I voted Minelab as my favorite....
In the 9 months I have detected I have owned:
Minelab Xterra 705 and Etrac
Fisher F2
Garrett AT Pro
Teknetics T2...
and have tried out a few friend's detectors such as:
White's M6
Tesoro Vaquero
Bounty Hunter Tracker IV (still trying to get my friend Laurie on here)
I just think Minelab is my favorite because all the detector companies seem to have great customer service, REALIZING that if they didn't, they'd be trashed online, the forums, and through word of mouth, and that speaks a lot for people looking for their first detector... or trying a new detector... from a never-bought-from-manufacturer.
Minelab just seems to be moving faster with the R&D and new-tech compared to other companies/manufacturers. The X-Terra line... changing frequencies when you change your coil as an example. I joked about 6 months ago about having GPS involved with a detector when someone posted a 'what is your wish list for a new detector?', and Minelab did it. I also own an AT Pro as a back up to my ETrac and spouted off many times 'I wish other companies made a basic water proof machine besides Garrett!' and Minelab did it with the CTX 3030 soon. I am 43 and in that generation that got to own an Atari 2600, cassette player, and had a cell phone with a battery bag, etc.... but also am appreciating the current techs like smartphones, PS3, Ipods, and online gaming, etc... I love when a company spends on R&D tech instead of trying to milk every dollar on old tech over and over.... just my honest opinion, and why Minelab is my favorite...