MXT or MXT-300

[RGS2]

Hello all.
I'm as new to MDing as you can get. Found this forum tonight & love it already. Decided to buy my first unit & have narrowed it to the MXT or the MXT-300. There is $80 difference. My goals are coin/jewelry probably 60% of the time & relics the rest. I'm convinced the MXT will work well for me but not sure about going with the 12" coil on the 300 if it might be several months before I could get another coil for "junk" areas. I live in West Virginia which is where I would do most hunting.

Thoughts on the MXT vs MXT-300? If 300 what would you recommend for a second coil?

Thanks in advance for your help.

[PENNYHUNTER]

I have a mxt and wish I would have seen the minelab x Terra 70 . I probably would have went with the minelab.

[Tin Nugget]

Get the MXT and use the extra cash towards a 6X10 DD or smaller coil. I have been swinging the MXT for 6 years now and so far nothing has come out that I would give it up for and the latest I tried was the Xterra 70. These new PI's or TDI's have my attention though. One more thing, you should not be paying more than 680.00 for a new MXT.

[Sarge]

The only difference between the MXT & 300 & DFX & 300 is the stock coil is a 12" spider as opposed to a 9.5" open center. That 12" coil can be purchased separately & used on the MXT or DFX. The converse is also true. The 9.5" can be used on the newer models.

The paint job is different I believe. I've been told that the circuitry is exactly the same between the new & old models. Save the $80 & purchase an accessory (or pay for gas to get you to a detecting site).

[johnnycat]

I have been swinging the MXT for 5 years and the 6x10 is the way to go. It does great with mineralization and does a very good job with seperation. Good luck.

[Sarge]

I got the 6X10 DD coil with my DFX 6 years ago & that became my primary coil real fast. It works great in trash & mineralized ground & if it doesn't go quite as deep as the 950 the AC Sens & Preamp Gain can be increased without loosing stability. I feel I'm not losing any depth at all.

I also have a 6" round coil that I use occassionally in very heavy trash. The loss of depth isn't even a consideration under those conditions.

I kind of wish I would have gotten the 4X6 DD instead but at that time they weren't available.

If I had more wide open trash free areas to detect I would consider the 12" Spider that comes with the 300 series detectors. That alone would give me greater depth. Right now I can't justify the extra expense since I only use the 9.5" coil about 30% of the time. I'd probably use it less if I wasn't too lazy to change the coil.