Any new info on the Whites MX5?

[Newfiehunter]

Any new info on the White's MX5?

The MX5 has been out for awhile now and there hasn't been many reviews on it, especially in the field. Phillip in NM gave a very good review and his thoughts of the machine which were very helpful. There is a couple of videos on Youtube with air tests but nothing with regards to use in the field. It seems like a great unit with excellent features, but I'm wondering if there are any bugs that need to be worked out, especially when a new detector is released. I'm sure there are other members who would like to know more about it also. Wonder will it replace the M6 since it is close to the price range? From what I've seen so far, it is on my list of detectors for this year!

 

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[luvsdux]

I'd like to know more, also. I've got the Prizm 6T which is similar, but I also have an MXT with 4 Coils and the new baby is compatible with the MXT, DFX, M6 Etc. coils.
luvsdux

 

[treasurecoasteric]

The new Lost Treasure Magazine has a full MX5 review as well as field test.....should answer any questions you've got.

Sent from my BNTV600 using TreasureNet

 

[Monolyth]

The MX5 has been out for awhile now and there hasn't been many reviews on it, especially in the field. Phillip in NM gave a very good review and his thoughts of the machine which were very helpful. There is a couple of videos on Youtube with air tests but nothing with regards to use in the field. It seems like a great unit with excellent features, but I'm wondering if there are any bugs that need to be worked out, especially when a new detector is released. I'm sure there are other members who would like to know more about it also. Wonder will it replace the M6 since it is close to the price range? From what I've seen so far, it is on my list of detectors for this year!

Just got in my whites mx5 and put it through its paces both on and off the field. Here is what I've found:

Depth- In my highly mineralized soil the deepest coins I found where at a measured 7"...both copper pennies with a very strong repeatable signal and good VDI. At that depth it ID'd better than my at pro and about the same as my F75 ltd. In air tests it outperformed my at pro and was beat out by my f75.

Coils- I tried out the stock coil and the D2 and surprisingly I could get better depth with the stock coil in air test. My figures where comparitve to Bills earlier tests. Both coils pinpoint well in their own way. The stock coil performed surprisingly well in the field...I think this is because of whites great autotrack which helped it cope with mineralization and ground changes although it did suffer in some trashier sites where the D2 excelled. The only negative thing I can say about the D2 ( I love DD coils) is that it is very nose heavy on this detector and you wont want to swing it very long....In comparison you could swing the stock coil all day long effortlessly.

Recovery speed- This is a very fast machine. It is faster than my at pro and very comparitve to my f75ltd. Which allowed me to swing without fear in some trashier sites without a smaller coil available.

ID in nickel range- In 8 tone I did notice a wavering sometimes between 2 tones on nickel range targets but still with a consistent VDI. In 2 tone or single the tone is strong and unbroken. This has been brought up by others so I thought I would adresss it.

Interaction with pinpointers- I brought my profind on the hunt and it makes this detector go bonkers. Luckily it just takes a second to put the detector in "suspend" mode and you can pinpoint without the machine howling In your ears. I also used my sunray probe and even with the detector on max sens and a healthy threshold it performed without any distortion or problems.

Display- Easy to read and very intuitive with easy to reach buttons and a uncomplicated menu system. I enjoyed the backlite function in the early morning part of our hunt.

Ground Balance- I have always been a fan of units with autoground tracking and whites does a very good job with theirs. As fast as ground conditions change you will be missing targets unless you constantly GB or groundgrab with other detectors which is a pain to do and all the time and also makes you look at fluctuations on the screen of your detector when you should be just having fun looking for stuff. (out of balance means depth loss and potentially lost targets)

Sensitivity- I found a small gold locket at 2" with a broken chain with good ID as well as a couple of other smaller junk jewelry items which surprised me. I wasn't digging every miniscule signal from the ground like with my f75...but who really wants to..LOL.

