Sovereign GT vs Excalibur 2? Question....

[jbow]

Other than the obvious, the water proofing and control box configuration, and battery.... is there any difference between the Sovereign GT and Excal II ?

Thanks,

Julien

 

[Smudge]

From the research I have done, the Excalibur is basically a waterproofed Sovereign, even though it is an earlier version of the Sovereign design and not the GT.

I would suggest that if you don't plan on getting in the water past your knees, you can sufficiently protect the Sovereign from water provided you aren't hunting in rough surf.

And personally, the GT would be my first choice.

If you plan on going any deeper than your knees, do yourself a big favor and grab the Excal. You will be very glad you did.

 

[Critterhunter]

A $20 Plano waterproof box and your Sovereign can go as deep as an Excal with no worries. I'm mounting it on a snap on back shaft extension so no float/drag in the water, or worries of a leak since it's at head height.

 

[dewcon4414]

There may be a tad bit of depth you can get from the Sov over the Xcal with its limited tweaking ability. In the water the ability to adjust either is important. PRICE is also a difference and the Sov is being discontinued at the end of the year. The Sov can also change coils.... the Xcal is 8 or 10 inch unless you void your warranty and mod it.

Dew

 

[OldBeechnut]

is there any difference between the Sovereign GT and Excal II ?

I'm with Smudge and performace wise the deciding factor is the owners abilities.

 

[jbow]

Can you post pictures and links? I have had a GT for years and have been considering the purchase of another one since they are being discontinued. This is interesting. I do not understand why one of the best detectors ever made is being discontinued... but there are a LOT of things I do not understand.

Thanks for the reply, sorry to be slow getting back.

J

 

[jbow]

I've used a GT at the beach for years but I am always nervous in the water. I chest mount the box with a Cabela's binocular harness. I have thought about wrapping the box and the connector fitting with cling wrap and tape but the plasic box is interesting. I really don't need to get t any control except the AM/Disc switch once it is sealed... and maybe not that with the tone break around 145 in AM.

Maybe I will just buy another GT to have and to hold. Is the Excal II being discontinued too?

J

 

[Tony in FL]

If I did not own either I would go with an Excal or CTX over a Sovereign when looking for a water hunting machine. All it takes is one rouge wave, one accidental splash, or an unexpected thunderstorm to potentially ruin your detector. I had an E-trac for a while and it got old having the tides chase me in. Plus with the recent price increases of the Sovereign it is not that far of from an Excal in price. The factory package for the Sovereign does not include headphones where as the Excal includes a set of waterproof headphones. Finally the Sovereign will be out of production come the end of the year and they have already discontinued the digital meter. Minelab will stock parts for at least 3 years to comply contractually with warranties, but beyond that it is a crap shoot.

 

[Neil]

If I did not own either I would go with an Excal or CTX over a Sovereign when looking for a water hunting machine. All it takes is one rouge wave, one accidental splash, or an unexpected thunderstorm to potentially ruin your detector. I had an E-trac for a while and it got old having the tides chase me in. Plus with the recent price increases of the Sovereign it is not that far of from an Excal in price. The factory package for the Sovereign does not include headphones where as the Excal includes a set of waterproof headphones. Finally the Sovereign will be out of production come the end of the year and they have already discontinued the digital meter. Minelab will stock parts for at least 3 years to comply contractually with warranties, but beyond that it is a crap shoot.

well put tony. I will add that to put the sov in a waterproof box is a good option for some, but unless your bringing the controls outside that box, your limiting the sovs use by having to open the box to make any adjustments. hunting the excal in pinpoint all metal and then switching to disc to check a target is somewhat common for excal users, you loose that with a sov in a box.

 

[jbow]

Thanks Tony and Neil. I guess two GTs would be a little redundant.That 3030 is just a bit expensive and isn't it like 5 pounds? It would be my choice if money was no concern. I will think it over. I intend to have a water machine by next spring and I trust Minelab for not missing targets, target ID, and not chattering like crazy.

J

 

[Tony in FL]

Hi Julian. Looks like you have a veritable fleet of detectors - perhaps sell off one or two in order to help finance the CTX? Anything you can do with an E-trac can arguably be done with a CTX, so that might be the first candidate. I am a bit of an upgrade junkie, so that is what I would likely do. In fact I have two Excal 2's right now and am close to pulling the trigger on the CTX. So I'll likely be having a sale soon!



Tony

 

[NamVetLesTreasureSeeker]

n/t. Les Robinson

 

[ML]

My GT blows my Excal out of the water (literally) on the beach and always has. It runs smoother and hits harder on all targets. Add to the fact that you have the ability to change coils makes it my choice. I usually use the 10 x 12 or 12 x 15 SEF. Obviously if you dive or go in deep water you have to go waterproof (Excal) but I think the Sov is better choice.

 

[Critterhunter]

ML, I've heard a few in the past say the GT or Elite is a bit deeper than the Excal and a bit more sensitive to smaller targets. Whether that's true or not I don't know, but it would make sense if the Excal is based on prior Sovereigns, but all of which are said to be fantasticly deep machines regardless.

Right now I've just been working on a newer Excal for somebody which features the 10" Tornado, so I'm doing some video depth tests of it in PP and disc modes against my GT using the same coil. Just for curiousity sake I want to see if the rumored slightly better depth and sensitivity to smaller targets of an Elite/GT over the one or two prior Sovereigns (XS and?) the Excal is said to be based on appears to hold some merit.

Then again somebody recently told me the original Sovereign model, at least with a few mods, is the deepest he's ever used, so I guess it all comes down to coil choice and personal experience opinion wise for people. Just like some people seem to have more luck with one car brand versus another. All about knowing the individual quirks of particular models I'm sure for some as to which gives them that extra bit of edge.