What do I actually gain by going from a $100 to a $500 metal detector?

[Punchy71]

Discounting features like bells, whistles, gee-gaws, doo-dads and other various different distractions, what kind of actual measurable performance gains, such as increased depth or sensitivity, would I get by going from a $100 metal detector to a $200 metal detector, or, for that matter, a $300 metal detector to a $400 one, or even a $500 one, irregardless of buying a new or used example?
Thank you

 

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[☠ Cipher]

Maybe my answer will have been covered by the preceding answers, but I don't always have time to read though so many answers. The difference between a $100 machine and a $200 machine can be a lot. Generally what you'll get with a $100 machine is about 4"-6" of depth, a fixed preset ground balance that doesn't reflect all ground conditions, a 1 or 2 tone audio response, no pinpoint function, and usually just access to sensitivity and discrimination settings. Go up to a $200-$300 machine like the Teknetics Liberator, and now you have 8"-10" of depth, several tones to differentiate targets (you can even decide where they break), manual and auto ground balance to neutralize most ground, pinpoint function with depth prediction, digital VDI, ability to discriminate classes of metals, or notch out specific items or even specific VDI numbers, a DD coil which is better in harsher ground, a quicker Audio response and recovery time for picking out good items that are near trash, and more, you get the point. After that you're paying a heavy premium often for incremental improvements, but the difference between a $300 machine and say a $649 machine is now 1 catch all frequency vs 3 single frequencies and a multi frequency option, plus waterproofing, ability to adjust recovery speed, to select different channels to reduce EMI interference, and ground tracking etc etc.

 

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[Phishfarmer]

Time is the most valuable commodity. You can locate higher quality targets with the better machine (and practice) which will more than pay for the cost difference.

 

[Owassokie]

Discounting features like bells, whistles, gee-gaws, doo-dads and other various different distractions, what kind of actual measurable performance gains, such as increased depth or sensitivity, would I get by going from a $100 metal detector to a $200 metal detector, or, for that matter, a $300 metal detector to a $400 one, or even a $500 one, irregardless of buying a new or used example?
Thank you

I would say if you are a typical hunter, with typical prospects for places to hunt, then $250 will buy you an amazingly better detector vs $100. With the $250 machine, you can separate ferrous vs non-ferrous which is an instant huge upgrade if you are hunting parks, homes, etc. That alone is the biggest advantage. Next, the $250 machine will distinguish target size. With enough experience, you'll know the difference between digging for a ring/coin/pulltab vs other larger pieces of aluminum etc...

 

[Charlie P. (NY)]

This is REALLY simple. What is the difference between Chevrolet's "Spark," and their "L3 Corvette?" There ARE stupid questions.

Yep. If you need to take four people and two bags of groceries somewhere - stay away from the Corvette. ;-)

 

[Eleven Cents]

Calling the soil where I live "mineralized" would be an understatement. It has almost no organic content at all, and it's full of hot rocks.

I recently went from a BH Tracker IV to a Tesoro Vaquero. My BH could barely hit a 4" dime in my test garden. In practice I rarely dug anything deeper than 2". In the same garden, the Tesoro can hit a 6" dime in disc mode and an 8" dime in all metal, though the latter is so faint I probably wouldn't dig it. In a few park hunts I've found several clad dimes and copper Lincolns around 4". So in my conditions, 4.5x the price gets roughly a doubling of depth on coin sized targets. I'm also able to ground balance in areas that are all hot rocks to my BH. I've only found a few shell casings, but I couldn't really detect there at all before.

 

[Eleven Cents]

You will not be able to "guess" the size, depth, or general possibility of what it is.

I have to say, I got pretty good at doing exactly that with a $99 machine. I liked the analog disc knob on my BH so much that upgrading to a Tesoro was an easy choice. I wonder how much people's first detectors influence their upgrade paths. Mine certainly did. I tried my mom's pushbutton Fishers and hated their controls and their sounds.

 

[curious2]

Price doesn't always equate with performance, and even when it does the difference isn't always worth the price. To have your question answered properly, you should join a local club and talk to members about their machines and go on hunts with them to observe their machines in action. You should also look at comparison tests here and on other forums and on youtube (but take those with a grain of salt).