Jump to content

Garrett AT Max Compared To AT Pro


Recommended Posts


Ok that doesn't make a lot of sense because the AT Max has the lowest operating frequency of the three AT series detectors (13.6 khz  for the Max  vs. 15 khz for the Pro vs.18 khz for the Gold) which would make it the least sensitive to gold overall.  It is like taking a flat head screwdriver and saying it works better on a phillips screw because it has a bigger handle rather than just using the right phillips head driver for the job.  In other words there are other tools more suited to the job of detecting small gold jewelry than just trying to use a detector with jacked up gain.  Perhaps it works better than the Pro for that task but the right tool might be the Gold.

  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

41 minutes ago, Chase Goldman said:

Ok that doesn't make a lot of sense because the AT Max has the lowest operating frequency of the three AT series detectors (13.6 khz  for the Max  vs. 15 khz for the Pro vs.18 khz for the Gold) which would make it the least sensitive to gold overall.  It is like taking a flat head screwdriver and saying it works better on a phillips screw because it has a bigger handle rather than just using the right phillips head driver for the job.  In other words there are other tools more suited to the job of detecting small gold jewelry than just trying to use a detector with jacked up gain.  Perhaps it works better than the Pro for that task but the right tool might be the Gold.

Hi  Chase.Skip sh13  from   Friendly      Metal detecting forum  in  Stories and pictures of finds posted it on march 20.The thread was called-Sometimes  a new area can really pay off.He seems to be a gold legend over there.Have a good day.

  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

7 minutes ago, Dances With Doves said:

Hi  Chase.Skip sh13  from   Friendly      Metal detecting forum  in  Stories and pictures of finds posted it on march 20.The thread was called-Sometimes  a new area can really pay off.He seems to be a gold legend over there.Have a good day.

Great, thanks I'll check it out.  Thanks for the reference.  If the AT MAX has a capability that other AT or non-AT detectors lack, I would be interested in that.  If he is just trying to make lemonade out of a lemon (probably an over harsh analogy) or just knows the AT Max well or is so experienced he could be successful with a pinpointer on a stick, then that is another story - .  Either way, I'll go figure it out for myself. Thanks again for the pointer.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

26 minutes ago, Chase Goldman said:

Great, thanks I'll check it out.  Thanks for the reference.  If the AT MAX has a capability that other AT or non-AT detectors lack, I would be interested in that.  If he is just trying to make lemonade out of a lemon (probably an over harsh analogy) or just knows the AT Max well or is so experienced he could be successful with a pinpointer on a stick, then that is another story - .  Either way, I'll go figure it out for myself. Thanks again for the pointer.

It would be more accurate to say  he is a ring  legend.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I have found way more gold with the AT gold then with my Xterra 70.That was because it would go in the water.I would choose the xterra and the 9inch   concentric and 6inch DD both in 18KZ over the AT   Gold any day for turf gold.I could interpret the xterra much better  for that situation.Metal detecting is a thinking game.Do things that help you  do better  and always have fun.

  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

I have used the Max a bit and packed many hours into my Pro. The Pro is slightly better on small jewelry. I can see that just about any mid range and now even the under $400 machines can pick up turf gold. Rings tend to be shallow in parks and if you don't mind working through the can slaw or digging the slaw you will just increase your odds of finding gold.. Higher frequency machines just give you more spread on the #'s in the low and mid range conductors.

I think Garrett made a good choice on frequency for the Max as it hits silver better than the other 2 machines in the model line. I do find the AT Pro and Max tricky to work through heavy iron riddled areas and if your not careful it is easy to set the iron disc too high and mask out objects.

  • Like 3
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Even though I got a lot of silver coins where a old  pier use to be.  The iron audio of the AT  Gold would  wear you out in heavy iron. I  much  prefer the soft sounds of the Nox.You have to use what you  feel comfortable       with.I like the AT when the targets are more   spread out and bottle caps in the mix.

  • Like 2
Link to comment
Share on other sites

1 hour ago, phrunt said:

I've always had an interest in the AT series after my experience with the Ace 350/Euroace, it's one very deep detector with an aftermarket coil on it, I use the Nel Tornado which is 13x12", I really didn't like the stock coil, it was useless for the depth coins are in my environment.  

It's also terrible in junky areas but in my big wide open fields it's a depth demon, especially on small silvers.... I have found a silver in my front yard with the Ace that I missed with the Equinox and 11" coil, it was an eye opener to me.   Have some junk anywhere near a coin on the Ace and it's all over and what I've seen in videos on Youtube about the AT's and it's not much different, especially the videos Calabash does.   I might take my Ace out tomorrow and see if I can find anymore silver in a place I'm really struggling to find any now.... you just never know. 

I would not be at all surprised if the AT Pro is a good detector when the right coil is fitted, you just don't hear of many people using it except those "affiliated" with Garrett.  Maybe I need to hunt around to try find some reports from actual users of it, I just don't like venturing far from this forum, it's a nasty world out there. 🙂

We'll have to see how this Apex turns out maybe Garrett is coming back into the game 🙂

  I think you  are doing good in  your coin fields.I would start by digging some iffy hits if you are starting to run out of good signals.That is how I got my gold coins. With the nox play with settings to see what   does best.Get a hit and play with the recovery setting. Do a noise cancel since silent EMI can cause   depth loss.  You can bring 2 machines and compare a signal.If you have nox try 50 tones .That move helped me a lot. You may  have  different    results.Good luck.

  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

I still have my AT Pro. The audio on that is smoother than the AT Max. Doesn't quite have the subtleties of a Tesoro but pretty close. AT's get a bad rap as people don't set their iron disc properly and run it flat out with iron audio on. There is an iron audio on/off switch for a reason and when you run in pro mode you simply use that as an iron check so the machine is basically a 2 tone machine. Recovery speed is pretty good but you can get tripped up with iron masking. In the years I have used the AT Pro it really hasn't been a major issue. AT Pro doesn't have super depth but does fairly well. I have the Nel Big and all the hours I spent swinging that and beating up my shoulder I only found 2 silver dimes in the 14" mark which is good but not really worth the effort. I think the 13" ultimate coil would be a better choice.

I also did pick up the 9"x12" concentric coil which is just a hair deeper than the stock 8 1/2" x 11" coil. You may gain an inch or so. Bottle caps fall towards nickel range. The larger search area can be tough in some areas with a lot of trash as you get signal mixing.

Be interesting what the new machine has for specs.

  • Like 3
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Create an account or sign in to comment

You need to be a member in order to leave a comment

Create an account

Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!

Register a new account

Sign in

Already have an account? Sign in here.

Sign In Now
×
×
  • Create New...