What the skinny on Garretts AT pro..

Seems like a nice unit and much easier on the wallet with a lot of bells and whistles...See a lot for sale and makes one wonder....as from previous experience Garretts makes good units and stands behind them...so inquiring minds would like some opinions....

Garrett is a quality company but thy have not been totaly up front on the AT Pro..
Starting with the falsing problem , saying it was aggressive hunting styles.
Poeple sending units for repair were having coils changed out .

Then there were button / screen problems.
When the warm weather hit thy had leak problems

Now thy have extended the warrenty and can are tranferable

A good company, but it needed more time in field testing .
Also nose heavy, head phone connector problems [ now fixed ] on new models, but agian never should have been shipped to start with.
Thy could have owned the mid line detector market.

I would expect to see a lot more for sale at good prices when there new machine comes out. I might pick one up then. As they are suppose to be good in iron and water proof. It would be good to use on those on and off drizzle days when you don't wan't to get your main unit wet.

gman thanks for the informative post..Pretty much what I dug up myself reading between the lines....

In my mind trying to cut corners in offering a quality detector at a midline price and rushed but imagine once they they get the bugs out will be a quality unit..

Always remember their AT3 that was a ring magnet but many leaked also so back to the drawing board sounds like a good idea...

Time for a AT pro plus I would guess...???

The update might have that covered. I like mine. Depth not bad. Cuts thru the trash pretty good with 11" coil. I would like to see a 5 or 6" DD coil. That would be the real test compared to other fast detectors. It's a little noisy thru the trash with iron audio on but the iron sound isn't harsh. It lets you know when to slow down. A little on the heavy side. Would have been nice if you could hipmount. Nice to hunt in the rain or go in the water an not worry about it (hopefully after the update). Mine has been fine in the water. There is a language in the sound. It even gets a high fluty sound like the Explorer sometimes. I have dug some IH's with that sound in with iron. Overall a nice detector for the price. Depth in dry ground for me is around 7". After a heavy soaking rain I can add 3" plus. It hits great on silver as well as gold. I have a gold ear ring that's like a wedding band. When you open it the AT Pro still hits great on it. My Tejon wouldn't hit it at all. I still need to test it on small gold chains.

Rick, N. MI

Dan, a lot of problems with them when they first came out, some people estimated the first few thousand had problems, the costumers seemed to get Garrett to rush them out, but all companies have their reasons, everyone who had problems seemed to have them taken care of, a few seem to have problems forever and gave up on the machines, the next batch that came out, the problems seem to go away, or they took care of them before they shipped them out, I bought mine 6 month after they came out, think they would have been clean of problems, I sent mine back, took a week to ship and get it back, I've been using it since March with no problem and I'm hard on machines, the feature I like the most is you can hear the iron as a growl and the goodies as a high pitch, and there is a middle pitch too, I have run a 1500 for 8 years and that what I missed in it, I also use an XLT, I myself thinks it goes deep, I have dug LC's in fields down a foot, I'm not giving mine up, I'm going to learn it like I learn the XLT

Dan if you get a new AT Pro, or one that was sent in for the recent "upgrade" package, you will be in good shape.

I picked up a second hand one with only had a few hours on it a few months ago. It came out after all the problems were resolved, but prior to the upgrade with the new S-rods and cam locks. I haven't had one lick of trouble with it, and this weekend I'll be giving it a leak test while I hunt for jewelry in a fresh water lake.

As far as the detectors functionality goes, it's a great unit. It's stable. It's hot on silver. It's not noisy like some other new machines, and probably one of the best machines on the market for hunting in iron. It has some neat features, and is generally a well thought out machines as far as functionality goes. It gives you a lot of options as far as audio, you can select if you want binary audio (audio is the same if a target is shallow or deep) or modulated audio, iron audio, etc. I found it interesting that FT offered a variety of preset audio configurations depending upon which new Goldbug version you ended up with. I guess it's too much effort to add the option to allow the user to pick which audio mode they prefer.

I'm not sure yet how it compares on depth to say the F75 LTD, a Fisher CZ, or the Minelab E-trac.

What I would change:

The display conveys a LOT of information, but it's too small and with so much data packed into such limited real estate, it can be difficult to see in the field. The real time depth meter is nice and large, but the TID info itself it too small. A display layout like the F5 would elevate the ATP to new levels.

