X-Terra Elite or Triple Score?

[UncleDude]

Hi everyone. I still lurk around these forums and am revisiting my desire to try detecting as a hobby after a few derailments. I've currently narrowed my search down to the X-Terra Elite (non Expedition Pack) and Triple Score Pro Pack but can't really decide. This is about the price point I can do right now (was originally preferring closer to 400). From what I've read and videos I've watched they are basically equal performance-wise. So is it better to go with the TS because I'd get a second coil (12" and 9.5") or should I go with the XTE? Is there enough of a difference in depth or separation between a 12" and 9.5" coil? I've seen a lot of Minelab recommendations the last few years to lean towards them, but that's more persuasion than my own technical conclusion.

I don't live in SoCal anymore so [ocean] beach detecting wouldn't likely happen as much (but definitely possible), but there are several parks, rivers, and lakes in my general vicinity so being able to detect wet and dry is important. Jewelry, coins, and relics are the primary items I'd be looking for. I also want to detect around my new house, which isn't very old, but you never know (plus as a bonus maybe I can use it to find any pipes when I start some major landscaping work 😂)

Or maybe there's a big reason to do the expedition pack for the X-Terra (that would come with a 12" and 8")? I could wait a little longer and try to save a bit more if there's a compelling reason to do that.

 

[vpnavy]

... narrowed my search down to the X-Terra Elite (non Expedition Pack) and Triple Score Pro Pack but can't really decide...

You might consider browsing BRANDS > MINELAB and BRANDS > NOKTA DETECTORS for additional research. Additionally, you might consider posting your question on METAL DETECTING FORUM > BRANDS for additional exposure...

 

[UncleDude]

You might consider browsing BRANDS > MINELAB and BRANDS > NOKTA DETECTORS for additional research. Additionally, you might consider posting your question on METAL DETECTING FORUM > BRANDS for additional exposure...

I think additional research would be bad at this point, I'm already in information overload and kind of impressed I have it narrowed down to 2, haha. I think I'm now leaning toward the Nokta because of all the other items...

 

[AstralDruid]

My recent purchase of a Nokta Legend has put me right off the brand.. Minelab is just better.

 

[Terry Soloman]

Either machine, get one, get out there, and get you some!

 

[Sand Swinger]

I recently picked up an X-Terra Elite Expedition pack to augment my Minelab Sovereign Elite, which I've been using on the beach for over 10 years, so I'm a Minelab guy. I haven't used a Triple Score so I can't offer a comparison of the two.

But for the X-Terra Elite, I'd recommend the Expedition pack if at all possible. If you just go with the X-Terra Elite (non expedition pack), you only get the detector and included 12" coil. You also get a free Pro Find 40 pinpointer. But you don't get the wireless headphones and 8" coil that you'd get with the Expedition pack.

The X-Terra Elite has a proprietary headphone connector, so it's not like you can plug in any ole' headphones you might already have. You'd had to buy a Minelab adapter in order to be able to use other brands of headphones. And if you don't happen to already have headphones, you'd need to buy those as well. IMHO, it would be much better and cost effective to go with the X-Terra Expedition Pack to get the wireless headphones and extra 8" coil. That 8" coil will come in hand in trashy areas, and you'll also get a free Pro Find 40 pinpointer as well.

 

[UncleDude]

I ended up talking myself into the Elite with the Expedition pack (and thanks to Bart for offering a great deal). After considering the coils I decided on having the most separation and ease of navigating since I might end up in some rocky areas and it should be easier to swing in the water. Also because so many people I've see on here, youtube, and other places really prefer and speak highly of Minelab. Not that I see anything bad per se about Nokta, it's just Minelab really stands out as a preference.

Thank you to everyone who responded here or to my DMs. I really appreciate it!

 

[Paul Revere’s Ghost]

Hi everyone. I still lurk around these forums and am revisiting my desire to try detecting as a hobby after a few derailments. I've currently narrowed my search down to the X-Terra Elite (non Expedition Pack) and Triple Score Pro Pack but can't really decide. This is about the price point I can do right now (was originally preferring closer to 400). From what I've read and videos I've watched they are basically equal performance-wise. So is it better to go with the TS because I'd get a second coil (12" and 9.5") or should I go with the XTE? Is there enough of a difference in depth or separation between a 12" and 9.5" coil? I've seen a lot of Minelab recommendations the last few years to lean towards them, but that's more persuasion than my own technical conclusion.

