What Metal Detector To Buy In 2019?
Hello, friends!
Here I have another very useful post for the upcoming new year – which metal detector should you choose and buy in this new year of 2019?
A difficult topic, because there are many models and the choice is really huge and wide. Digging through forums, watching YouTube, reading different opinions and reviews of other detectorists is usually what you have to do, but I decided to make it easier for everyone; I made an honest list, as I see it, of models that you can safely buy in 2019. The main thing is not the rating, not an indicator of which metal detector is better or worse, it is just information for consideration and the choice of a metal detector if you are faced with such a choice. I do not pretend to have a complete answer, but I know the topic quite well, and therefore I can give you some advice. For the convenience of selection, I broke the entire list into three parts – the first part is detectors for a beginner, and next some more powerful detectors for an advanced digger and finally professional metal detectors for the gurus in the detecting world, although the super-professionals, for the most part, know themselves what they need to buy and often have more than one detector, and can boast about an arsenal of metal detectors for various types and types of detecting. But this list will be useful for everyone. So, let’s begin.
What metal detector to buy for a beginner?
Teknetics Eurotek
Perhaps the cheapest metal detector that is decent.
Yes, it was possible to give this place of honor to different GoFind or Bounty Hunter series, but the Eurotek is a legendary model, which has everything you need, the right set of settings and at a very good price. If you go below this price when buying a metal detector, you’ll search for large ferrous metal pieces, but to go far above it is to go to another price class. For a newbie, if you’re not sure about the detecting hobby, this is one of the best tools to start your search.
Garrett ACE 200i
The ACE has been famous for more than a decade, and now new ACE models have arrived, with which you can search and find detectors at an affordable budget for yourself.
The ACE 200 does not have some certain features, like the Teknetics Eurotek, but it still is a good device to start detecting.
Fisher F11-44
The Fisher F11 series can be taken immediately and without thinking as your first metal detector. If we talk about F22 or even F44, then this is a detector that will last for several years of detecting for sure. It is deep, accurate in the definition of metals and, perhaps, it is one of those devices that can be taken by a newbie with an eye to the future – the F44 can be used until you grow out of it. And then you can think about models that are more expensive.
I myself have had the F44, I was very pleased with it. And more than one generation of detectorists has already grown up with this detector.
Garrett ACE 400i
This is the second metal detector, after F44, which can be bought with an eye to the future. This is a real workhorse detector that is suitable for a beginner and is enough for a couple of years of detecting for sure.
It is durable and it’s performance pleases, what else is needed from a detector for a beginner?
Golden Mask 1+ UK
The representative of analog detectors. Yes, it would be possible to also add the Tesoro, but it seems that Tesoro will completely disappear in a short time, and the Golden Mask will remain.
1+ is one of the best models of this company and is perfect for a beginner. The functions are simple – it squeaks, you dig. Experience will come with hard work, but it will come. This model is quite deep and very quickly fulfills all the goals, the necessary settings for a beginner too, but there is no need for more!
What metal detector to buy for an advanced digger?
Teknetics T2
An old man who does not give you up. Yes, a lot of fakes were made, and yes – not for the first ten years, but the device is still in the lead due to its price.
It is very cheap and for its price this metal detector shows very good results, I would even say – very excellent results!
In order not to chase the heavily promoted brands, you can take a long-proven option. But the main thing here is the price tag. It won’t be cheaper than it already is, but its price is at the level of a bit more expensive detector than a metal detector for a beginner. That is something to think about.
XP ORX
The novelty of this digging season is a new metal detector from the Frenchies! It shows good search results with quite a decent budget. It may come as a metal detector for a beginner. It is best to take a kit with wireless headphones and a 9″ HF coil.
In terms of performance, it is at the Deus level in the Coin Deep and Coin Fast/Gold programs. But it is not quite at the level of the Deus, naturally, but at its price and for an inexperienced digger who does not want to understand all the settings of a more advanced model, the ORX version will last for a long time.
Makro Kruzer
This is a fairly a new model from last year from the Turkish company Makro. A good detector, it is now noticeably cheaper, which means that we can recommend it.
As you have already noticed – in this part there are already quite a lot of multi-frequency models, these devices are newer and more serious, with better search characteristics than detectors for beginners. But no one says that the Makro Kruzer 14 is located somewhere in the back row, no, it is quite possible to buy it, one search frequency (14 kHz) is perfect for the main search tasks of most detectorists.
XP Deus Lite
This XP Deus option is bundled only with headphones and no control screen. This significantly affects the price, and the search programs can be pre-stored in the headphones using someone else’s Deus control unit, so all that remains is to change your own programs and select them to fit your search conditions.
It is not necessary to pay an extra serious amount for the screen with settings!
Nokta/Makro Anfibio 14/19
This is a single-frequency version of the metal detector Anfibio. It is suitable as a universal option for most types of detecting.
This metal detector, like the Makro Kruzer model, is waterproof and comes complete with wireless headphones that make life much easier for a detectorist. In addition, the Anfibio differs from Makro Kruzer and this is expressed in the new stem (more reliable and with excellent balance), and another search coil in the kit (11″ round coil), which has a greater depth than the standard coil on all Makro and Nokta detectors to the model Anfibio.
Minelab Equinox 600
The equinoxes have already quite seriously set their roots in the entire digging community – someone is crazy about them, someone considers these metal detectors too complicated or unworthy of their attention, but I will say that Minelab never made bad detectors in the price tag above $500.
Each time these were models that had all the necessary search functions and showed excellent search results. The Equinox 600 model is no exception and fully confirms my words. Of the entire list of detectors, this is the first device in which there are several (3) search frequencies and they all work together (Multi-IQ technology). It gives excellent results on the difficult ground when searching at a beach or on a regular field! Try it and you will understand what I am talking about.
