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Ace Apex - No Threshold Control


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The Ace Apex is a 100% silent search detector, that has no actual threshold control. I am curious what people think about that. Coming from a nugget detecting background I tend to be skeptical of detectors that have no threshold based all metal mode. On the other hand I also suspect most detectorists don’t care or even know what I’m talking about.

The Apex to my knowledge is the first detector to be multifrequency capable and lack a threshold. Since all Ace models are silent search the Apex being an Ace model makes sense when looked at from this perspective. I can’t see it mattering to a lot of people except those who were maybe hoping for some 20 kHz nugget hunting chops.

Threshold Autotune, SAT, and V/SAT

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For coin hunting I've used both with and without threshold.  The Equinox has a threshold in all(?) modes so I use it, but on the Gold Bug Pro in Discriminate -- where it has none, unlike it's All Metal side where it does have adjustable volume threshold -- I've done fine that way, too.  Sometimes in a noisy environment -- e.g. in summer when using earbuds instead of the Sunray Pro Golds -- I can't hear the Equinox threshold, not because I can't turn it up high enough (I certainly can!) but I don't want to damage my ears by trying to drown out the background noise with a loud threshold.

Nugget detecting is a different story for me, although (as most know) the Minelab Gold Monster 1000 dedicated nugget detector does not have a threshold but still performs that task well, according to many reports.  (Rise and shine Simon; it's Monday morning and I'm sure you have a response to this thread!)  No matter what detector I'm using for nugget detecting I want to hear the threshold.

Even when coin hunting I like hearing a threshold tone to know the detector is operating, and I also like to hear any dropouts (which do occasionally happen when in wide open un-notched mode for the Equinox -- also the what I hunt).  However, I wear boots with metal eyelets and when using a detector without a threshold I just swing the coil over my boot to get the sanity check that it's still operating OK.  That has saved me on occasion.

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I use the dreaded MXSport, but always keep the threshold audio on quietly. Gives a little more data about whether the machine is "iron falsing" on the fringes of some nearby ferrous trash (sometimes you can try pinpointing to double check that). However, I'm not smart enough to determine situations of partial masking and/or trash and target in the same hole— I just have to dig...

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I much prefer a threshold tone myself. Whether it's true with most or all machines these days, I just think you can hear faint targets better with a threshold. I've searched in silent modes in the past and it seems that it takes more of a signal to break through in silent search than a slight tone change with a threshold. 

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For relic hunting (listening for nulling threshold over iron) and for gold prospecting (same thing) I would probably be a bit uncomfortable without a threshold tone. A nulling threshold tone can certainly save the ears after hundreds of iron grunts per hour. Like I said in another post "is the APEX going to be handicapped or dumbed down so anyone can use it or is it going to be something extraordinary that can really hunt in lots of scenarios?"

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i "sincerely" hope that garrett has something 'special" here and then i observe the "price point"
and discouragement sets in, and then i " snap "out of my 'funk" and understand that in order to have a "world class"
high end detector, ya gut to have the price point too!  just wish it wasn't so! 

(h.h.!)

j.t.

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