I don't live in SoCal anymore so [ocean] beach detecting wouldn't likely happen as much (but definitely possible), but there are several parks, rivers, and lakes in my general vicinity so being able to detect wet and dry is important. Jewelry, coins, and relics are the primary items I'd be looking for. I also want to detect around my new house, which isn't very old, but you never know (plus as a bonus maybe I can use it to find any pipes when I start some major landscaping work 😂)

Or maybe there's a big reason to do the expedition pack for the X-Terra (that would come with a 12" and 8")? I could wait a little longer and try to save a bit more if there's a compelling reason to do that.

I can’t believe I’m seeing this. I’ve been a beach / dive hunter for 30ish years. Always PI technology. Never been impressed with the new machines weighing in their performance vs price. Until now. The xterra elite is a game changer. I actually committed to selling my prize Beretta 92 Inox 9 to a friend last night to come up with the cash. I was watching comparison videos til midnight. I never heard of the Triple Score until last night when Jon on Soflo hunting YouTube traded one of his machines for one. So looking forward to a sale and a purchase next week. Still a little research to do on options for the elite. Do I want 2 coils? Do I want wired or BT headphones? I have to be on a flight to Myrtle Beach in a few hours. If the bride catches me reading this she’ll brain me but I’ll be reading it at the gate.

 

[Sand Swinger]

I can’t believe I’m seeing this. I’ve been a beach / dive hunter for 30ish years. Always PI technology. Never been impressed with the new machines weighing in their performance vs price. Until now. The xterra elite is a game changer. I actually committed to selling my prize Beretta 92 Inox 9 to a friend last night to come up with the cash. I was watching comparison videos til midnight. I never heard of the Triple Score until last night when Jon on Soflo hunting YouTube traded one of his machines for one. So looking forward to a sale and a purchase next week. Still a little research to do on options for the elite. Do I want 2 coils? Do I want wired or BT headphones? I have to be on a flight to Myrtle Beach in a few hours. If the bride catches me reading this she’ll brain me but I’ll be reading it at the gate.

Contact Bart at Big Boy Hobbies for a great deal. I'd go with the X-Terra Elite Expedition pack, the extra 8" coil will come in handy in trashy areas, also easier to swing in water, and you'll get wireless headphones to boot. Minelab also has waterproof headphones available separately. If you act quickly, you might be able to get in on a promotion they've been running, where you'll also get their new Pro-Find 40 pinpointer which sells for about $149. If I recall, getting the expedition pack saves about $289 or so if you bought everything separately.

 

[Paul Revere’s Ghost]

I recently picked up an X-Terra Elite Expedition pack to augment my Minelab Sovereign Elite, which I've been using on the beach for over 10 years, so I'm a Minelab guy. I haven't used a Triple Score so I can't offer a comparison of the two.

But for the X-Terra Elite, I'd recommend the Expedition pack if at all possible. If you just go with the X-Terra Elite (non expedition pack), you only get the detector and included 12" coil. You also get a free Pro Find 40 pinpointer. But you don't get the wireless headphones and 8" coil that you'd get with the Expedition pack.

The X-Terra Elite has a proprietary headphone connector, so it's not like you can plug in any ole' headphones you might already have. You'd had to buy a Minelab adapter in order to be able to use other brands of headphones. And if you don't happen to already have headphones, you'd need to buy those as well. IMHO, it would be much better and cost effective to go with the X-Terra Expedition Pack to get the wireless headphones and extra 8" coil. That 8" coil will come in hand in trashy areas, and you'll also get a free Pro Find 40 pinpointer as well.

Just bought the same. Eventually my Surfmaster PI will break and parts won’t be available. Love both machines.

 

[flintstone]

Guys, Think back and is all these new detectors doing much better than what we have been useing for the last 10 or 15 years? I have some of the new detectors to, but i find my self going back to my old MXT, or DFX. What other than wireless headphones has changed? Might be a little lighter, what else do they do? flintstone Tell the truth, ha ha

 

[Sand Swinger]

Guys, Think back and is all these new detectors doing much better than what we have been useing for the last 10 or 15 years? I have some of the new detectors to, but i find my self going back to my old MXT, or DFX. What other than wireless headphones has changed? Might be a little lighter, what else do they do? flintstone Tell the truth, ha ha

Overall, depending on which old detectors we're talking about, the detectors of today will smoke the majority of detectors 10-15 years ago. I've had a bunch of detectors going back to 1968/69. First was a Heathkit BFO, then around 1971, we upgraded to a Whites Coinmaster IV (VLF). Then it was on to a Fisher 1220X, Garrett AT Pro & ACE 350. But then, I got a few Minelab Sovereigns (XS-2 Pro, XS-2a Pro, Elite). I've been using the Sov Elite for over 10+ years, primarily on the beach.

