Sovereign line

[foiled_again]

I'm thinking of picking up a used Sovereign, mainly for salt and freshwater beach use. I'd appreciate it if someone could recap the entire series...what improvements were made with each model, are there some to avoid, is there a best, can old ones be repaired, is the GT as clumsy as it looks. I'm not a fan of overweight detectors but have a Detecting Buddy so weight is not an overriding consideration any more. I'm not really looking at it for grass use but it would be compatible with my current style (dig everything and wonder why there are do many zinc pennies and pull tabs).

 

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[Irishgoldhound]

I've been wanting the same machine and out of the sovereigns the old Elite seems to be the best for any of the used sovereign detectors from what I've been reading and reviewing. Lots of good feed back on the Elite series and I just read that apparently Minelab will still service and fix them.

 

[Sandman]

The Sov GT is the favorite of many that hunt the salt water beaches. I neck mount mine an if it was waterproof it would be the best out there. The Excal works the same way but lacks a lot of features the GT has.

 

[NeilinFR]

I'm thinking of picking up a used Sovereign, mainly for salt and freshwater beach use. I'd appreciate it if someone could recap the entire series...what improvements were made with each model, are there some to avoid, is there a best, can old ones be repaired, is the GT as clumsy as it looks. I'm not a fan of overweight detectors but have a Detecting Buddy so weight is not an overriding consideration any more. I'm not really looking at it for grass use but it would be compatible with my current style (dig everything and wonder why there are do many zinc pennies and pull tabs).

Its been awhile but the line went something like:
the Sovereign which was the original
Sovereign XS
Sovereign XS2
Sovereign XSpro
Sovereign Elite
Sovereign GT

the original though the XSpro/XS2 were the black box design and I believe those are the ones that are iffy on parts. They take each unit on an individual basis Im told.
The Elite and GT got the new battery system and control housing. Basically they are all the same with some minor variances like iron mask being able to be dismantled, freq switch for hunting side by side with another Sov, tone fix/variable switch and so on. For me it was best the way the XS was setup which was really basic with just an all metal/disc toggle and the usual knobs that are on all sovs. But the Elite and GT came out with a longer lasting battery pack but............now a few companies make long lasting batteries for the earlier models also so I would think of the early ones as being disposables and the Elite and GT as repairable. So whatever your comfortable with, they all give great performance....and with so many coil options.....a really nice unit that I wish minelab had not discontinued, but rather improved like they did with the explorer series........seems like minelabs energies/research are all going into the gold machines.

 

[Minas man]

There is one model that is not in the list that was just given.
Sovereign xs-2a pro
Minelab has a list of all its discontinued Sovereigns on its website.
Early model sovereigns coils were not water proof.

Minelab

 

[NeilinFR]

There is one model that is not in the list that was just given.
Sovereign xs-2a pro
Minelab has a list of all its discontinued Sovereigns on its website.
Early model sovereigns coils were not water proof.

Minelab

Only the 8" and 10" coinsearch coils were not waterproof. The Seasearch coil which was stock on the Excal, was an option for the Sov and was waterproof. Available the same time as the coinsearch coils.

 

[Fletch88]

I've been wanting the same machine and out of the sovereigns the old Elite seems to be the best for any of the used sovereign detectors from what I've been reading and reviewing. Lots of good feed back on the Elite series and I just read that apparently Minelab will still service and fix them.

FYI, there's an Elite on Fleabay right now that looks decent.

 

[penzfan]

I found a GREAT deal on a 6 month old GT today from a local TH Club Member and can't WAIT to hit the beaches again!!!

I'm thinking of picking up a used Sovereign, mainly for salt and freshwater beach use. I'd appreciate it if someone could recap the entire series...what improvements were made with each model, are there some to avoid, is there a best, can old ones be repaired, is the GT as clumsy as it looks. I'm not a fan of overweight detectors but have a Detecting Buddy so weight is not an overriding consideration any more. I'm not really looking at it for grass use but it would be compatible with my current style (dig everything and wonder why there are do many zinc pennies and pull tabs).

 

[Fletch88]

Congratulations on your new machine! It's one of my all time favorites!

 

[goodmore]

I have used 5 different models of the Sovereign. I have never really seen any performance difference in any of the boxes. The GT has a few more bells and whistles, but it isn't any deeper than an Elite or XS-2a or any other. There is a difference in coils, and the shaft sure improved, but my opinion is Minelab packaged the same detector for all those years in different containers. Minelab will service the GT. But those black box ones have their own benefit. If you take a wave or it gets wet you are probably only out 250.00. I wanted to get a dry sand detector to compliment the CTX. After a bunch of research I ended up with another XS-2a. It seems when I dry sand hunt I dip down into the wet stuff if it looks good. I still think the Sovereign is just great in the wet sand. And I don't think I could get the performance I want out of any single frequency detector.

 

[penzfan]

Thanks Fletch. May have to pick your brain from time to time...