X-Terra 70 vs DFX, Cibola and Explorer SE

[litlewolf2]

So here is what I'm looking for in a detector.....

Can go deep 8"+ for coins.

Can help determine the difference between clad/silver.

Decent pinpointing.

Something that won't weigh a ton.

That won't take a full year of learning just to use it half way decent. I'm willing to put time into it to learn but not every day. Just not overly complicated. But more advanced then the ACE 250.

Preferably Under $1,000.00. (willing to go over if you make a very good argument why a SE or other 1K+ detector outperforms and is worth the extra vs some of the others.)

Good for Minnesota soil (don't think much mineralization here).

Coil can be used underwater.

Good land detector.

Preferably more then a 1 year warranty.

Something other then a Bounty Hunter. The rest I'm O.K with.

Thanks for the help!!!

Oh yeah I already got called on this.. I know the Cibola and the X-Terra 70 (sorta) is not the top of the line. But from what I see it has fantastic reviews. I'm not just looking at price tags. If you have another suggestion besides these feel free to post.

 

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[litlewolf2]

Looks like the X-Terra 70 is winning. Funny on different boards you get different results.

 

[litlewolf2]

Will be ordering tomorrow hopefully.

 

[cryptodave]

Personally I would go with the SE, but thats because I'm an SE user. Don't let anyone make you think that its not a turn on and go detector, because it can be, plus it can be expanded on when you learn it better. The factory presets are very well done and work very well.
Also don't let the people tell you that it is too heavy... Its lighter than the DFX.
I have nothing against the X-Terras, matter of fact I'm considering buying one for the old woman... But I also don't know if I would consider it a detector that does all your askng for. I still think its a mid-level entry detector with an above mid-level price tag. Kinda like the Prizms from Whites. I think the bang for the buck is not quite there.

You could always get something like the Soveriegn from Minelab or the M6 from Whites if you want to stay in the $500 to $700 range. call Tony at http://www.tcmetaldetectors.com and see what he has going on. He usually has great prices and service is top notch.

 

[litlewolf2]

Well folks I ordered my detector. The results of my poll done on 3 message boards where this.

Detector ------Total votes.

X-Terra 70 ---- 18
DFX -------------21
Cibola ----------- 9
Explorer SE ------9


The DFX won on the polls. However after looking at some of the participates all the dealers who placed votes which I believe there were 4, all voted for the X-Terra 70. Plus this post done by Diggler made me choose the X-Terra 70.

"you want light - NOT the SE
you want not too steep of a learning curve - NOT DFX or SE
you want distinguish silver from clad - NOT Cibola
That only leaves the X 70."
That statement seemed to hold very true after doing a lot of my own research.

The $300.00 price difference also helped me choose the X-Terra 70.

Thanks to everyone who voted! Can't wait to go dig up some treasure!

 

[litlewolf2]

I ended up with the X-Terra 70 but I'm still curious as to peoples opinions. So anything new to add 9 months later?

 

[DFX-SE Gregg]

I ended up with the X-Terra 70 but I'm still curious as to peoples opinions. So anything new to add 9 months later?

yeah...what have you found with the X-terra seeing you passed on the dfx and the se...

 

[litlewolf2]

I found a few things. Nothing really worth mentioning. I'm new to the hobby and still learning the detector. My wife was diagnosed with Pulmonary hypertension so between that and having 3 kids, I didn't have a lot of time to take it out. She passed away in October so not really sure how much time I'm going to have to use it this summer either with a 1 year old. Hopefully I'll be able to though. I'll keep ya posted.

 

[DFX-SE Gregg]

I found a few things. Nothing really worth mentioning. I'm new to the hobby and still learning the detector. My wife was diagnosed with Pulmonary hypertension so between that and having 3 kids, I didn't have a lot of time to take it out. She passed away in October so not really sure how much time I'm going to have to use it this summer either with a 1 year old. Hopefully I'll be able to though. I'll keep ya posted.

Sorry to hear that..... when you get a chance to get out let us know....

 

[thompy]

sorry about your wife, the xt-70 is a nice machine, like my t-2 more, but would welcome the xt 70 a buddy has one, there are a few other machines id like to try out first.

 

[litlewolf2]

I'm kind of thinking I should have added the Fisher into this mix. But I'm confident the results wouldn't have altered that much.

 

[Silver Fox]

I ended up with the X-Terra 70 but I'm still curious as to peoples opinions. So anything new to add 9 months later?

littlewolf2: I'm considering the 70, still waiting for the FISHER F5 to show up before I make up my mind, if at all. The one thing I don't like about the 70 is that it doesn't have American coin icons and as long as I'm going to detect in America I want to know "for sure" when I hit a dime, quarter, and half. The cents I can do without. So please tell me. When your 70 finds one of the above coins, constantly, do you also get constant VDI numbers without the VDI jumping around? IOW, for example, does a dime always give the same VDI every time it finds a dime? The same question for quarter and half dollar.

Also, if you have found silver dimes, has the VDI given you a different number than for a clad dime? How far in numerical difference? Ditto for quarter, half.

Does the 70 give you different sounds for a clad dime and silver dime? Ditto for quarter, half.

Have you grown accustomed to just numbers over coin icons?

