Price vs Percentage

As I continue to see threads about the CTX and other new to market units in the higher price range, I have come to my own conclusion that in order for me to make a decision of buy/no buy, I have to factor in the price of the unit vs the percentage of new features/performance it may have over other units I already have.

As we all know, detectors depreciate fairly rapidly after a year or so. Even 3 months after being bought, you are probably going to get only 80-85%% of the value back when selling in the used market if you are lucky ( as long as the warranty is transferrable). So for me to sell off a few units to get a CTX, I really have to factor in will the CTX do things MUCH better than the current units I already have. For me the answer is no. I am talking strictly performance. I don't factor in GPS, computer mapping, wireless, etc.

Since I beach hunt 90% of the time, I have water proof VLF's and PI's, Since beach hunting consists of digging almost all targets out there, discrimination and target ID is not a big factor for me. I am digging big iron and junk no matter what on every hunt because I have found some of those targets end up being good ones, and a lot of times they sound good and I hunt strictly by tone when beach hunting. The only discrimination I need is for small iron, so unless the CTX can discriminate small iron out a lot better than what I am using now, I don't need it. For me, target separation and depth are more important. Will the CTX separate better and go a lot deeper than my CZ20...maybe. But is it worth the price ? Probably not considering I got my used CZ20 for $400. So selling the CZ20 to fund a CTX does not make sense to me at this point. Will the CTX be a much better land hunter than my E-Trac or F75 LTD ? Maybe. Is it worth the price of selling them to get one ? Probably not for ME since the price I paid for both of them is still $1000 less than the CTX. Also, I love the smaller coils on the E-Trac and use the Sunray X-5 and X-8 all the time and have not had the 11 inch Pro coil on it since I got it, so changing out coils and using some of the after market coils is a big plus in my book.

Now, is the CTX worth the price for a person who has only one unit and wants to step up in class, get a complete overall unit that is waterproof and has a ton of features their entry level unit does not have ? ABSOLUTELY. These hunters don't have numerous detectors that can hunt all types of conditions like some of us. They don't have to sell off units and take a loss. They just have to get out there and hunt, find a bunch of clad, hopefully some gold, cash it in and get the CTX. That's what I would do.

Lastly, one of the intangibles that still makes me think of getting one, is consolidation. The CTX could probably replace 3-4 of my units, and selling off 3-4 of them would possibly fund the purchase. But since I am a guy who likes going out with different units all the time ( my hunting partner always jokes...'what unit you bringing this time ?'), I think I will hold off for a bit.

I see hunters selling off like new E-Tracs to get a CTX. My guess is, the waterproof feature is the key. I brought my E-Trac to the beach twice, and it did really well. Problem is, I almost got swamped by waves while in the suds, and there is no way I am going to fry my E-Trac (especially since I have other waterproof units or older ones like my CZ6a that can take a splashing), so it's now strictly a land hunter. If there are hunters out there who were tired of wrapping up their E-Tracs to beach hunt, or hunt in the rain, and that was their primary unit, I can see their logic. I makes perfect sense to get a CTX, with the additional features that may or may not make it a much better hunter than an E-Trac, but has the water proof feature which is indispensable.

For me, I can still see a CTX in the stable at some point....possibly. I am still waiting to see what Fisher may bring out. Since I am a CZ guy through and through, if they come out with a new CZ that is waterproof and has the profile of the F75 in terms of weight and balance, then that's the new unit for me. As long as it has the simplicity and tones of the CZ ! Minimal adjustments, maximum performance. But they MUST have it where you can switch between Normal and Salt mode. Don't have it locked in salt mode.

My guess is, it will be a waterproof, dual frequency F75 LTD that can run smooth in the salt water and handles EMI better. Who knows.

Perceptive!

My intrests are (and always have been) = Does the unit perform better than others? If so...... in what areas.......... and by 'how much'.

Better target separation?
Better depth?
or
Better mineralization handling abilities?

The unit 'may' be better than its predecessor; yet, it may be sub-par compared to other units/brands on the open market....... regardless of price.

Personaly I'm still on the fence about buying one and am watching and waiting. Mainly I'm waiting to see a GT, Etrac, or Explorer go up against it. And if they don't cut it in terms of depth or separation, then I want to see one using a good aftermarket coil like the 12x10 to see how they compare in those two respects then. I bet many people are waiting for that.

I sort of resent the weight (has to weigh something) and the added price of GPS. That feature alone makes me harken to another nameless detector manufacturer who I used to be a big fan of but left when I saw that they seemed to think cramming endless features and not performance into a machine justified a high price tag. The GPS isn't good enough to keep you from missing rows while gridding. It's only real useful purpose is to get you to a spot, and there are plenty of phones on the market or GPS in your car to already do that for you.

I think Minelab has pushed price, weight, and features to the very edge with this one. For that reason it's a high stakes game. When you push a product in price and features, let alone the weight, that some might find questionable, then there is a very real risk of crossing the line and putting yourself beyond what a market is willing to buy. For that reason, I feel it's either going to be a huge success or a major flop, with probably no room in between those two things. Just look at the Ford Edsel. They did a huge advertising campaign leading up to the release of that car, which also had some "controversial" features, and as a result it just didn't sell well at all.

There will be an initial rush of orders for this new machine as there is always a certain segment of people in this hobby who have to try every new machine on the market, especially flagship models...So after that initial rush of orders are over it will be interesting to see just how well sales go from there. Oddly, I don't see any way for us to judge those sales, rather than talking to our dealer friends to see how well it's selling for them compared to the other Minelab models, or perhaps by judging the amount of user activity in the various forums on the net talking about their setup and use of this machine. That's probably the best way to judge how many are buying it. Right now that's not very useful as a gage, as the web is alive with talk and speculation as people try to understand it's features and so on. Give it 5 or 6 months and then we'll see how much web buzz there is about it.

What I find curious is the furious rush to buy one by some without taking time to investigate and question it's performance in various aspects. Mainly, to me, the only two things that matter are depth and separation. All other things are bells and whistles and don't really do anything for performance IMHO. So long as I have those two things and tone alerts and a good high resolution VDI I'm a happy camper. Everything else is just eye candy to me.



Edited 8 time(s). Last edit at 06/02/2012 06:03PM by critterhunter.