I have both. I have owned the V3i for a little over a year and the CTX for around six months. They are both excellent detectors, neither one is clearly better than the other. In my mild soil in central Mississippi they are equal on depth in most situations. The V3i has a rather steep learning curve, but it will make you a better detectorist. The CTX is far simpler to start with as the there simply are not as many changes you can make. I truly enjoy using them both. If I had to pick only one it would be a toss up. On a budget, hands down the V3i, wanting to really explore the details that go into metal detectors and the signal processing, the V3i . If I wanted a great detector that with minimal study I could turn on and hold my own against any other, the CTX would get the nod. I do a lot of coin shooting, in the arena the CTX might be slightly easier to interpret. It also appears to do a better job of clearly separating iron targets (like nails) from good targets. More often than not its Target Trace feature will show them as two distinct targets as where the V3i will show you data from both targets without distinction ( you will see the iron VDIs along with the target VDIs at the same time) now you can run the V3i in consistency mode and it will usually "build up" the good targets VDIs and let the iron VDIs diminish. Obviously if you are relic hunting And your target might be iron you would not use this setting.
They are both well built, but I would say the CTX has a cleaner, smoother look. I really like the way the CTX coil cable runs up and through the shaft.
The tones on the V3i are superior to the CTX as you have complete control of the tones. You can assign a unique tone to every VDI as where the CTX either allows you to either assign an ascending tonal range to the targets conductivity or Fe content or you can assign 4 tones to "bins" or groups of VDIs ( my preference on the CTX)
The screen on the V3i is better, brighter and true full color. The CTX is significantly more bland.
The external speaker on the V3i is better. I frequently do not use headphones with the V3i as I can run it quiet enough as to not irritate by standers. The CTX tones are more annoying and due to its waterproof nature, headphones are almost a must. The supplied wireless headphones work well and are quite comfortable .
The CTX is waterproof to 10' which for me is not a big deal as I rarely beach hunt. It also has a built in GPS that is cool, but after a few weeks of playing with it and mapping my finds, I rarely use it now.
The CTX also allows programs to be created and saved on a Windows PC and then transferred to the machine easily. Whites really needs to catch up in this area.
The CTX is heavier but very well balanced. If I am going to be hunting all day I will sometimes use Minelabs well designed ProSwing 45 to keep my back happy.
Anyone should be quite happy with either detector!
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