One week with the X-Terra Pro.

The Lonely Explorer

Tenderfoot
Oct 13, 2023
5
5
As a relative intermediate in this hobby, I'll start off by saying I don't know much about jack squat.


But what I do know is that this thing absolute needs a different coil. The stock 12" coil is just flat-out too big for this thing in the trash ridden parks and woods I hunt. It also seems to be a little unstable. I've dug 10-20 quarters with this thing so far, and not any really felt the same when they rang up. After reading and searching forums, I am gonna give the equinox 6" coil a chance to bring this detector to where it deserves to be.
I am completely happy with the xtp. I think with a new coil it can be beast.
 

Jan 3, 2024
11
3
I've seen many people reporting the same problem as yours, it should come with the standard 10-inch coil so it would be safer to get into tight spaces.
 

RobNC

Sr. Member
Jan 5, 2019
290
542
NC
Detector(s) used
Minelab Equinox 800 (Stock Coil)
Nokta Legend (LG30/LG24)
Minelab X-Terra Pro (Stock Coil)
Primary Interest:
Metal Detecting
I just received one late today. Other than putting it together and firing it up for some target ID checks and a very short run on 2 targets in my yard I can only pass along my very first impressions.
THE GOOD
G1- It seems to have a whole lot of raw power for what it is. Even on very low sensitivity the thing picks up very well.
G2- The construction/build quality seems to be good on it. Major improvement with the shaft assembly and locking mechanism versus Equinox 600/800. Like the fact control unit can be adjusted for "length of pull".
G3- I like the color of the control unit.
G4- Audio is actually very strong. A lot stronger than my Equinox 800. More loudness.
THE BAD
B1- It is VERY unstable on target ID. It's quite weird in that aspect. It's obvious that this is a very unrefined product in that arena. It's merely a reference point, but in reality I can see it being more of a hunt by sound detector only
B2- Iron masking seems very real on this unit, no way to adjust that. Poor separation from what I have seen so far.
B3-Will not pair up with any of my Bluetooth AptX LL headphones the Equinox will pair with. Tried the Minelab EQ pair and also a Paww unit. Neither will pair with this Xterra Pro. If Minelab neutered it/hardware blocked all other modules except the ML-85 that is a really dirty greedy thing to do. Yeah that one has me the most annoyed. But I'm not done trying yet.
B4-Pinpoint seems a bit weird.
VERY EARLY POINT OF VIEW
This is a very unrefined and savage little detector when you compare it to other units. It has raw power that allows it to reach deep into the ground but has no way of tweaking all that power for the better. Somewhat of a waste to call it Pro when in fact it is far less than a Pro Version should be. More Like XTerra Basic.

The masking problem I seen in my yard does concern me, as I know what is in the ground yet it was missing a good target due to not being able to deal with the iron close by.
That isn't a coil problem, that is an iron filter problem, a problem you have no way of adjusting to compensate for.
As mentioned above, also puzzled and sort of peeved off about the headphone pairing problem. I know how to pair wireless headphones. Most bluetooth chips are even backward compatible so this really makes me think more of an intentional hardware whitelist in play concerning wireless headphones. The nudge is sublte yet evil.. "yeah we guarantee OUR ML85's will work. And we only want over a $100 more dollars for them." The Xterra Pro loses its appeal real quick when you tack on another $100 for Wireless Heaphones. At that point you are at the $360+ zone. And there are other choices out there like the Nokta Simplex Ultra WHP.

I'm still on the fence on this one. I won't pass final judgement on it until I see how it goes in the field.
 

Top Member Reactions

Users who are viewing this thread

Top