A backlight would be great.

A trigger would be welcome.

The original S-rod isn't as ergonomic as other new units, but apparently this has been addressed with the new/upgraded units.

The headphone cord is too short, another foot or two of headphone cable is needed to prevent the phones from jerking off your head if you lay the machine down while digging. You can get around this by using the universal headphone adapter they are now selling, but the stock headphones are pretty decent aside from the short cord.

Hope that helps.

HH,
Brian



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 08/29/2011 09:36PM by Cal_cobra.

I had 3 AT'S and non of them would retain the memory...The first one had a coil shielding issue to boot...The coil issue was addressed but the memory was not......

I have heard of leaking problem's... I never got mine in the water.......

The newest one have a better pole system with cam lock's...supposedly the leaking is taken care of and the memory is also retaining now...They also did a software tweak in the audio area.....they cleaned up the mid and high tone to give them more resolution between each other...Some where complaining the deeper target's where hard to tell if it was high or mid tone...so a enhancement was done...What's funny I don't think no one has even mentioned it so it's hardly noticeable probably?

Now for the good stuff....it has fantastic audio....best Audio I myself have heard in a digital platform when ran in pro mode...
Machine is really deep in mineralized ground....it's on 15 khz but seems to like higher conductor's better at depth than lower conductor's....not to say it wont dig low conductor's deep but the audio really is enhanced on deep silver and copper....I found a breastplate in a spot that locked on at 83 and it was a good 18 inches in the ground and sounded awesome but faint....

Also dug an eagle Staff Cuff button at an honest 10 inches in a house site....

will surprise you in iron infested sites by eeking out a few target's pretty dang easy that makes you sit back and think for a minute how did I miss that before...

Has the ability to set your low tone mid tone break point....A Big +....

The coil design is really leading edge and to be truthful if the AT did not have this coil I would probably not bother....The coil makes the machine I am sure of this...I tried the concentric coil's and they were just dead//Lifeless.....

The coil is blunted on the end and is of the DD design ...the pattern it produces is tight...not as tight as the T2/F75 biaxial but still tight...the blunt tip also retains depth straight down off the front or rear for pretty dang deep depth..helps get up close to obstacles and see deep beside Say a tree.....I found a few target's close to tree's I am sure a concentric or even certain DD's would not of seen without the coil being tilted and an angle toward the tree .....Also coil can see through mineral's and I.D. accurately as good or better than any I have ever encountered....

Display if you are an I.D. watcher is pretty dang small....only 3 tone's Mid tones pretty wide disc range wise especially when you open it up with the tone break say at 32....That would be 32 to 75 mid tone 76 to 99 high...Zinc's hit at 75...copper 76....

It can be swept ultra slow and retain excellent depth...

Coils are a little tricky to put on machine... plug wise...but the Stock coil is basically all you ever need for now....

I talked to Garrett about a High performance small coil and they said the sniper was there offering ...I then proceeded to tell them about other small coils that have excellent depth almost equal to the stock coil that comes on the machine's....the person on the phone seemed to think I was fibbing when I said a FT machine with a 5 inch coil can airtest a nickle at 15 inches or more or even a Tejon with a 5.75 can do the same or a Troy X5 .....When there small coil is lifeless at 6 inches on a nickle maybe 7 on a quarter.....When you run them across the ground they are just dead even in the trash the separation stink's compared to the large stock coil.....That small sniper is straight from the 80's and is all right for tot lot recent drop's...It's just a coil they rushed to market to satisfy the casual hunting customer.....

Well I believe they now they are now working on a small H.P. coil....they got to see an f-75 5-inch in action..

Garrett want's a piece of the pie with there higher tech updated machine but they need to realize... Well I think they are starting to is they are going to get a lot of scrutiny when they enter into a more advanced user field base..Just being honest there machines have been just old tech rehash till now..

You notice in one of there video's even the one showing the new release coming there's a black f75 leaned up against the truck ...they do head to head's!!

well this is getting off track now.......

But with all the post you can make an educated guess I believe..I like them and was fixing to grab another one updated but will hold back to see what the next offering is before deciding ....



