Man-o-man! Now I'm starting to drive MYSELF crazy. As soon as I neared a decision, I got sucked into other MDs: The XP Deus, Teknetics T2, Fisher F75, alongside the Minelab E-Trac and White's Spectra V3i (and even the Garrett AT Pro)!
I just don't want buyer's remorse (I don't want to outgrow something quickly, like perhaps the AT Pro).
What to do? What to do?!
LOL
Sorry for the rambling and indecisiveness! Ha!
-Aaron
You haven't seen the half of it. Minelab is coming out with two new machines sometime late this month. Makro is coming out with a new water-proof machine. Teknetics has the Patriot (a refaced Fisher F70) for $399 and Fisher has the F75 for $500. Nokta has the Impact - a machine that seems to be tearing it up for those who own one. Quest - a newer company - has a couple of machines out that seem to be doing quite well in Europe. Whites has their latest machine - the MX7 - that users swear by, and Garrett has the AT Max. Then there's Tesoro with their die-hard fans and of course the XP Deus and all of its capabilities. There are other brands - that I've failed to mention - that all have their share of success too.
That's why I firmly believe that only you can decide which machine is the right machine for you. Pick any of the machines mentioned (or those not mentioned) and it will help you find the good stuff; providing you take the time to learn that machine. The least expensive machine I own (Tesoro Compadre - about $150 new) finds something good pretty much every time I use it. It is all about getting the coil over a target and knowing what the machine is telling you. I've hunted the same areas that people with far more expensive machines have hunted (including me, with my more expensive machines) and still found good items with that little Compadre. Maybe the other machines didn't get a coil over those targets? I can't honestly say one way or the other, but I do know the Compadre excels at finding things up close to posts, trees, buildings, etc..
Some machines are made to excel at one thing or another; other machines are made to be good general machines (but they don't excel at any one aspect). That's why so many people suggest you figure out what it is that you'll hunt for - and then pick a machine suitable for that task. Once that decision has been made, you'll need to decide which coils will be needed for your purpose(s).
Ask the board which machine is best for finding silver coins and you'll likely get 20 different answers (or more) - and all of them will be correct/wrong. I am convinced that there is no one best machine, but there most certainly is a best machine for you. Which machine that is will depend upon what you're hunting, how the machine feels, how you relate to that machine, and your willingness to learn that machine.
Many of us learned that the hard way - buying the latest and greatest machines only to discover that we didn't really like that machine, so we sold it and tried another. Some of us - me - are slow learners and had to repeat that process several times. That's why I urge you to test out as many different machines as you can - swing them, change the tones, the sensitivity, ground balance them and see how each machine responds to a target. You'll find one or two that really talk to you - from there your choice becomes much easier. Don't get caught up in buying the brand - buy the machine that fits you best.
For me, part of the fun is hunting for the right machine. I'm brand loyal in the sense that I like Whites machines because they fit me well. I like Tesoro too, and Fisher, and Teknetics, and... etc... They all work, they'll all find the good stuff - it's up to me to figure out which machine(s) work best for me.
The last thing I'll mention is the fact that user ability matters more than the machine. An expert, using the Compadre, will out hunt a novice using the CTX 3030 (or Etrac, or V3i, or F75, etc..). I'm not knocking the Compadre - it's a great machine at a great price. Nor am I knocking the CTX 30303 - it is an outstanding machine with tons of finds. The point is that the user is the most important aspect - the tool used is secondary.
My advice is worth what you paid for it - more or less.
