MXT PRO Vs. Safari

[Skelly607]

Both around a $1k. Ive been wanting an Etrac but everytime I think I have the money,,,,,,,,,, Any way. I live in Va. I will not be taking it to the beach. Coin hunting and I may try my hand at Civil war relic hunting. Any comments welcome.

[Sandman]

Both these would do you fine. I don't have that much experience with the Safari but like the MXT as it is very easy to use.

[rodbuster]

I think would be very happy with the MXT PRO. Whites customer service is a big plus also. The tone ID they have added on the PRO makes this detector even better than it already was.

[Keppy]

I had a Whites MXT and thought it to be the best detector of all the Whites i used .... and i had the DFX & XLT and the Minelab Safari & Quattro ......... to me the MXT was the best of the bunch........

[wingmaster]

I got the MXT and have made lots of good finds, it will find even very small items real deep. I wouldn't trade my MXT for 3 of any other detectors.

[njnydigger]

I was an MXT user for roughly 2 years (the MXT 300). It is an unbelievable detector!!! I recently "upgraded" to the Minelab Safari after falling for all of the hype on the crazy depth Minelab's get. Well...

Make no mistake, the Safari is an excellent machine. However, for my money, the MXT outshines the Safari lights out

In all honesty, both are deep seeking detectors that will find most of whatever you're looking for. Both are also of superior quality and made to last. As I said though, the MXT's have a HUGE edge IMHO. Let me give you the pluses and minuses of each for you to see why I feel this way.

Pluses Minelab (Safari included)

1. Gets superior depth

2. VDI screen and numbers are very accurate. If it's a coin, the VDI numbers are almost always dead-on. Using the high trash density setting will throw the numbers off though. Still, very reliable VDI.

Minuses Minelab

1. Considerable learning curve - Yes, even on the Safari, it will take you a while to master the machine. The Safari is a "turn-on-and-go" unit, but, the sounds drive most people bonkers. The OPERATION is simple, but, learning to decipher the SOUNDS it makes takes a long time.

2. Very finicky - IMHO, Minelab's are NOT the greatest machines suited to searching trashy sites. The primary reason being that they null out alot. And not only do they null out quite a bit, but, to make matters worse the recovery speed is marginal at best. Just the other day, I was hunting an extremely trashy site. There were times where I wouldn't hear my threshold for a good 3 or 4 seconds the detector was nulling so bad. Since the recovery speed isn't great, you also need to move at a snail's pace when detecting. Not fun. Especially if you're short on time or are in a competition hunt.

3. Battery waster - It takes 8 double AA's to power the Safari up. And trust me, they don't last that long. It seems as if I am putting new batteries in every month or so. Even WITH using headphones.

4. Very heavy - The weight on the Minelab's in general are more towards the heavy side. Might not be by much, but, you will sure feel it after a long hunting session. Again, just trust me.

5. Minelab's customer service is the pits - Thankfully, I've never had to send my detector in. But, I've read some real horror stories on this forum (look them up) where people are sometimes waiting months to get their units back. And try getting a real, live person from Minelab on the telephone For the most expensive machines on the market, their customer service is probably the worst.

Pluses MXT

1. Turn-on-and-go - Very easy machine to learn and master. No confusing sounds like the Minelab's.

2. Excellent depth - To be very fair, I haven't seen a world of difference between the Safari and the MXT depth-wise. It might SEEM like one is a bit better on certain days after making a good find, but, the reality is they have roughly the same depth capabilities IMHO. **The Minelab's might have a tiny edge for sniffing out silver, but, the MXT'S have the edge on sniffing out gold. So, they balance out pretty evenly**.

3. Pull tab notch - the MXT's have a great feature. If you flip the trigger on the hand grip, you can notch out pull-tabs. Of course, you'll end up missing out on most gold, but, a very nice feature to have.

4. Lightening fast recovery speed - The recovery speed on the MXT's is among the best. There is a reason why MANY competition hunters use White's. Can hunt as fast or as slow as you'd like.

5. Handles iron and trashy sites very well - ALL detectors have problems in extremely trashy and iron infected sites - the MXT included. However, it is head and shoulders above the performance of the Safari in the same areas. With the MXT in a trashy area, you might have to slow down a bit and fine tune the unit, but, you can still hunt relatively hassle-free. Not true on the Safari. The tones on a trashy sites will drive you insane. The machine will null out for half your hunt. And if you use the high trash density setting (which you should) the VDI numbers are NOT going to be accurate.

6. Knobs versus a screen - This one isn't that big of a deal, but, some of us are old fashioned. We'd prefer knobs over touchpads. Feels real, more durable, etc. The MXT has knobs baby

7. The new ground grab feature - The new MXT Pro has the ground grab feature where you can zone in on an iffy signal in trashy ground to get an accurate target i.d. and depth.