It just plain got the it factor for a metal detector...Lot more pluses than minuses...

Just my take for what it is worth...

Keith

Garrett has come a LONG way.......... and the snowball is still rolling.

My only concern on the head to head comparisons is that the competitors machine will not be set up to its maximum functionality, but the Garrett will be

Who's machine that is in the vid so no worries it is set up right.....!!!!!


I believe Garrett was also quite surprised to see a small 5 inch coil get the depth it get's on the f75


You will never see the comparisons on video from them but I believe Garrett is truthfully trying to get into world class detector design .....

They use some pretty skilled detectorist to field test And would not think for private purposes the competitor machine would be detuned....I would think right opposite....

I know if I was testing a machine I would want it tested truthfully whatever the result's are...Might send an engineer scurrying back to the think tank...


gotta love competition !!!

this new Garrett coming has me wondering........I am leaning toward a revamped Infinium with some sort of Iron disc???maybe limited disc but maybe ???

Keith

I am thinking multiple frequency....like the V3i.........not groundbreaking.........but that's my thought.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 08/30/2011 04:15AM by TerraDigger.

Well written reports, thank you Brian and Keith!

I pretty much concur with most all of what they wrote. When performing properly, this is an excellent machine.

I definitely agree with Brian that a backlight and especially a pinpoint trigger would improve the functionality of the AT Pro. I loved having a trigger with the F75 and Tejon. More than once with the AT Pro I've hit the elimination button when pinpointing and notched out a segment. Now it's one of those accidental quirks I watch out for, like inadvertently lowering my gain when pinpointing with the F5.

Likewise, I'd agree about increasing the size of the display. My eyes are still pretty good for my age (just started using 100 readers about a year ago) so I don't have a problem reading the display unless my screen saver gets dirty or smeared. But since the largest detecting demographic is middle-age or older, large easy to read screens make a lot of sense.

Brian, I wouldn't worry about the length of the headphone cord, it stretches out over a fairly short period of time. I thought the same thing about the shortness of the cord when I first got the unit, but by the time I got the headphone adapter and quit using the stock phones, the cord had stretched out sufficiently not to be a problem. I've got a pair of Airricanes that are fine with my F5 but sound terrible with the AT Pro. I'm going to have to do some more comparisons with a couple other pairs of phones, I've gotten lazy and just stuck with my Ratphones because they sound really good with the AT.

What Keith says about the DD coil is spot on too. The blunted design allows for increased depth at the front and back of the coil and increases performance when close to objects (like a tree) compared to a typical large coil.

One thing I've noticed that I haven't brought up until now. In the period of time I've had this detector, I have had soil conditions ranging from very moist to very dry. I know you can detect deeper when the ground is wet. But the difference seems especially noticable with the AT Pro. In the very dry ground I haven't dug any coins deeper than about 6 inches. When the ground was very wet, I dug a good number of 7-9 inch coins. In fact, I dug my deepest coin ever - a 1959 penny at a measured 10 inches. It was a faint signal, but not what I would call iffy. I don't know if this is the detector, or just the physics of detecting that I'm becoming more aware of as I get more dirt fishing experience.

While I was happy to dig a coin that deep, it kind of sucks to have to admit that my deepest coin ever was a memorial penny...

marcomo Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
>... and especially a pinpoint trigger would improve the
> functionality of the AT Pro. More than once
> with the AT Pro I've hit the elimination button
> when pinpointing and notched out a segment.

> Brian, I wouldn't worry about the length of the
> headphone cord, it stretches out over a fairly
> short period of time.


I completely agree about the elimination button, if nothing else they should've swapped it and the ground balance buttons. You have this LARGE elimination button right next to the pinpoint button, and off to the right a tiny button for the GB.

I think you're right about the headphone cable, I'm noticing that it's not pulling off like it did when I first got it (but it was a major PITA when it was new

I believe their new machine is going to be a gold machine (probably something to compete with the new Gold Bug and G2), BUT after that, I think they'll have a high end machine dialed in from their lessons learned from the ATP, then it's look out FT! I don't know if I'd be worried if I was Minelab or Whites (after all the E-trac and V3i are stellar machines), but all others need to step up their A game, or be left by the way side

I'll tell you this, I'd love to beta test the new Garrett Machines, they're pushing the envelope and I look forward to seeing what else they come up with!