 

[litlewolf2]

I ended up with the X-Terra 70 but I'm still curious as to peoples opinions. So anything new to add 9 months later?

littlewolf2: I'm considering the 70, still waiting for the FISHER F5 to show up before I make up my mind, if at all. The one thing I don't like about the 70 is that it doesn't have American coin icons and as long as I'm going to detect in America I want to know "for sure" when I hit a dime, quarter, and half. The cents I can do without. So please tell me. When your 70 finds one of the above coins, constantly, do you also get constant VDI numbers without the VDI jumping around? IOW, for example, does a dime always give the same VDI every time it finds a dime? The same question for quarter and half dollar.

Also, if you have found silver dimes, has the VDI given you a different number than for a clad dime? How far in numerical difference? Ditto for quarter, half.

Does the 70 give you different sounds for a clad dime and silver dime? Ditto for quarter, half.

Have you grown accustomed to just numbers over coin icons?

Here is a chart I've found on the net displaying the VDI showing a number of American coins.

As far as my personal experience goes.. You ask does it jump around? Yes it does. It's not constant and I've been told this is to be expected in any detector it's more of a matter of how much. Depending on the angle the coin is sitting you'll usually get a number going one way and sometimes another number swinging from a different direction. Air tests are pretty solid but even they can be fooled and aren't considered a good test of a detectors ability. But like if I swing a quarter under it, chances are it will read a 42 the majority of the time in ground or air. But like I said I've been told you'll see different readings with any detector Minelab, Fisher, Garrett, Whites etc.. Good luck and HH!

 

[litlewolf2]

Just to clarify the X-Terra 70 has a 28 discrimination scale going in 2's. It ranges from -8 to 48. So if you're looking for coins a general rule is 36+ showing 3-4 arrows dig it! Of course there are exceptions to this like Indian heads and nickels and such.

 

[Silver Fox]

Thanks for the chart and your comments, littlewolf2, I appreciate it as I'm sure others will also. The chart is sort-of disappointing in the same numbers showing up for various coins although, since one doesn't know what's really in the ground, one is liable to dig up such signals or lose something valuable.

But let me give you an example of how it used to be with my old Teknetics Mark I Ltd. The meter had a scale of from 0 to 100 in 2-segment increments. That's 50 choices. So if I detected a dime I could tell if it was a clad or silver dime as the silver dime moved the meter needle an additional increment from the clad. Usually. Also, the sounds varied per increment, or so it seemed as I'm relying on my memory that stopped working when I retired the Tek. I think I remember just walking along enjoying the scenery and when I heard a sound I "knew" it was silver. I was rarely disappointed.

If the Tek wasn't so heavy, even as a hip-mount, and if it didn't require 14 AA batteries I'd retrograde and be satisfied as I was for close to 20 years. I want to move up into the 21st century which is why I'm considering the 70 and, possibly, the F5.

 

[Ant]

All I can say is that the EX SE sniffs coins out of the ground with ease. You'll get use to the weight after an outing or two. That is, if you’re hard as woodpecker lips like me.

Depth is relative to mineralization, but 8” is nothing in low mineralized ground. Hey, I’m saying this and this past weekend was my first time out with mine.

The only issue I had with it was after the first day of hunting. The tendons in the lower part of my bicep muscle tightened up and became sore, but that happened just a little on the second day.

Now I sweep ground with it like a light weight detector. I don’t think many ladies will be able to use it without a swing-e-thingy or something like that.

 

[Ricardo_NY1]

I'm sure that 70 is a good machine, but I would've gone with any of the Explorers. They are not as heavy as people make them out to be (Probe does add weight)............you can tell a good percentage of the time when you've hit silver, both by sound and cross-hair positions (That's how I know when to bring out the camera). Seriously, there are times when a signal sounds like it could be silver, and you dig them and sometimes they are wheats, sometimes silver, but when you hear that pitch that only silver makes.........silver is under the coil and you'll know it. The Explorer is probably the only one on that list that can consistently get you coins past the 5 or 6" mark.
Also, the learning curve is not steep to the point it will not let you hunt. You can get it down ina couple of months in default settings and find plenty. Almost a year later and I still use it with most default settings. If you want proof of how well an Explorer does, read the posts of those who use it. Bottom line.

 

[EZrider]

F-75 and have it all.

 

[Silver Fox]

Everyone swears by their favorite detector and if these were the 1980s I'd be swearing by my TEKNETICS MARK I LTD; surprisingly, some still do!

Presently, it looks like I'll be swearing by my BOUNTY HUNTER for quite a while! I was just informed that my wait for the FISHER F5 might be longer than I probably have left on Planet Earth! So the only way out for me is to keep keeping on with my LAND STAR and consider the 70 only if it's such a ridiculous deal that it would be stupid to pass it up. I don't feel like getting a detector with ANY kind of learning curve and a display that eats up detecting time.

My only request of manufacturers is that they wake up and design a detector (again!) that can differentiate between copper cents and dimes and stop featuring ZINC on the display. Yeah, yeah, I know.

Silver Fox

 

[Ricardo_NY1]

My only request of manufacturers is that they wake up and design a detector (again!) that can differentiate between copper cents and dimes and stop featuring ZINC on the display. Yeah, yeah, I know.
Silver Fox

Ed...........the Minelab can differentiate! I will say that wheats do sound and look a little sweeter than what a penny should be, but they will normally go right back into the penny range. The only time I do dig them is because there is always the possiblity that there is a wheat and or copper penny mixed in with a silver dime. That's just taking chances. A voluntary decision to dig. But I'd say 95% of the time, the Explorer will be telling you the truth on a copper penny vs dime. It will also indicate and give you a unique sound for silver. Trust me, when there is a silver dime under your coil.........you will know it in your heart. That's how I know when to bring out the camera and not waste precious memory space on those little cards!