8. Accurate VDI - The VDI screen and the numbers the MXT gives are almost always spot on. Especially if it's a coin. In fairness, the Safari's is quite good as well, however, methinks the MXT has the slight edge in accuracy.

9. The new MXT Pro has a backlight - Need I say more ?!?!

10. Tone i.d. - The new MXT Pro has the added tone i.d's. Very, very helpful feature.

11. World-class customer service - White's is known for having the best customer service around. I've seen people with busted detectors send in their units AFTER the warranty has expired and White's will not charge them anything (if it's a minor fix), or, maybe just a small charge or just ask the customer to handle the shipping. And this isn't an exception either. It happens very frequently. Trust me. Oh yeah, all of White's machines are made in and repaired in the good ol' USA. No foreign countries and all that baloney.

Minuses MXT

1. Weight - The MXT's are very weighty. Certainly on par with the Safari. Again, you WILL feel it after a long day of hunting.

2. Chatty units - One of the biggest complaints about the MXT'S is that they are very noisy or chatty. Well, it's true. Believe me when I tell you though...it is NOTHING compared to the crazy tones on a Minelab. On the MXT's, - especially if you're running with the gain set high - you will hear a crackling sound on top of the threshold. Similar to a radio station if it wasn't set on the exact frequency. You would hear a static or a crackling noise. Never bothered me one bit. You don't even hear it after a while. If you're ears are a little sensitive it might be a pain, but, after getting used to it, it's a small minus in my book.

That's it! Just my two cents. And remember, I've actually used both detectors before. I'd go out and get an MXT Pro. Matter of fact, I will be doing the same soon In my opinion, the MXT Pro is almost a perfect machine. As close as you can get

[Olegrumpy]

I was an MXT user for roughly 2 years (the MXT 300). It is an unbelievable detector!!! I recently "upgraded" to the Minelab Safari after falling for all of the hype on the crazy depth Minelab's get. Well...

Make no mistake, the Safari is an excellent machine. However, for my money, the MXT outshines the Safari lights out

In all honesty, both are deep seeking detectors that will find most of whatever you're looking for. Both are also of superior quality and made to last. As I said though, the MXT's have a HUGE edge IMHO. Let me give you the pluses and minuses of each for you to see why I feel this way.

Pluses Minelab (Safari included)

1. Gets superior depth

2. VDI screen and numbers are very accurate. If it's a coin, the VDI numbers are almost always dead-on. Using the high trash density setting will throw the numbers off though. Still, very reliable VDI.

Minuses Minelab

1. Considerable learning curve - Yes, even on the Safari, it will take you a while to master the machine. The Safari is a "turn-on-and-go" unit, but, the sounds drive most people bonkers. The OPERATION is simple, but, learning to decipher the SOUNDS it makes takes a long time.

2. Very finicky - IMHO, Minelab's are NOT the greatest machines suited to searching trashy sites. The primary reason being that they null out alot. And not only do they null out quite a bit, but, to make matters worse the recovery speed is marginal at best. Just the other day, I was hunting an extremely trashy site. There were times where I wouldn't hear my threshold for a good 3 or 4 seconds the detector was nulling so bad. Since the recovery speed isn't great, you also need to move at a snail's pace when detecting. Not fun. Especially if you're short on time or are in a competition hunt.

3. Battery waster - It takes 8 double AA's to power the Safari up. And trust me, they don't last that long. It seems as if I am putting new batteries in every month or so. Even WITH using headphones.

4. Very heavy - The weight on the Minelab's in general are more towards the heavy side. Might not be by much, but, you will sure feel it after a long hunting session. Again, just trust me.

5. Minelab's customer service is the pits - Thankfully, I've never had to send my detector in. But, I've read some real horror stories on this forum (look them up) where people are sometimes waiting months to get their units back. And try getting a real, live person from Minelab on the telephone For the most expensive machines on the market, their customer service is probably the worst.

Pluses MXT

1. Turn-on-and-go - Very easy machine to learn and master. No confusing sounds like the Minelab's.

2. Excellent depth - To be very fair, I haven't seen a world of difference between the Safari and the MXT depth-wise. It might SEEM like one is a bit better on certain days after making a good find, but, the reality is they have roughly the same depth capabilities IMHO. **The Minelab's might have a tiny edge for sniffing out silver, but, the MXT'S have the edge on sniffing out gold. So, they balance out pretty evenly**.

3. Pull tab notch - the MXT's have a great feature. If you flip the trigger on the hand grip, you can notch out pull-tabs. Of course, you'll end up missing out on most gold, but, a very nice feature to have.