HH,
Brian

Nice collection of posts and can't wait to see Garretts next unit..Certainly not bashing Garrett but indeed they had problems with the AT pro and knowing Garrett they will listen to the consumer and understand they have done a good job correcting the initial problems and even extended warranties...after doing so...

marcomo...... If you had to dig 10" for a 1959 penny............ wonder how deep you would have to dig to acquire a 1859 penny.

In a unbiased fashion.......... if Garrett were to ask for help/opinions/suggestions........ I would lend a hand........ time permitting.

NASA-Tom Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> marcomo...... If you had to dig 10" for a 1959
> penny............ wonder how deep you would have
> to dig to acquire a 1859 penny.
>
> In a unbiased fashion.......... if Garrett were to
> ask for help/opinions/suggestions........ I would
> lend a hand........ time permitting.


As a wise detecting guru once said, "how do you know it's not there if you don't know that it is there" or something like that.

Tom, I think your wide following and independent forum is a scary proposition for most manufacturers. If a typical lesser known field tester or detectorist has issues with a new detector, little damage is done. Look at how defensive Garrett and the Garrett faithful got when you published your thoughts about the initial AT Pro coil problem. And that was a review that was otherwise very positive.

marcomo Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> NASA-Tom Wrote:
> --------------------------------------------------
> -----
> > marcomo...... If you had to dig 10" for a 1959
> > penny............ wonder how deep you would
> have
> > to dig to acquire a 1859 penny.
> >
> > In a unbiased fashion.......... if Garrett were
> to
> > ask for help/opinions/suggestions........ I
> would
> > lend a hand........ time permitting.
>
>
> As a wise detecting guru once said, "how do you
> know it's not there if you don't know that it is
> there" or something like that.
>
> Tom, I think your wide following and independent
> forum is a scary proposition for most
> manufacturers. If a typical lesser known field
> tester or detectorist has issues with a new
> detector, little damage is done. Look at how
> defensive Garrett and the Garrett faithful got
> when you published your thoughts about the initial
> AT Pro coil problem. And that was a review that
> was otherwise very positive.


Oh the memories. I remember doing that post as a suggestion, not a criticism. I was almost banned from Finds and a few people attacked me on the Garrett's site, though most did not and a few even semi defended me. A few, very few, also attacked Tom. But cooler heads eventually prevailed as my intentions were made known and there was a mix up. I was truly saddened to see the AT Pro go through the problems it did. I'm glad they mostly worked things out. Love that iron feature.

If the intention is to just improve stability, correct problems, improve technology, etc. then what is the problem? I very much like a Neutral forum. And, in fairness to Finds they have backed off the detector comparisons a lot, at least the White's V3i forum has.

I guess there is the danger that if a neutral forum became popular and had comparisons, the next great detector may really kill off the competition. I could see that happening but that is business.

Some Mfr's call me a "loose cannon"; yet, the intent is the drive for perfection. Advancements and Improvement for humankind. Yes.... I (very much) remember the heavy 'forged' steps put forth to ascertain end-resultant. I was 'hated' (by some)...... to expose the problem...... and 'suggest' resolution/remedy. Now..... the world has a much better product. BUT...... ALSO equally important....... the unit is (now) a better launching platform unto which future units can be enhanced upon.

I have one and I really like it. I sent it to Garrett to be pressure checked because I wanted to hunt in the water on a future vacation. Other than that I have had no problems.

People consistently compare the AT Pro to top end machines. Maybe because of Garrett advertising or forum hype. But if compared to detectors around the same price it holds its own very well. The F5, Prizm 6T, M6, Omega, and others I can't think of at the moment.

I said it when the AT Pro came out and I will say it again. The bar has been raised in the bang for buck. At a time when Minelab has again announced price increases I am thankful that Garrett has set the bar. Is the AT Pro as good as the upper end Minelabs? Probably not. But the next one might be.

Well said.

The only thing keeping me from buying the AT is lack of a small DD coil.
I do wish manufacturers from now would develop acc. coils at the same time as the release.
Having any detector without a decent small coil is a deal killer for me.
It looks like a good detector from what I have read, wonder if they would release a non-waterproof version.......