Which metal detector to buy for a professional detectorist?
Garrett AT MAX
The American company Garrett has always been famous for the quality and performance of its metal detectors, and therefore it is not surprising that the Garrett AT MAX is on our list. I advise you to take this detector immediately with wireless headphones because they are very comfortable and they easily fit on the head, they perfectly transmit the sound and completely without interference.
This metal detector itself is very easy to learn, you can even start using it as a beginner, there are no complicated settings. It can work on any soil and is ground balanced without problems even on a saltwater surface. This is an excellent choice for those who want a professional detector, but do not want to understand the settings and do not bother with different combinations of parameters – just turn it on, balance the ground, set the desired level of sensitivity and you can go detecting. Do not forget about the water resistance of the metal detector, with it you can search even under water.
Nokta/Makro Anfibio Multi
This is a Multi-frequency version of the metal detector Anfibio, it works on a choice of one of the three frequencies, the detector is waterproof, you’ll be able to search underwater at depths of up to 5 meters.
The set also comes with wireless headphones. The Anfibio is quite easy to learn and for each type and task of detecting it has its own search program, which makes it very flexible to various search tasks, everything from a park to a plowed field.
Xp Deus
The XP Deus metal detector in its complete set has been number one among the most purchased and popular professional metal detector for many years.
Many say that this detector is full of unnecessary settings, difficult to learn, but it is much easier to use one of the 10 ready-made search programs and tweak the settings a little in your own way, and then you can go digging and finding the finds. The Deus is always a compromise option if it is difficult to choose a metal detector for yourself. Yes, it has its drawbacks, but its advantages are quite substantial for most detectorists who chose the Deus as their main metal detector.
AKA Signum
An old veteran who survived a whole generation. It is considered the deepest of all the metal detectors listed here, but it is also quite difficult to learn and configure.
But if you understand the logic of this metal detector, then you’ll pick up a lot of good finds. At least, this is the only metal detector with which I’ve found brass wire at the depth of one of Fischer’s small shovels …
Minelab Equinox 800
We conclude this list with the top-end version of the metal detector Equinox. But what is so special with it, it would seem? Five frequencies that all can work together (Multi-IQ technology).
To master it is quite simple, the depth is also amazing. It sees targets where many metal detectors are silent and do not see any target at all, a fact I have verified. You also get good wireless headphones in the kit, the sound quality is very good. I don’t even know what else to add – when you begin to understand this metal detector, the number of useful finds will grow, you’ll dig little garbage, you’ll mostly find useful targets.
And what metal detector do you have? And what are you thinking of buying? What do you looking for in your next metal detector? Share your thoughts in the comments, as this is an important topic to discuss!
Why do you not have any Whites machines on the list? I would think the Whites Spectrum V3i would at least make the professional cut and they also have a few beginners models that I would assume are as good as the Garrett machines. I noticed on this forum that nobody talks about Whites machines much, so is that because they are not good machines or is there another reason?
The simple reason is that I never had any experience with Whites. Same to my friends, I simply cannot find any Whites metal detector to test it. That is the main reason.
Whites still has some great machines. The V3i is definitely one of the very best for those persistent enough to master it. The V3i and the Equinox 800 are my killer combo, and with them I feel like I have every situation covered. The problem with Whites is that they didn’t listen to forward thinking engineers about features like light weight, PC updates, cell phone integration, pinpointer integration and other features. In fact, most patents held along those lines were sold to XP to make the Deus. This caused their best engineers to leave in frustration. The whole company faced a restructuring and hiatus for a while, and it doesn’t appear they’ve learned much in that time. The latest machines are still of the heavy box style that play more to the old timer loyalists. As a result their popularity has slipped against light futuristic machines like the Deus, super deep machines like the T2 and F75, and the waterproof CTX-3030. I could make an argument that none of those are as good as the V3i with the Ultimate 13 coil if you want to know what’s in the ground before you dig it, but most people prefer a simpler machine. The V3i is many things, but not simple.
Thank you, Cipher, for such a long and interesting story. Me, personally, not so familiar with Whites devices, but I believe, that Whites can do more, than they are doing at the moment. Just can’t believe, that they are loosing a customers and do not care about it, that is strange.
Hello, I would like your opinion about what metal detector to buy. I owned a minelab safari but I am not pleased enough. I am searching for golden, silver, copper and brass coins, jewelry and relics. NOT at all golden nuggets because I am living in Greece and we do not have. I search on the beach, fields, mountains and parks. I want very good discrimination with no iron masking, a lot of depth, very low emi, tracking ground balance, easy to use. Thank you in advance for your answer.
Hi! The XP Deus could be your way to go, because it has the tracking GB, you can change settings and lower the EMI or minimize it, it has a good discrimination as well and you will see the iron targets.
What about makro racer 2 or Teknetics T2?
MR2 is outdated, already, there is Makro Kruzer and Nokta Anfibio on the market. Teknetics T2+ is still a very good machine, universal, for any types of detecting!
Why MR2 is outdated? Because of the single frequency? I do not trust the multi frequency detectors . I believe that one frequency around 14Khz will do the job fine in all conditions. What is your opinion?
Because MR2 is discontinued by the manufacturer right now, not because of the single freq. If you are looking for a single freq machine, then your choice is XP Deus or Garrett AT MAX. Garrett AT MAX will be nice for you if you do not want to learn the Deus settings.
Which metal detector do you suggest at 14 KHz?
Garrett AT MAX
ok. Thanks.