XTerra 70 vs. MXT revisited

[Willy]

Was up on the Coquihalla a few days ago with my XTerra 70 and my buddy Cliff had his trusty ol' MXT. We decided to do a little test with a 3-4 grain nugget and one of about 0.2 grain. Both detectors, initially, had the 5x10-ish elliptical coils mounted. I buried the nugget about 1.5" in ground reading about 80 on the MXT's VDI. Both detectors could see the nugget when the sensitivity was ramped up (MXT at boost and XT70 about 25) and at max settings (MXT in Hypersat too) they could get it to about 1.5" in the air. The MXT gave a more distinct audio signal than the XT70, which I preferred. The XT70 signal was rather 'soft' sounding and would be more difficult to differentiate in the field. I then switched to the All-metal Disc. mode and right away noticed that the MXT had a distinct edge here. Yet again, maxing out the sensitivity, the MXT gave the better response, but this time more so. This all changed when trying to detect the 0.2 grain nugget. The XT70 with sensitivity maxed could just barely see it (basically on the coil) and would take a trained ear to hear it in the field.. while the MXT needed the 3x7" coil to barely hear it.
This makes for some campfire conversation, and so does something else I found out. The MXT ground tracking is markedly superior to that of the XT70. Going over the same ground at the jade mine, the MXT was basically rock solid running with both sensitivity and SAT maxed out. The XT70, on the other hand, kept losing the track and couldn't track back fast enough to avoid some wild 'overshoot' sounds and sounding off when the coil wasn't kept at a rather constant distance from the ground. I was rather embarrassed, to say the least. It was somewhat better with the tracking disabled, but the considerably slower SAT speed still caused problems.
Well, that about wraps it up. My conclusions are that while the XT70 has the edge in sensitivity, the MXT is a better prospecting unit in tough ground. On the other hand, and I've said this before, the XT70 leaves the MXT in the dust when it comes to coin hunting and 'features'. ..Willy.

 

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[BamaBill]

To add to your last statement about the XT-70 being a better coin shooter, I would like to add a heretical statement of, I really think the XT-70 is a better relic hunting machine too. With a bigger coil you might get more depth out of an MXT, but for hunting in a junky area (old homesites for instance) I prefer my XT-70 to the MXT hands down and lot of times I'm finding out that these kind of sites are what still have some relics mixed in, due to people giving up on them in the past. I just find myself digging more of my signals because its easier to tell what I have under the coil. I've seen it written the X-terra 70 is a beginner machine and if that is I'll stay a beginner for a while as this machine is doing what I want it to do.

 

[Willy]

Hey, I noticed that you use an f70.. what do you think of it? Put up against the XT70, how do the 2 detectors compare? I've been thinking about getting one 'cause, despite using it for quite a while now, I REALLY hate the audio on the XT70. I like a more 'ratty' sound (think electric guitar), not the 'flutie' sound (think woodwinds or a recorder) of the XT70. Also, it's just time for a change. ...Willy.

 

[BamaBill]

You know I'll PM you with my answer, since there are some people on these forums that would defend a machine like it was their first born.