Flaws- As others have mention...if you use 8 tone you will get a wavering signal on nickels. The place you screw in the coil cable is awkward (but how often do you do that anyways?) and the headphone jack really should be on the other side. Also their is a lack of environmental covers on the market at this time ( I bagged it for the rain). Detector does not have a stand to keep it off of the soil. After market pvc ones are available which are "OK" but would like to see whites come out with some addons for this detector. Also some units have had a issue with tone changes during pinpoint...mine did not.



Conclusion- I like it. I especially like the 2 tone ID..it fits the way I hunt. Iron gives a low tone and everything else is a high tone. I also like that when I do notch items it doesn't suffer a depth loss like other detectors Ive used. Towards the end of a hunt I like to cherry pick for silver. I wish it was waterproof like the at pro...BUT..it has some very nice features to make up for that. I also like that it retains my settings and I can just turn on and go...I have never liked units with lengthy start up procedures and constant tweaking of menu options needed for individual sites.


I know others have sold theirs already but I'm going to keep mine. I might lose an inch or two of depth in comparison to my F75 ltd but I wont be battling emi constantly like I do with that machine. Its a very fun to use detector with some horsepower and nice features....definitely not entry level class even though it looks similar to the coinmaster...its vastly superior.

This is just my personal opinion and others wont agree which is fine. Hopefully this will help someone thinking about a purchase with a little more information.

 

[Newfiehunter]

Hey Monolyth

That was a terrific review! Great info with the pros and cons! I find that magazines will only give the pros of it and neglect to mention issues the unit may have. Hope Whites resolves the tone issue, otherwise, I may pick one up. Certainly looks impressive but it did concern me that some sold it so quickly. Still relatively new yet, so I'll wait until more info is available before I decide on purchasing it. Again, thanks for the review! HHing!

 

[rainyday101]

I don't read magazine reviews either, just don't trust them. They will never say something bad about a detector in fear of losing advertising dollars.

 

[Dedley Accurate]

I got to play with one this past weekend at the gold & treasure show in Roseburg Oregon. A guy had a 5gal bucket with a PVC pipe running through the bucket about an inch above the bottom. The bucket was on a glued wood stand to keep it a foot off the floor. The bucket was full of dirt. The man had various items coins, nail, pull tab, etc glued to wood dowels. Set the detector on the dirt and he would run the dowels one at a time back and fourth through the pipe which was a great simulation. Everyone was suprised at how well the MX5 did even at that depth. It is the detector I am saving for currently.

 

[basstrackerman]

I have the mx5 and can tell you I like it better than the m6,mxt and mxtpro.. why?? well its basically an mxtpro in a fully digital lighter package more weather resistant,better stock coil, more rugged don't let the plastic housing fool you, its solid!! for me its like the perfect detector as ive always liked the mxt series detectors better than the v series.. its deep fast and really fun..

 

[chirper97]

I got to play with one this past weekend at the gold & treasure show in Roseburg Oregon. A guy had a 5gal bucket with a PVC pipe running through the bucket about an inch above the bottom. The bucket was on a glued wood stand to keep it a foot off the floor. The bucket was full of dirt. The man had various items coins, nail, pull tab, etc glued to wood dowels. Set the detector on the dirt and he would run the dowels one at a time back and fourth through the pipe which was a great simulation. Everyone was suprised at how well the MX5 did even at that depth. It is the detector I am saving for currently.

On my "make it" list. Thanks for sharing. A more inclusive version would incorporate several PVC pipes placed horizontally at 2 inch depth increments, enabling experimentation with various depths of the bucket of dirt.

A lazy operator may skip the dowels and pvc pipe, and simply place the tested item(s) under the bucket(s) of dirt.

For home testing, I would have 4 diverse soil samples in separate buckets.

Of course in this testing technique, we lose the metal oxidation footprint.

 

[falconman515]

Any further info on this machine.

I am ready to pull the trigger soon on a Garrett AT Pro (spring special kit with all the extras) ....

But I have always liked Whites and I want to know more about this rig as compared to the ATP.

Thanks so much.


