E Series vs. Spectra V3

[MikeSD]

I used to own a DFX E Series, with 10" and 12" coils. Seems to me at the time that bigger was better on coils.

But now the Spectra V3 is more costly and smaller coil. I'm just wondering if the color display warrants the higher cost (or more correctly is worth the extra cost). Is the V3 that much better than the E Series, aside from the color display?

Is the smaller coil better on this model? Seems like a move backwards.

 

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[James57]

I just compared some coils on my V3 yesterday. I tested it on various targets buried in my garden. (silver quarter, dime, large cent, large 10k gold ring, musketball, dime-sized 18k gold pendant) My soil is really mineralized -when I check the ground, the V3 says that "Best Rx" is 2-4. I had it cranked up to 13 with discrimination set to 85. I was just testing a patch in my garden.

The D2 coil (10" DD) was good on all targets. It was a bit weaker on the musketball and gold pendant. The VDI jumped around more on these targets. The Super 12 was good on all targets. Both of those coils were V3-tuned. I had an older 1400DD on my DFX and I tested it on the V3 too. The 1400DD is not V3-tuned and it is a few years old. It actually did better than the other 2 coils because the VDI was steady for all targets. I was surprised. Whites does not have a V3-tuned 1400 yet.

The V3 showed that the signal loss in soil was around 20% for the D2 coil and the Super 12, best Rx was 4. For the non-V3 1400, the signal loss was 44% and best Rx was 2. I didn't use Tx boost for any of these coils because of my soil conditions.

 

[binky711r]

i had been looking to invest into a MD for some time now doing the research, forums and such debating between the DFX and the V3. for me it was a matter of just few the dfx while being tried and true little cheaper, the v3 better technology, updated, more bells and whistles. this was the kicker to push me over the hump the dfx is a 15 year old MD to the v3 only turning 1 year this month, so in 10 years the dfx will be 25yo vs the v3 being 11 that is my thought process. if you have the few extra bucks money worth spent. hope this helps

 

[mainer]

The DFX is a fine detector. It would take a great detector to top it. Not sure if the V3 is better or not, I guess time will tell. The new features are neat. But I don't rely on a screen so the color display isnt somthing that would sell me.

 

[RWJR13]

The SV3 is much more user friendly than the DFX......I didn't want to get rid of mine last year but was glad after I did....The extra's on the SV3 DO make a difference on seeing what's in the ground....Especially the analyze mode.....very nice...