is it worth it?

Tasmorn

Full Member
Jun 9, 2013
128
127
Laplace, La
Detector(s) used
Minelab 705, Nox 800.
Primary Interest:
All Treasure Hunting

cudamark

Gold Member
Top Banner Poster
Mar 16, 2011
13,171
14,457
San Diego
🥇 Banner finds
1
🏆 Honorable Mentions:
3
Detector(s) used
XP Deus 2, Equinox 800/900, Fisher Impulse AQ, E-Trac, 3 Excal 1000's, White's TM808, VibraProbe, 15" NEL Attack, Mi6, Steath 920ix and 720i scoops, TRX, etc....
Primary Interest:
All Treasure Hunting
Depend on what type of detecting you do.
 

DiggerinVA

Bronze Member
Sep 16, 2013
1,666
1,654
Shenandoah Valley, Virginia
Detector(s) used
GPX5000, AT Gold, AT Pro, Whites TDI, Bandido 2 umax, Tejon, Vaquero, Deus 2, ORX and Legend
Primary Interest:
All Treasure Hunting
If you dont like it....i dont think you will lose any money on it at that price.....go for it.
 

Hobojo

Sr. Member
Dec 9, 2013
344
275
South Orange County CA
🏆 Honorable Mentions:
1
Detector(s) used
Tesoro Compadre, Vaquero, Outlaw ,Cibola, Sand Shark,
Minelab Xterra 705, Minelab Safari.
Primary Interest:
All Treasure Hunting
Yes, my wife has just purchased a Safari and after watching her use it , I would say it is a better machine than my Xterra. Although the Xterra is a fine machine too. FBS is an upgrade for sure!
 

bzbadger

Bronze Member
Jun 25, 2013
1,130
818
Lower Eastern Shore of Maryland
Detector(s) used
Bounty Hunter QD II, Garrett Ace 150 & 350, Fisher ID Excel, Fisher coinstrike, Fisher Cz6, Fisher Gemini II, Garrett AT Pro, Garrett GTI 1500,Teknetiks omega 8000, Nokta Fors Gold
Primary Interest:
All Treasure Hunting
Only problem I can see with this is minelab last year said they will no longer be providing warranty parts etc for machines that hit the 10 year mark and on machines they no longer manufacture. Not saying this machine has but look at how many more years you have with this machine before sinking money into something that if a problem does arise how would you fix it. I'm sorry to say this but minelab has been one of the worst companies to deal with on customer service in my experience and just about every person I know who owns one.
Is it a good price?..sure
Is it a good machine?..yes
Would I worry about future issues?..yes
 

dirtscratcher

Bronze Member
Mar 18, 2009
1,877
1,350
Columbia falls Montana
Detector(s) used
Minelab Sov GT Explorer XS Tesoro Vaq t2se x705
Primary Interest:
All Treasure Hunting
Only problem I can see with this is minelab last year said they will no longer be providing warranty parts etc for machines that hit the 10 year mark and on machines they no longer manufacture. Not saying this machine has but look at how many more years you have with this machine before sinking money into something that if a problem does arise how would you fix it. I'm sorry to say this but minelab has been one of the worst companies to deal with on customer service in my experience and just about every person I know who owns one.
Is it a good price?..sure
Is it a good machine?..yes
Would I worry about future issues?..yes

You say minelab is so bad to deal with but I don't see one on your list. I have 4 minelabs and to tell you the truth I know nothing of their service because I've had zero problems, if you add their ages they have worked perfectly for 41 years. I see people repeating your claims but ones who own them have written of positive experiences. Back to the question the explorer is imo a huge upgrade over the 705. I prefer the multifreqencies over the 705.
 

Longhair

Hero Member
May 26, 2012
781
418
Backside Of Nowhere In Mid-Michigan
Detector(s) used
Fisher F2,
Fisher 1280X,
MineLab Xterra 705,
MineLab Explorer SE
Primary Interest:
All Treasure Hunting
I have and use both the 705 and Explorer SE. I would not call the Explorer a huge upgrade......only different. The difference is distinct between the two technologies, but in average normal soil conditions the Explorer is no deeper than the 705 with equivalent size coils. In more heavily conductive mineralized conditions the SE has an advantage, but in more magnetic mineralized situations the Xterra running 3kHz (or sometimes 7.5kHz) performs better on high conductors.
If I had to choose between the two, where I hunt I'd pick the 705. It remains my "go-to" detector. I don't have any saltwater beaches to hunt, but I do live in a state that has both iron mines and the world's largest salt mine, so conditions here can vary greatly, which is why I justify having both machines for where each excel.
 

fmerg

Hero Member
Nov 1, 2008
903
745
kingston ny
🥇 Banner finds
1
Detector(s) used
minelab quattro, explorer se pro
Primary Interest:
Metal Detecting
i have two explorer se pros and i would not sell them for $500
 

Mach1Pilot

Silver Member
Jul 21, 2008
3,000
1,160
Bedford County, PA
🥇 Banner finds
1
Detector(s) used
Minelab, Fisher, Teknetics and more!
Primary Interest:
All Treasure Hunting
Like Longhair said, it's going to be different and not necessarily better depending on the hunt conditions. Some days the Explorer will be better, other days you would want the Xterra.