I did find this as well but would love to hear more .... http://forums.whiteselectronics.com/showthread.php?70068-MX5-Quick-Look-Field-Test-Update

 

[treasurecoasteric]

All I can say is that in my opinion, Whites are better built. They are built like tanks right here in the USA and last forever. Their customer service is top notch too. Personally, I like the M6 ..... you should check it out.

Sent from my BNTV600 using TreasureNet

 

[norbyx]

Well the mx5 is not built like all other whites. It's a bit cheaper, but I had the at-pro, and to me there is no comparison, the mx5 is much better. The at-pro is a mid level detector at most, and could never compete with top notch ones, whites mx5, m6, or mxt are top performing detectors that will compete with any in the market.... Don't do the mistake of buying a at-pro over the mx5...

 

[falconman515]

Norbyx .... Any further information or something whatsoever to back up this kind if claim? I just don't see it in anyway being "this superior" ... I could see them running side by side each other very well but not being such a clear cut overall winner with no way to back up that claim.

I am open to hear thoughts and opinions based on something ... How is it see the MX5 being far superior to the ATP?

 

[norbyx]

Just for one factor that the ground tracking of the whites is the best in the market, at-pro needed ground balance every 10ft in rough terrain. Second the whites actually works on salt water beaches while the at even if waterproof, can't find a tuna can at two inches without falsing like crazy. Also the coil selection for the whites is much more vast. Depth wise I didn't find the at pro to be any depth champion, whites M series are very deep and they ID much better than the at.
If you are a Garrett enthusiast go for the at-pro, I couldn't care less... I know that in my arsenal there is never going to be another AT.
Buy at your discretion, you like the at better get it, I won't outhunt you since we are probably at 5000 miles distance....😊😋

 

[fella]

Just for one factor that the ground tracking of the whites is the best in the market, at-pro needed ground balance every 10ft in rough terrain.

But you CAN ground balance the ATP. Not so much with MX5. If it's not ground balanced to begin with, what's the point of the tracking. I just don't get that part.

Second the whites actually works on salt water beaches while the at even if waterproof, can't find a tuna can at two inches without falsing like crazy.

So w/o a ground balancing feature the MX5 is vastly superior to an ATP in salty conditions? OK! It is true that some, I REPEAT…SOME some beaches are a problem for the ATP. Some not. ANY single freq vlf is going to struggle in those conditions. Period!
Lots of ATP users have no issues on their beaches some do. When I lived in Fresno the salt beaches there were at a minimum. Has that changed Falconman?

Also the coil selection for the whites is much more vast.

Yep that's is true. But still, you can have large and small DD's as well as large & small concentrics. What else ya need? So we'll call this a non issue!

Depth wise I didn't find the at pro to be any depth champion, whites M series are very deep and they ID much better than the at.

Yep I'd agree with the green part. With like size coils the E-series (now M-series) were deeper. However ID, particularlly tone ID I didn't find the Whites to be superior in any way. In fact I always found tone ID to be one of the ATPs strengths.


So my and norbyx's views and experiences differ. I don't think you'll ever get more than one person to agree when opinions/experiences are asked for.

 

[falconman515]

Thanks for your thoughts guys.

Seems I mostly get "Mine is better then yours" kinda replies for the most part.

Everything one guy says cause they own that machine is rebutted against someone else who owns the other.

I think NO DOUBT 100% the AT Pro vs. the MX5 is just as good as each other ... it's all in how much time you put into the machine.

For someone to say things about the AT Pro like stated above didn't take the time to learn the machine I wouldn't think as most of that info at least from I have read is false.

It's hard to say what is false or not on the MX5 cause there is not mush information floating around about it seems like.

It's so funny to see a reply of certain rigs cause they are partial and own them ... I guess in that case that's where you get the bashing of the "other guy" a lot of the time.

Hell I guess when I won a certain machine in the near future I will b partial as well and may defend it, who knows.

I do appreciate all the feedback though ... it's sometimes good to battle about what machine is better then another to get down to the brass tacks of it and really uncover things that's other may not realize.

In this case though I think it's a fair battle and I doubt any guy who takes the time to learn what they own will do any worse then the other guy that owns The Other machine (as long as they are in the same class and price range).