It is not uncommon for a Mfr to 'test the waters' with a new design/platform. Depending upon the results.......... dictates the red-light ... or ... green-light for more accessories.......including coils. In addition............. the Mfr may have put soo much time into the initial development of the new platform..... that..... (deliberately)..... no time was expended on secondary/aftermarket/accessories. All energies focused on initial development.

How does the AT Pro compare with other similarly priced detectors? Well, here is some attributes of common detectors:

Tesoro Deleon ............$509 ...2.98lbs....8AA ....10kHz ... 9x8 Ellip Conc ..... Modes: AM, DM ............ ADJ: Disc/Sens/Thres .............5 seq ID LCD ... VOL: Fixed.... GB: Fixed ........ PP: No .... Tones: No
Minelab X-Terra 505.....$550 ...2.90lbs....4AA....3, 7.5,18.75kHz ...9" Conc ...Modes: AM, DM, Coin ... ADJ: Disc/Sens FXD: Thres...19 seg ID LCD .....VOL: Adj .......GB: Man only .. PP: Yes ... Tones: 4, 19
Tesoro Tejon ...............$595 ...2.98lbs...8AA ...17.6kHz ...9x8 Ellip Mono......Modes: AM, DM, DM2 ....ADJ: Disc/Sens/Thres ...............No LCD.............VOL: Fixed ....GB: Man only ...PP:Yes .... Tones: VCO
Garrett GTP 1350 ........$595 ...4.00lbs...8AA....7.2kHz ....7x10 Ellip Conc .....Modes: 6 ........................ADJ: Disc/Sens/Thres ...............24 seq ID LCD ...VOL: Adj ......GB: Auto only ...PP: Yes ....Tones: 2
Fisher 1270x.................$595 ...3.60lbs..2x9V....8.2kHz...................8" Conc ...Modes: 3 (with iron DM)..ADJisc/Sens FXD: Thres......No LCD .............VOL: Adj ......GB: Man only ....PP: Yes ...Tones: 0
Garrett AT Pro..............$595 ... 3.30lbs..4AA ....15kHz .....8.5x11 Ellip DD .....Modes: Custom, 3 Pro ...ADJ: Disc/Sens No Thres .......12 seq ID LCD ....VOL: Fixed ...GB: Man, Auto ..PP: Yes ... Tones: 3
White's Sierra Madre....$600 ...4.30lbs..8AA ....6kHz ..... ............9.5" Conc ....Modes: 2 No Disc........ADJ: Sens/Thres .No Disc .........Analog ............VOL: Fixed ...GB: Man, Auto ..PP: Yes ... Tones: 0
Teknetics Omega 8K....$600 ...2.90lbs....1x9V....7.8kHz ...10" Ellip Conc .......Modes: 3 AM, DM, PP... ADJ: Disc/Sens FXD: Thres.....99 seg ID LCD .....VOL: Fixed...GB: Man, Auto ..PP: Yes ... Tones: 3
Fisher Gold Bug Pro.....$649 ...2.50lbs....1x9V....19kHz ....5" Conc DD ......... Modes: 2 AM, DM ....... ADJ: Disc/Sens/Thres...............99 seg ID LCD .....VOL: Fixed...GB: Man only ...PP: Yes ... Tones: 2
White's Matrix M6.........$650 ...4.00lbs....8AA....15kHz ..............9.5" Conc..... Modes: 3 AM, DM, ID ... ADJ: Disc/Sens/Thres..............190 seg ID LCD ....VOL: Adj .....GB: Man, Auto...PP: Yes ... Tones: 7
Fisher F70 ..................$650 ...2.90lbs....4AA....13kHz .....10" Ellip Conc ...... Modes: 5 Prog1,2, PP... ADJ: Disc/Sens/Thres..............99 seg ID LCD ......VOL: Adj .....GB: Man, Auto...PP: Yes ... Tones: 4
Nautilus DMC II............$660 ...4.30lbs....4x9V...14kHz .................8" Conc .... Modes: 3, no motion DM.... ADJ: Disc/Sens/Thres.................No LCD .............VOL: Fixed....GB: Man ...........PP: No .....Tones: 2
Tesoro Lobo................ $680 ...3.50lbs...8AA ...17.8kHz ...10" Ellip DD?..........Modes: 2 AM, DM .........ADJ: Disc/Sens/Thres ................No LCD..............VOL: Fixed ....GB: Auto only ...PP:Yes .... Tones: 2
Garrett GTI 1500......... $680 ...4.10lbs...8AA ...7.2kHz .............9.5" Conc.......Modes: 6, w/ imaging ....ADJ: Disc/Sens/Thres ...............24 seq ID LCD.....VOL: Adj ......GB: Auto only ...PP:Yes .... Tones: 0
ML X-Terra 705 .......... $700 ... 2.90lbs....4AA....3, 7.5,18.75kHz ...9" Conc ...Modes: 8, w/ iron mask .. ADJ: Disc/Sens/Thres..........28 seg ID LCD .......VOL: Adj ......GB: Man, Auto .. PP: Yes ... Tones: 4, 28
White's GMT................ $750 ...3.90lbs....8AA....48kHz .....6x10" Ellip DD...... Modes: 3, Fe ID, No Disc.. ADJ: Sens/Thres No Disc......... LCD ...............VOL: Fixed.....GB: Man, Auto....PP: Yes ... Tones: 0
Teknetics G2 ...............$700 ... 2.80lbs....1x9V...19kHz .......11" Ellip DD .......Modes: 2 AM, DM ......... ADJ: Disc/Sens/Thres...............99 seg ID LCD .....VOL: Fixed...GB: Man only .....PP: Yes ... Tones: 2
Fisher Gold Bug DP.... $700 ... 2.80lbs....1x9V...19kHz .......11" Ellip DD....... Modes: 2 AM, DM .......... ADJ: Disc/Sens/Thres..............99 seg ID LCD ....VOL: Fixed.....GB: Man only .....PP: Yes ... Tones: 2

