Sometime this summer I would like to upgrade to one of these 2 machines( would like an Ex SE but baby steps first) Whats everyones take on these two? Would like to here from people who have used them both. I live in ND and would be searching schools (new & old), parks, fairgrounds, old farmsteads, some beach hunting, etc. I currently use a garrett gta 1000. Josh
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Sov GT or X-70
- Thread starter Josh(ND)
- Start date
All though I like the GT, I believe you would like the Xterra 70 much more. The only thing is if you get several coils it will be a bit more costly than the GT. I am using the X70 with the 3Khz coil and it has more depth and is still sensitive to coins. I love that big display and you can swing it all day. It goes a long way on 4 AA batteries also. It seems to be turning into a pretty good prospector too! Ok I hope this will help ya a little and happy hunting Josh.
John Tomlinson,CET
John's Detectors
John Tomlinson,CET
John's Detectors
Both are great machines. The SE has a lot steeper learning curve. The SE is noisier but probably more effective.
I use both for relic hunting and I vote for the sovereign GT w/small coil and a meter. The sound is more soothing and with a hip mount its pretty effective for long perods. Good targets are harmonic with different tones. Depth is probably close but SE takes it by a little.
I do 80% beach hunting and also use the Excal which is a Sovereign in disguise, so I'm a little prejudiced. Both machines have the same sounds and you can switch back a forth easily. SE is different technology
I went park hunting yesterday with the SE and got a few wheaties...... one of them a 1913 and a couple of 1940's in a very trashy area. The same area with the Sovereign did not discrminate and separate signals as well.
Both detectors require a swing low and slow. I prefer the discrimination on the Sovereign a little more cause its not as noisy.
I use both for relic hunting and I vote for the sovereign GT w/small coil and a meter. The sound is more soothing and with a hip mount its pretty effective for long perods. Good targets are harmonic with different tones. Depth is probably close but SE takes it by a little.
I do 80% beach hunting and also use the Excal which is a Sovereign in disguise, so I'm a little prejudiced. Both machines have the same sounds and you can switch back a forth easily. SE is different technology
I went park hunting yesterday with the SE and got a few wheaties...... one of them a 1913 and a couple of 1940's in a very trashy area. The same area with the Sovereign did not discrminate and separate signals as well.
Both detectors require a swing low and slow. I prefer the discrimination on the Sovereign a little more cause its not as noisy.
I sent you a PM as I am the factory authorized Minelab dealer in ND and would be glad to help you if possible.
If you have notice on this forum I like my Sovereign GT and feel it is one if not the best detector on the market. It is a little heavy compared to what you are using and you have to swing the coil slower too as it does give you a lot of info and lets you the operator decide if you want to dig or not. This detector hate iron too, so if you want to dig iron relic it may not be the detector for you, but if you want coins and other copper, brass, silver or gold these do work good. The X-Terra 70 I had a chance to use for a while last summer and just got a new one for my 19 year old grandson to use this year as it is lighter and you can swing the coil faster. What I used it last year I did like it quite a bit, but to me it is no Sovereign GT that I can get a better ID on coins and can tell the trash better too with the GT, but you have to know you detector. The 70 seems to go quite deep too, much better then the GTA 1000 you have now, but it may not be as stable or quiet running as it has more sensitive than the 1000 is.
Now if you are talking a Explorer the SE is the best one, but you can buy a used XS or a EX II for some good prices too if you want to save some money. My friend James does quite well with his plus a few others I hunt with as they love their Explorers. I like mine too, but feel I can do better with the Sovereign GT as I can hear the tones so much better plus the threshold changes to a different tones on the Sovereign when it sees a different target. The Explorers threshold on the XS and the EX II is a quicker tone and back to the threshold so you have to listen closer on some of the weaker signals. On the new SE they added a pitch hold so now the threshold will be the tone of the last target which is going to make it better for those like me with bad hearing.
Depending on where you are as it would be nice to show you in person what these detectors will do, plus let you try one yourself and talk to some of the locals what they find works the best and in what areas. I mentioned in the PM we have a detecting club that meets 3rd Friday of the month at my wife's and my Cafe at 7 PM in Chaffee, ND.
I used to use a Garrett GTA 1000 with power-master back in 1995 and feel it was the best Garrett I ever used. I became a Minelab dealer for ND in 1996 as I wanted to try a Sovereign as I heard so much about them and at that time they couldn't be mail ordered as you had to go to a dealer if you wanted one. Our local detector dealer did not want to sell Minelab, so I decided to give them a try and glad I did as we seen what they could do we now have more Minelabs being used than any other detector in the club and nicer and older finds too.
The X-Terras are the easiest to use, then the Sovereigns has a steeper learning curve with the Explorers having the steepest one.
Rick
If you have notice on this forum I like my Sovereign GT and feel it is one if not the best detector on the market. It is a little heavy compared to what you are using and you have to swing the coil slower too as it does give you a lot of info and lets you the operator decide if you want to dig or not. This detector hate iron too, so if you want to dig iron relic it may not be the detector for you, but if you want coins and other copper, brass, silver or gold these do work good. The X-Terra 70 I had a chance to use for a while last summer and just got a new one for my 19 year old grandson to use this year as it is lighter and you can swing the coil faster. What I used it last year I did like it quite a bit, but to me it is no Sovereign GT that I can get a better ID on coins and can tell the trash better too with the GT, but you have to know you detector. The 70 seems to go quite deep too, much better then the GTA 1000 you have now, but it may not be as stable or quiet running as it has more sensitive than the 1000 is.
Now if you are talking a Explorer the SE is the best one, but you can buy a used XS or a EX II for some good prices too if you want to save some money. My friend James does quite well with his plus a few others I hunt with as they love their Explorers. I like mine too, but feel I can do better with the Sovereign GT as I can hear the tones so much better plus the threshold changes to a different tones on the Sovereign when it sees a different target. The Explorers threshold on the XS and the EX II is a quicker tone and back to the threshold so you have to listen closer on some of the weaker signals. On the new SE they added a pitch hold so now the threshold will be the tone of the last target which is going to make it better for those like me with bad hearing.
Depending on where you are as it would be nice to show you in person what these detectors will do, plus let you try one yourself and talk to some of the locals what they find works the best and in what areas. I mentioned in the PM we have a detecting club that meets 3rd Friday of the month at my wife's and my Cafe at 7 PM in Chaffee, ND.
I used to use a Garrett GTA 1000 with power-master back in 1995 and feel it was the best Garrett I ever used. I became a Minelab dealer for ND in 1996 as I wanted to try a Sovereign as I heard so much about them and at that time they couldn't be mail ordered as you had to go to a dealer if you wanted one. Our local detector dealer did not want to sell Minelab, so I decided to give them a try and glad I did as we seen what they could do we now have more Minelabs being used than any other detector in the club and nicer and older finds too.
The X-Terras are the easiest to use, then the Sovereigns has a steeper learning curve with the Explorers having the steepest one.
Rick
Everyone has there opinion of course and heres mine. I use the XT-70 and love it! You could spend a bit of money on both machines when it comes to coils and accessories. Erganomics is a big thing for me so ease of use, lightness amd power consumption are all important to me and of course depth. The XT-70 has all of the above. I live in Australia and most of the soil and ground types here will test any detector to its limits. The GT and XT-70 both do well in that area. Now the XT-70 is very sensitive on small gold and has the prospect mode which works very well.....so if your gonna head out for some nugget shooting I think you will be impressed. I have always liked the sov's because they have a good reputation and you simply cant go wrong with this machine. Either way Josh you will be onto a winner with both of these detectors.
Cheers!
Cheers!