DFX....Trust but verify............

Z

ztzzt

Guest
My local dealer told me he did not stock the DFX because it was too unstable around cell phone towers and he had to put in a custom program just to demo one. He then steered me directly to the Garrett 2500 which he had in stock. There are a lot of happy DFX folks out there according to all I have read and I am a bit leary of this advise. I have been bit once by this dealer (actually his wife). I would appreciate your views on the DFX and my local dealer. His of course willing to order me a DFX for $1012.00.
 

hollowpointred

Gold Member
Mar 12, 2005
6,871
56
Detector(s) used
Minelab Explorer SE/Garrett GTI 2500/ Ace 250
i have a GTI 2500 and my advise is..................get the DFX. the 2500 is nice, and is a killer coin finder if you mainly coinshoot in the park. but if you are looking to go deep where the old coins live, get the DFX, or better yet, if you can swing the price, a minelab explorer. the 2500 is a great discriminator, with its size feature, but it lacks depth. it seems to me that garrett was thinking more about making a great clad and ring finding machine when they designed the 2500. it seems like they traded depth for discrimination, in my opinion.
 

DPBOB

Silver Member
Apr 12, 2006
3,585
264
DES PLAINES IL
Detector(s) used
AVATAR: MY Wife Saying....




"Your going Metal Detecting
Primary Interest:
All Treasure Hunting
too. much $$$$ shop else where. 1012 too. much You should be able to get under 950
 

mark v

Sr. Member
Mar 10, 2006
270
35
S.W. Pa.
Detector(s) used
Deus, CTX
DesPlaines_IL_SilverBob said:
too. much $$$$ shop else where. 1012 too. much You should be able to get under 950

I agree. I bought my DFX about 6 months ago with some accessories for $889.00 total.


The DFX, in my opinion, has been a tough machine to learn. It's very sensitive but also very noisy. I've had it only 6 months that's how I feel about it so far. If you do buy one be ready for a long learning experience.
 

Mona Lisa

Gold Member
Jan 13, 2005
5,112
36
Great Falls, Montana
Detector(s) used
White's DFX & a Sunray probe
Primary Interest:
Relic Hunting
Listen to Hollowpointred on this one since he's owned the Garrett.

I think the DFX is a turn on and go machine.....If you want to play around with all the settings, then there's a learning curve. I've never had any problems. I love mine.

Are you going hunting around cell phone towers? ::)
 

ZoSo71

Sr. Member
Nov 5, 2006
323
13
Somewhere near Cleveland, Ohio
Detector(s) used
White's DFX / Modded BH Land Star
My local dealer told me he did not stock the DFX because it was too unstable around cell phone towers and he had to put in a custom program just to demo one. He then steered me directly to the Garrett 2500 which he had in stock.

Let me guess? HobbyTown is your local dealer?

They are pulling out of the White's market and picking up Garrett, I was just told that on 1/9/2007 by my local dealer (HobbyTown).
His attitude seemed like Garrett's were cheaper to buy in bulk and they turned over a better profit, Not to mention White's expects
excellent customer service for there dealers and hand's on training. I guess when your a all-around hobbyshop you can't give extra attention to products that return a smaller profit.

Just my $0.02 worth

ZoSo71
 

TonyinCT

Sr. Member
Mar 14, 2006
455
2
Granby, CT
There is no such thing as buying in bulk per se. All dealers pay the same price. BUT , if we buy more than one at a time we do get a couple more points of % off. You are right about the hands on . Most places that sell Whites now are not in the detector business and don't know how or want to know how to use them.
 

ZoSo71

Sr. Member
Nov 5, 2006
323
13
Somewhere near Cleveland, Ohio
Detector(s) used
White's DFX / Modded BH Land Star
Most places that sell Whites now are not in the detector business

That's very true.. I had a dealer right down the street from me who was a White's dealer, It was a home electrical parts store.

I think White's won't allow a dealer to pickup another Brand of detector unless they are a high volume seller?
Someone correct me if i'm wrong.

I also noticed Dick's Sporting Goods has started selling Garrett Detectors as well.


