The Best Metal Detector Out There

[Chase Goldman]

Which machine is the best?  Pretty simple, really.

It’s the one that you do not hesitate to use most frequently because you know it well and tend to get the results you desire.  That’s it.

People should just stop splitting hairs on equipment and focus instead on learning the equipment they have and doing the research and legwork required to gain legal access to productive sites.  You can do a lot worse than working on social and communication skills vs. viewing endless air tests or listening to anecdotes that have little to no real world applicability to your specific detecting objectives and primarily serve the content provider.  I’ve seen this content just serve to provide more confusion and acrimony than legitimate insights, even when conducted in a controlled, scientific manner.  Just too many variables out there.  It may hold entertainment value for some but I’d rather just see the data and “conclusions” in written form as they generally bore me to tears.  
 

OTOH - I love to supplement my learning of a new machine with instructional videos.  Nothing like seeing and hearing the machine do it’s thing and gaining tips and tricks from those who’ve taken the time to put in the hours of real swing time needed to truly learn a machine inside and out before they even post their first video.

JMO

[Steve Herschbach]

11 minutes ago, Chase Goldman said:

People should just stop splitting hairs on equipment

But, but, but…. where would the forum be were it not for hair splitting?!

[Chase Goldman]

2 minutes ago, Steve Herschbach said:

But, but, but…. where would the forum be were it not for hair splitting?!

Oh this forum is going to rock, Steve, when the opinions start flying on this one.  ?

[GB_Amateur]

4 minutes ago, Chase Goldman said:

People should just stop splitting hairs on equipment and focus instead on learning the equipment they have and finding or gaining legal access to productive sites.  End of story.

Well, you make good points until you overstate "end of story".  Have you bought any detectors recently?  Have you had an epiphany since?

Arguing about which is best, particularly when generalizing as if everyone has the same sites, ground conditions, EMI, experience, etc. is near-sighted at best.  I don't know if most people even know which detector is truly best for themselves, but I'm confident they don't know what's best for others.

We need sociologists and psychologists to tell us what is really going on.  ?  Possibly its low self-esteem that leads to bravado trying to take its place.  But cabin fever (here in much of the Northern Hemisphere) likely plays a role, and there are many more candidates.  I'd rather be out detecting than writing this....

Bottom line, IMO, is that we do have legitimate reasons to get new detectors.  Each of us who makes a purchase then has to decide for him/herself after the fact if that purchase was warranted.  There's no one-size-fits-all detector and there's no one-approach-fits-all in detector (buy vs. no buy) choice either.

[Chase Goldman]

That didn’t take long.  

Haven't you learned that you need to refrain from quoting me until a half hour after I've posted to make sure I'm done self editing.  

1 hour ago, GB_Amateur said:

Have you bought any detectors recently?

Yep

1 hour ago, GB_Amateur said:

Have you had an epiphany since?

Yes but not from ANY comparison video.  It came from my own learning and swinging, and comparing notes with other trusted detectorists that I have talked to or corresponded with directly, some of whom DO generate the videos I ignore.  Or from instructional information in written and video form.  I’m talking about the “which detector is deepest/fastest type videos”, and the sensationalist “how to set up the detector to see through foil” and “the secret setting to eliminate all pull tabs and find only gold” or someone talking about thousands of holes they dug or that their (fill in the blank with the name any popular detector) is the best because they found three silvers in their pounded site is such nonsense.  Determining “the best” based solely off what someone else is telling you is waste of time IMO.

[GB_Amateur]

3 minutes ago, Chase Goldman said:

Yes but not from ANY comparison video.

Aha, so your bullseye is comparison videos!  There are a few people I pay attention to (Andrew being one who makes vids), but when it comes to detectors I'd much rather read than watch.  I *do* feel like Charlie Brown and the football lately when I swear off videos and then someone here says "oh, you gotta see this video!" so I reluctantly watch and end up on my butt, ...again!  ?

[Chase Goldman]

9 minutes ago, GB_Amateur said:

Aha, so your bullseye is comparison videos!

Yep.  That’s what I meant by splitting hairs.  
 

The key is if you are basing buying decisions based solely off videos that purport to demonstrate a clear winner (not even talking about the manufacturer’s marketing dreck) in any specific detector performance category - it’s a fallacy and you will likely come away disappointed once you discover you don’t now possess Harry Potter’s magic wand.  It’s a cliche, but also true, no one detector does it all.  If you can afford to own two diverse, but capable detectors, that’s a bonus.  But if you can only own just one VLF, just about any high profile detector released in the past 2 to 4 years that hasn’t demonstrated a serious, fatal flaw will serve you well performance wise .  So then it just comes down to what you can afford and the specific features you want or need.
 

 

[ksrick]

The best is the one in your hand right now.

[Jeff McClendon]

This forum and another has page after page of some members arguing, asking for and outright demanding video proof or test results so that they can feel good (or not) about what they purchased since those videos and results prove that detector W has the same performance as detector X, Y or Z????? Usually, those same people do not own more than one of those detectors and sometimes don't own any of them.

It's ridiculous.

Why would I setup an Equinox 800 and an Equinox 900 and a Manticore with the same numerical settings and conclude that the "test" or "video" is fair?

Conversely, why would I spend hours trying to find out exactly (impossible) which settings on the Equinox 800 equal the corresponding settings on the Equinox 900, Manticore, Legend or Deus 2? Throw in a CTX 3030 and an Etrac too for good measure. For what purporse?

Other than just learning one's detector, ultimately all of these types of testing are way too subjective, especially where I detect, to have much validity for anyone else. They definitely can help me personally but when others do them in soil conditions that I will never have or in static tests indoors or in moderate to high EMI with test targets off of the ground, I get next to nothing out of them other than that is one person's experience.