4. Lightening fast recovery speed - The recovery speed on the MXT's is among the best. There is a reason why MANY competition hunters use White's. Can hunt as fast or as slow as you'd like.

5. Handles iron and trashy sites very well - ALL detectors have problems in extremely trashy and iron infected sites - the MXT included. However, it is head and shoulders above the performance of the Safari in the same areas. With the MXT in a trashy area, you might have to slow down a bit and fine tune the unit, but, you can still hunt relatively hassle-free. Not true on the Safari. The tones on a trashy sites will drive you insane. The machine will null out for half your hunt. And if you use the high trash density setting (which you should) the VDI numbers are NOT going to be accurate.

6. Knobs versus a screen - This one isn't that big of a deal, but, some of us are old fashioned. We'd prefer knobs over touchpads. Feels real, more durable, etc. The MXT has knobs baby

7. The new ground grab feature - The new MXT Pro has the ground grab feature where you can zone in on an iffy signal in trashy ground to get an accurate target i.d. and depth.

8. Accurate VDI - The VDI screen and the numbers the MXT gives are almost always spot on. Especially if it's a coin. In fairness, the Safari's is quite good as well, however, methinks the MXT has the slight edge in accuracy.

9. The new MXT Pro has a backlight - Need I say more ?!?!

10. Tone i.d. - The new MXT Pro has the added tone i.d's. Very, very helpful feature.

11. World-class customer service - White's is known for having the best customer service around. I've seen people with busted detectors send in their units AFTER the warranty has expired and White's will not charge them anything (if it's a minor fix), or, maybe just a small charge or just ask the customer to handle the shipping. And this isn't an exception either. It happens very frequently. Trust me. Oh yeah, all of White's machines are made in and repaired in the good ol' USA. No foreign countries and all that baloney.

Minuses MXT

1. Weight - The MXT's are very weighty. Certainly on par with the Safari. Again, you WILL feel it after a long day of hunting.

2. Chatty units - One of the biggest complaints about the MXT'S is that they are very noisy or chatty. Well, it's true. Believe me when I tell you though...it is NOTHING compared to the crazy tones on a Minelab. On the MXT's, - especially if you're running with the gain set high - you will hear a crackling sound on top of the threshold. Similar to a radio station if it wasn't set on the exact frequency. You would hear a static or a crackling noise. Never bothered me one bit. You don't even hear it after a while. If you're ears are a little sensitive it might be a pain, but, after getting used to it, it's a small minus in my book.

That's it! Just my two cents. And remember, I've actually used both detectors before. I'd go out and get an MXT Pro. Matter of fact, I will be doing the same soon In my opinion, the MXT Pro is almost a perfect machine. As close as you can get

Hi,

Landing here after a quick search with the keywords safari and mxt, I noticed nobody thanked you for this input.

Well I do.

This was very helpful. I own a Quattro, and a GT. Was looking for a faster machine (while i won't part with the Mineabs - great in wet sands) and I've got all my answers.

Again, thanks and happy hunting !

Ole G.

[Keppy]

Well as you know there are some on every forum that ask a question then never acknowledge or give a thank you or let you know what they ended up doing .....................

[Skelly607]

Well as you know there are some on every forum that ask a question then never acknowledge or give a thank you or let you know what they ended up doing .....................

Sorry Tnet stopped sending me notices of replies on this thread. I just happened to be searching the fourm and ran across this. I ended up going with the MXT Pro and loving it so far. Thank you for everyone that put input to this thread.

[Keppy]

Well as you know there are some on every forum that ask a question then never acknowledge or give a thank you or let you know what they ended up doing .....................

Sorry Tnet stopped sending me notices of replies on this thread. I just happened to be searching the fourm and ran across this. I ended up going with the MXT Pro and loving it so far. Thank you for everyone that put input to this thread.

You made a good choice of all the Whites detector's i think that the MXT is the best of them....HH...........

[wingmaster]

Yep great choice like I said I wouldn't trade my MXT for 3 of any other detectors. I would think about paying the extra for the pro but not going to sell the one I have now to get it. Good luck and HH

[mrwilburino]

Well as you know there are some on every forum that ask a question then never acknowledge or give a thank you or let you know what they ended up doing .....................

WTG Keppy; that worked pretty well! Now if you could please post that on some of those other unanswered threads that drive us all crazy...........

Good choice Skelly, & thanks for the update.

[liftloop]

try a 5900 Di pro...for relics that's the deepest vlf money can buy....

[CoilFisher]

I can say this. I drove to the regional White's sales center this Summer to look at a detector. I had expressed my concerns on buying a detector, and repairs, etc.
The sales person assured me that White's will fix anything I break. She told me they even fix older units.
I was impressed with that. Not to say Minelab doesn't have their good points, but that did impress me as I know alot of companies dont fix older machines.