The Sov's are BBS and SMF detectors. They were SMF before someone came up with the term SMF, as the Sov uses 17 frequencies, same as the Minelab Excalibur, which most say is a waterproof Sovereign. I recently picked up a Minelab X-Terra Elite, which is also an SMF detector. These days, most detector manufacturers are now making SMF detectors. But 10-15 years ago, most detectors were SF, except for the Minelab's and I think White's had a detector that used 2 frequencies. Then of course, we also had PI's.

So, if you compare today's SMF detectors against my old Sovereign or an Excalibur, there may or may not be a big difference, as my Sovereign is a deep beast on the beach. Personally, I don't care if my new X-Terra Elite detects deeper than my Sov, because my Sov goes so deep with my 12x10 & 15x12 SEF Butterfly coils, that my arms already ache from digging so much sand, lol. If you compare today's SMF detectors against an older PI, again, it might be close or maybe the PI might still win out in certain conditions.

But if you compare today's SMF detectors against older SF VLF detectors, whether they're Garrett, White's, Fisher, or another brand, there's no doubt in my mind that SMF detectors will blow the older SF detectors away. My Sov detects far deeper than any SF VLF detector I've owned, and for the beach, SMF detectors have the ability to search the wet sand and salt water, where a SF detector will be screaming like a cat that just had its tail stepped on.

 

[Slowtaknow]

I picked up a Xterra pro for under $300 and it works fine on the beach, would a multi frequency detector give better accuracy, yes, do you need it when you're going to dig everything anyway, no. I have the simplex plus and Xterra pro for beach and the winner between them is the Xterra pro, the tones are better, the red screen is cool, the coil is lighter, and it works way better on the beach in beach 2 mode. The simplex plus was always too chatty on the beach, you would have to crank down the sensitivity way to low to find anything deep, I crank up the sensitivity on the Xterra pro with little to no chatter and the pleasant tones make that bearable.

 

[Sand Swinger]

I picked up a Xterra pro for under $300 and it works fine on the beach, would a multi frequency detector give better accuracy, yes, do you need it when you're going to dig everything anyway, no. I have the simplex plus and Xterra pro for beach and the winner between them is the Xterra pro, the tones are better, the red screen is cool, the coil is lighter, and it works way better on the beach in beach 2 mode. The simplex plus was always too chatty on the beach, you would have to crank down the sensitivity way to low to find anything deep, I crank up the sensitivity on the Xterra pro with little to no chatter and the pleasant tones make that bearable.

I've heard that the X-Terra Pro's work very well on the beach, even on wet sand. That's unusual for a SF detector to be able to handle wet saltwater, but I don't think the X-Terra Pro is a typical SF detector. We also have to consider the overall electronics of the detector. Even though the Pro can only use 1 frequency at a time, the overall electronics are much more advanced than a single frequency detector 10-15 years ago, so I think the X-Terra Pro would also smoke older SF detectors.

Personally, I've been saying for some time that I think the Pro, Elite, NOX 700 & 900 are all basically the same detector. If you look at the specs for each detector, they're almost identical, with the exception of a few features. For instance, the NOX 900's sensitivity goes up to 28, where all the others go up to 25. That's no biggie because I'm always lowering sensitivity depending on conditions, never running full out, so extra sensitivity is an additional feature that I wouldn't use. There are other minute feature differences between each of the detectors, basically expanded ranges for some of the functions, but I believe the guts of the detectors are either the same, or virtually the same, with the main difference being in the programming of each machine.

That said, I think the X-Terra Pro is a modified version of the X-Terra Elite. The Pro can operate at either 5, 10, 15 kHz, or 8 kHz on the beach, 1 frequency at a time. The X-Terra Elite is using multi frequencies at the same time, with the option of running in single frequency mode at 15 kHz. There are multiple frequencies that can be selected on the Pro, so multiple frequencies are already there for the operator to select, so I would say that it's basically a multi-frequency detector, you just can't use all the frequencies at the same time. IMHO, I think Minelab took the X-Terra Elite, modified the programming of the firmware to restrict the detector to only be able to use 1 selectable frequency at a time, and then they had the X-Terra Pro.

A lot of manufacturers design products this way. They start with the highest end model, with all the possible bells & whistles, then they cut or restrict some of the features to create lower end models. This way, they can design 1 machine, then use that 1 machine to create additional lower price-point models. It's the same in the auto industry. I have a Ford F-150 XLT. They have some F-150 higher end models that can cost $70K or $80K with all the creature comforts, moon roofs, leather seats, 18 speaker sound systems, etc., but those trucks are all the same truck that I have, mine just doesn't have all the bells & whistles and creature comforts that the higher-end models have.