This is another of those apples vs oranges things.
The MXT and DFX are very different machines. In fact I’d be chary to make comparisons at all. The DFX is a multi-frequency unit and is infinitely adjustable. It offers the “tweaker” all sorts of input. Of course, this lends itself to all sorts of mis-adjustments, too, if you aren’t careful.
The MXT, on the other hand, has a fairly simple control suite and operates on a single frequency that is a compromise – it’s 13,889 hz transmit freq is pretty good for gold, pretty good for coins and pretty good for relics. It was designed to be pretty good at all three of these things.
But you probably knew all that if you are asking your questions in the first place. Here’s a few MXT factoids I found out recently that may not be as well known to you.
1. The MXT is actually a gold/prospecting machine at heart. Unlike other coin-specific or relic-specific machines the MXT offers a bona-fide, dedicated prospecting mode. This puts it in a different league than either the DFX or XLT, right out of the gate. More will be said about the gold machine connection in a few moments.
2. At least one knowledgeable person has said that the MXT is deeper seeking than either the DFX or the XLT. This is due to the extreme gain offered by the MXT’s gold seeking lineage. The other two "E"-series detectors from White's just don’t have that same level of gain on tap. This gold field ancestry will be discussed more in just a minute, I promise. Hang in there. :P
Okay, so there is a lot of gain, which normally means greater detection depth, all things being equal. The trade off is that the MXT is noisy – chattery and “talky,” as if there is a lot going on. That’s the other side of it... there IS a lot going on.
3. While the operator interface is indeed pretty simple on the MXT, it is actually a rather sophisticated instrument. The MXT started out life as a brand new sort of gold hunting machine at White’s, what we know today as the GMT.
All functions were to be done in software in real-time with that original design, so things like ground balancing, SAT and the other functions needed in the extreme conditions of western gold fields were internalized, and essentially automated.
To hear White's tell it, these things were being managed in a drastically different way than ever before. In fact, the work on the GMT led to BOTH the DFX and the MXT.
However, this same software-driven concept carried over into the MXT in a different way. Discrimination, which has traditionally followed an analog model (usually with accompanying analog circuitry), is now done using the model of the original gold machine in the MXT. So what does THAT mean??
In practical terms, this means that the discrimination programming wants to recognize and keep as good many low-end, even questionable, targets that the DFX (or XLT) doesn’t want to recognize. So add increased receive gain to the audio acceptance of iffy targets and you get a detector that is inherently noisy during use. It’s a trade off, as I said.
Which is best for you? In my opinion, it depends on three things:
A. How techno-gadget happy are you? If multi level menus and tons of user control features are what you like most, then the DFX could be the ticket for you.
B. Do you like the in-use "interface" of knob controls? If you are more of a turn-on-and-go type person who wants sophistication coupled with on-the-fly user ease, then the MXT might fit your style.
C. Just how tied to "ultimate depth" are you? The MXT will have it, due the gain advantage - but at the cost of more noise during operation. Many have chosen this path and are happy with it, so it is something you can learn to adapt to.
The decisions are yours; the products are out there waiting for you to make your selection.
Is this a great country, or what?
) I have never done any salt water beach hunting with the MXT, but have heard both pro and con about it. As for coins and relics, I believe it is a great machine. I don't believe it is a turn on and go detector. You will have to learn the machine and practice with it. I have over 500 hours on mine and still learn a new trick now and then. If you don't need the extra bells and whistles, I believe you will be very happy with the MXT.
