SPECTRUM SERIES ???

[Butch in Charleston]

I'm in the market for a detector & have been eyeing the White's Spectrum series.
Can someone give me the quick "down 'n dirty" differences among the SPECTRUM DFX, SPECTRUM XLT and the EAGLE SPECTRUM?
I can't seem to find a comparison chart/article.
Thanks,
Butch

 

[widebody]

[size=large]first came the eagle.then in 93' the xlt came out. in 2000 the dfx was born. the big differance is the dfx has two frequencys. the others have only one. not familier with the eagle. it was before my detecting interest started. my reasings, mostly these forums, tells me the gurus feel too many abilities were put into the dfx and the xlt for most peoples needs and only adds to problems. some feel these two could have been made with fewer bells and whistles and still be the great machines they are. the dfx seems to have a much wider selection of coils to use and with the bigger coils comes more depth. that counts when you have wide open spaces with less trash. otherwise your stuck using the small coils both machines have that are the same size. the dfx should be a better all around machine what with the duel freq. the xlt was discontinued in 2010. i bought mine that year. it has found me a good amount of goodies. it is once again my main machine. it boils down to learning the machine. all machines will find treasure. whether it picks up on a given target depends so much on soil, weather shapes , depth and finally your knowledge of your machine and it's bells and whistles. if you don't know what the adjustment will do to your machine you won't find much. with the xlt and the dfx you can dial your way out of treasures. you can't do better if your willing to learn the machine. these are both very solid machines. very well made and very balanced. makes for longer less tiresome hunts.one indicator of quality i use is, how easy is it to find one for sale.? the junk is always changing hands.the ones with quality are harder to find.
i notice you're from charleston. my understanding of the soil conditions in the southern states may limit your selection to the dfx as it has a good supply of DD coils to draw from unlike the xlt that has only one small one.
just my opinion.

HH[/size]

 

[Monte]

The reason, or one of them, that I find your post interesting is because you include the following comment in your personal history:

Detecting since 1968

I got started in march of '65, and started using White's detectors in the summer of '68. On my part, I have been very active, totally active you might say, in this great sport ever since I got started. I do know some people who got started in the "early days", but they didn't stay that active, or maybe work or a growing family or health or ???/ drew them away from this great sport and only in recent years have they come back to it. So, I'm just curious about past, if you've been very active or if it';s been off-and-on.

I also noted that you've only made eight posts on the Findmall Forums so I don't know much about your past interests and activity.

I'm in the market for a detector ...

Okay, and other than the Fisher F-70 you listed at the bottom of your post, which other makes and models have you used in the recent past? That might help with some comparisons.

Also, what type(s) of detecting do you do, and what types of sites do you usually search? Coins? Relics? Jewelry? Just hunt urban parks and schools? Beaches? Deep in the woods or some plowed fields or similar places?

... & have been eyeing the White's Spectrum series.

Part of my curiosity is because you've been detecting since '68 but wonder about the Spectrum series which have been around for over two decades, and have been very popular models from a major brand. Thus, it made me wonder if you've always used non-White's detectors and just been satisfied with their performance?

Can someone give me the quick "down 'n dirty" differences among the SPECTRUM DFX, SPECTRUM XLT and the EAGLE SPECTRUM?
I can't seem to find a comparison chart/article.

Back in '87 & '88 White's released their Eagle then Eagle II computerized models, and by 1990 the Eagle became the Eagle Spectrum.

In '93/'94 that model was replaced by the XLT. All of these models operated at 6.59 kHz and were, basically, moderate-to-fast sweep detector designs. White's pulled the last XLT out of shipping in about March of 2011 when it ended all production of the XLT. The Eagle Spectrum and XLT's used the same group of "Blue Max" series of search coils, some of which had a different name to them, but users knew what they were intended for. All factory coils were very good working Concentric designs except for an elliptical "Shooter" type coil, about 4X6