That price is very good, it will not last long at that price. Grab it quick if you want it.
 

dirtscratcher

Bronze Member
Mar 18, 2009
1,877
1,350
Columbia falls Montana
Detector(s) used
Minelab Sov GT Explorer XS Tesoro Vaq t2se x705
Primary Interest:
All Treasure Hunting
I'll stand by the explorer being a huge advantage over the 705. I don't believe its even close. Only time I would grab the 705 would be prospecting.
 

cudamark

Gold Member
Top Banner Poster
Mar 16, 2011
13,171
14,457
San Diego
🥇 Banner finds
1
🏆 Honorable Mentions:
3
Detector(s) used
XP Deus 2, Equinox 800/900, Fisher Impulse AQ, E-Trac, 3 Excal 1000's, White's TM808, VibraProbe, 15" NEL Attack, Mi6, Steath 920ix and 720i scoops, TRX, etc....
Primary Interest:
All Treasure Hunting
I'll stand by the explorer being a huge advantage over the 705. I don't believe its even close. Only time I would grab the 705 would be prospecting.
I don't think there is much advantage using the Explorer over the 705 when it comes to relic hunting either. The Explorer is a definite upgrade on a salt water beach however. Coin/jewelry hunting in stable ground, flip a coin.
 

dirtscratcher

Bronze Member
Mar 18, 2009
1,877
1,350
Columbia falls Montana
Detector(s) used
Minelab Sov GT Explorer XS Tesoro Vaq t2se x705
Primary Interest:
All Treasure Hunting
I don't think there is much advantage using the Explorer over the 705 when it comes to relic hunting either. The Explorer is a definite upgrade on a salt water beach however. Coin/jewelry hunting in stable ground, flip a coin.

I can find coins deeper and in trashy environments with my explorer. I'm not talking shallow clad or jewelry hunting. Around here on public land that had been detected for years the fbs detected work best for finding old coins. I can't get the same result with the 705 and I do have the 10.5 dd coil. I also have a friend who has had his since they came out and he digs less than a quarter of the old coins that I do with my explorer or another buddy does with his sepro. Comparing signals the explorer is defiantly better at iding deep coins. After showing my one buddy numerous deep targets and him calling them trash but digging wheat penny after wheat penny with signals he had been passing for a couple years he posted on the other big forum about deep coins giving negative numbers and was told by the experts the 705 won't do that. I've seen it too often to be told otherwise. If your hunting modern drops its a wash. If your after deep old coins it's not even close.
 

Longhair

Hero Member
May 26, 2012
781
418
Backside Of Nowhere In Mid-Michigan
Detector(s) used
Fisher F2,
Fisher 1280X,
MineLab Xterra 705,
MineLab Explorer SE
Primary Interest:
All Treasure Hunting
I can find coins deeper and in trashy environments with my explorer. I'm not talking shallow clad or jewelry hunting. Around here on public land that had been detected for years the fbs detected work best for finding old coins. I can't get the same result with the 705 and I do have the 10.5 dd coil. I also have a friend who has had his since they came out and he digs less than a quarter of the old coins that I do with my explorer or another buddy does with his sepro. Comparing signals the explorer is defiantly better at iding deep coins. After showing my one buddy numerous deep targets and him calling them trash but digging wheat penny after wheat penny with signals he had been passing for a couple years he posted on the other big forum about deep coins giving negative numbers and was told by the experts the 705 won't do that. I've seen it too often to be told otherwise. If your hunting modern drops its a wash. If your after deep old coins it's not even close.
Remember though, you can only speak of where you hunt. The OP might have very different conditions than you have, so the technology that would perform the best might not be the same as you have. Without knowing where Tasmorn is we can only speculate what would be an upgrade.
 

Treasure_Hunter

Administrator
Staff member
Jul 27, 2006
48,301
54,446
Florida
Detector(s) used
Minelab_Equinox_ 800 Minelab_CTX-3030 Minelab_Excal_1000 Minelab_Sovereign_GT Minelab_Safari Minelab_ETrac Whites_Beach_Hunter_ID Fisher_1235_X
Primary Interest:
All Treasure Hunting
Only problem I can see with this is minelab last year said they will no longer be providing warranty parts etc for machines that hit the 10 year mark and on machines they no longer manufacture. Not saying this machine has but look at how many more years you have with this machine before sinking money into something that if a problem does arise how would you fix it. I'm sorry to say this but minelab has been one of the worst companies to deal with on customer service in my experience and just about every person I know who owns one.
Is it a good price?..sure
Is it a good machine?..yes
Would I worry about future issues?..yes
Kellyco Minelab repair is still working on them and will continue to do so... they are still repairing the old Minelab sword and it is 20 years old..
 

Detector Wars

Sr. Member
Nov 26, 2008
299
38
No, it is not worth the SE. I had one, (now I have the Explorer 2), nothing is worth the SE, save your money.
 

J hoss

Jr. Member
Nov 1, 2014
63
20
Western Ky
Detector(s) used
Xterra 705
Primary Interest:
Metal Detecting
Hunting here in Western Kentucky I don't think you would gain enough to justify the money JMHO
 

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