ZoSo71
 

Monty

Gold Member
Jan 26, 2005
10,746
166
Sand Springs, OK
Detector(s) used
ACE 250, Garrett
Primary Interest:
All Treasure Hunting
I have the 2500 and I am seeing the DFX making some much better finds than my 2500. Oh, I have had some good finds with it but I think its getting outdated and needs an upgrade. Garrett, are you listening? Monty
 

j.d. in the usa

Bronze Member
Sep 21, 2003
1,306
684
Allentown Pa.
🥇 Banner finds
1
Detector(s) used
DFX 300
Primary Interest:
All Treasure Hunting
If it wasnt for persistance and pure tenacity I would not have gotten a detector.... When I was a kid my father had a friend who had a Whites detector and was told they make the best and that always stuck with me..
But to tell you the truth it was one of the hardest things i ever purchased... I dont trust mailorder and wanted to get one from a dealer.. I decided on a Whites XLT, I contacted Whites and they sent me to a dealer I drove over 1 hour to get there, it was an old man in a flea market in Pa. hew was mean and abrasive and tried to force me to buy and IDX detector he had in stock... telling me thats and XLT was too hard to learn and I would just waste my money... But he would order it if thats what I wanted but i would have to pay for it up front because he didnt want to get stuck with and XLT and he charges 799.99 that was fine I dont mind paying extra to help local buisnesses.. I have a temper and I was pretty pissed at him and his attitude and I pulled out the cash showed it to him and told him to F*%$ off and i was gonna call Whites and complain and tell all my friends never to buy anything from him...
So I went home and got a detecting magazine and fell in love with hte Garrett 2500 so I called them and got the package they send you in the mail a few days later... they sent me a card with the local dealers # I called him and to my utter surprise he said the same thing the Whites guy did... you dont want the 2500 its too complicated for you... but I have 3 models in Stock ill give you a good deal on them... Damn another guy B.S. ing me.. I was so frustrated I didnt know what to do..
So I called up WHites and they got me to a dealer about 10 miles from me andf I called the guy up it was a hobby store he said he decided not to sell detectors anymore and has an XLT floor model thats 4 years old but "brand new" and he wont take less than $850.00 for it... I hung up on him quick... called Whites again this time pissed of and complaining the guy said hold on and when he came back on the had a dealer 4 miles from my house, and I asked them why and the hell did they send me to the one an hour away from me first... just got silence on that one... but I wanted the XLT bad... I went and talked to the guy 4 miles from me.. he gave me the XLT for $660.00 plus a load of free stuff and had it to me in 2 days that was in 2001 I believe. I couldnt believe it. I got what I wanted and it was not hard for me to learn at all and I still have and use that detector regularly...
I feel sorry for people when I read the horror stories they have with dealers.. .I now have a DFX also and im very happy with it.
 

Schrecky

Sr. Member
Mar 14, 2006
398
33
NW, PA
🏆 Honorable Mentions:
1
Detector(s) used
Whites Spectra V3, Minelab Excailbur 1000
Primary Interest:
All Treasure Hunting
If you get the DFX into an extra noisy location all you have to do is switch the frequency setting to Correlate. Great machine.
 

Monty

Gold Member
Jan 26, 2005
10,746
166
Sand Springs, OK
Detector(s) used
ACE 250, Garrett
Primary Interest:
All Treasure Hunting
jd's story just confirms what I have found out. Shop around and you will find a good deal. It may be a dealer or it may be a mailorder. Ask for references and call them if in doubt. Beware of the bait and switch....advertise one detector or merchandise and try to get you to go to a higher priced one. Read this forum and ask questions. Ask questions. Ask questions! You might get several answers to your question but you will have a consensus. You don't have to be a genius to learn how to learn to operate even a complicated detector, just common sense and average intelligence will see you through. The genius really comes in when you learn how to do research and correlate that with what your detector is telling you. You never know it all so beware of a smug attitude, you learn something new nearly everytime out if you pay attention to detail. I'm still working on that last part and probably will as long as I keep at this "hobby". But most of all don't make it work unless you have to depend on it for a living. I could never do that as it would ruin it for me. I'm in it for fun and getting a hands on education about history especially. Good hunting to all and best of luck. Monty
 

relikhunter

Sr. Member
Jul 17, 2006
257
1
S.E. kansas
Detector(s) used
whites dfx garrett gtp 1350
Go with the dfx!You won't regret it and you'll be gald you did.The learning curve's not that bad.Had a garrett and the dfx will walk circles around it.Will adapt to any hunting you'll do......rh
 

Tourezrick

Sr. Member
Nov 2, 2006
253
2
South Side of Chicago (the baddest part of town)
Detector(s) used
White's DFX
I'm loving my DFX! Found silver the second time out. White's said they would put my story on their customer stories board - waiting to see it go up. Still learning the machine, but each day is better. Went out this morning to a school yard I had hit 2 weeks ago, found a lot of clad, more than I would expect the wealthy little ones in my town to have dropped in two weeks, but I did make some custom adjustments which worked well.

Tourezrick
 

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