area you are detecting. If you dont than the Sovereign will go deeper i have seen for the reason there is not so many differnt adjustments you can do with the Sovereign. I have and use them both and will say after 5 years with the Explorer I still have a problem finding some coins. My reason is the tones on the Explorer dont last as long for some of us with bad hearing to hear as the Sovereign will keep the threshold tone of the last target untill it sees the next. On the Explorer it is a quick tone change and back to a normal threshold and I feel some times I dont hear that tone change as it is so fast with my bad hearing. Depth wise I have dug my deepest coins at the same depth, ID wise i find I can tell a good from a bad target easier with the Sovereign. I do notice I seem to dig more deeper coins with the Explorer, but also dig more trash too with the Explorer.
We did some side by side comparison on good signal the Explorer got to see if the Sovereign could hear them and I would say 95% of the ones the Explorer got the Sovereign did too. I would also say 10% of the signals the Explorer seen that the guy thought was a deep coin the Sovereign nulled on were deeper iron as the Sovereign was able to ID it better and feel the reason is the Explorer has a bit more power and many iron will be read iffy like some of the real deep coins do.
My guys around here with the Explorers are really kicking butt this year as between 3 guys I know of over 200 silver coins added together with 12 of them halfs this past month found here in ND , so we know in the right hand the Explorer can and will work great. Now I also know of 3 guys in the last month with the Explorers have got less than 6 silver coins in the last month too and they put a lot of time in the feild too, one of these guys has a Sovereign too and find he can find much more with it than the Explorer for the times out as he knows the Sovereign well.
Both are excellent detectors and the Explorer has a longer learning curve for some and some never are able to understand it, the Sovereign is more of a turn on a go detector and will do well, so depending on how well you can learn and understand the Explorer is how well you can do.
I use them both and do good with either one, but the Sovereign is the one I feel more comfortable with and trust the ID.
Good luck
Rick

 

[Anonymous]

I have used both machines I would say the explorer has more depth once you get used to it, and the sovereign is better in iron and trash. I like the tones on the sovereign better but if set up right the explorer
tones can tell you alot about a target. I don't
think one is really better than the other though
just different. I think the extra frequeces with the
FBS of the explorer might respond to the smaller
Iron more than the sov. making it a bit more difficult
in the iron thats just a theory though.

 

[Anonymous]

I owned and Explorer II and now swing a Sovereign Elite. Like someone above mentioned, with all the coils and accesories for both detectors its really 95% user.
Depth: Thats far to close to tell honestly. Using both detectors I felt they were to close depth wise to even mention or car about.
Tones: The Sovereigns tones are far easier to understand than the Explorer. But that could also be the user. I did not like the Explorer tones one bit. With the Sovereign I can tell trash from a good target everytime.
Air testing: Both detectors suck at air testing so don't think your gonna be throwing a quarter on the ground and picking it up from a mile away. Both detectors do exactly what they are suppose to do. ID coins at great depths. I just think the Explorer has more bells and whistles is all, making it a little easier to ID a coin in the ground, eventhough I do just fine with the Elite.

 

[Anonymous]

Hello All,
Just wanted to say, "Thanks" for taking the time to answer my question or questions. I really appreciate it. It certainly was helpful and helped me put more faith in the Sov. The more I keep messing around with that thing, the more I'm starting to like it. Even if I ever purchase an Explore II, I think I'll hang on to the Sov after hearing what you all had to say.
Hey Rick (ND), to answer that question about the coin that couldn't be heard on the surface. Yes, it was a real American dime. There was something about the ground that dime was on top of that masked it. I picked it up and tossed it 3 feet away and swept it and sang wonderful. But putting it back in the same initial spot, it did nothing again. I was shocked but didn't have time to investigate the cause as I had to leave shortly after.
Thanks again everyone. I'm going beach hunting the weekend. If I find something good, I'll let you all know.
Sincerely,
Rick