Tesoro Cortes .............$722 ... 2.98lbs....8AA...10kHz .......9x8" Ellip Conc....Modes: 4, 2 notch.......... ADJ: Disc/Sens/Thres.........9 seg ID LCD ....VOL: Fixed.....GB: Man, Auto, Fixed...PP: Yes ... Tones: Multi
White's MXT ...............$750 ... 4.30lbs....8AA ...15kHz ..............9.5" Conc... Modes: 3 ............. .......... ADJ: Disc/Sens/Thres......189 seg ID LCD ...VOL: Fixed.....GB: Man, Auto, Fixed...PP: Yes ... Tones: 4
Fisher GB II ................$765 ... 2.90lbs....2x9V...71kHz ......6.5" Ellip Conc....Modes: 3 Fe Disc .......... ADJ: Sens/Thres No Disc...........No LCD ......VOL: Adj.........GB: Man only ...............PP: No... Tones: 0
Nautilus DMC IIBa ......$790 ... 4.30lbs....4x9V...14kHz ...............8" Conc.... Modes: 3 No motion DM .. ADJ: Disc/Sens/Thres..............No LCD .......VOL: Fixed.....GB: Man only ..............PP: No... Tones: 2
Fisher CZ-3D ..............$810 ... 3.70lbs....2x9V...5, 15kHz ...........8" Conc.... Modes: 5, Salt, Enhanced... ADJ: Disc/Sens FXD: Thres....7 seg ID LCD ....VOL: Adj.....GB: Man only .........PP: Yes ... Tones: 4
White's MXT Pro .........$820 ... 4.60lbs....8AA...15kHz ..............12" Conc.... Modes: 3 coin, relic, pros.. ADJ: Disc/Sens/Thres......189 seg ID LCD ....VOL: Fixed.....GB: Man, Auto, Fixed ..PP: Yes ... Tones: 7

Teknetics T2 ...............$850 ... 4.60lbs....4AA...13kHz ..........11" Ellip DD.....Modes: 2 AM, DM ........... ADJ: Disc/Sens/Thres........99 seg ID LCD ......VOL: Adj........GB: Man, Auto ........PP: Yes ... Tones: 6
Garrett GTI 2500 .......$950 ... 4.63lbs....8AA...7.2kHz .............9.5" Conc.... Modes: 7, w/ imaging .......ADJ: Disc/Sens/Thres......24 seg ID LCD ........VOL: Adj........GB: Man, Auto, Fixed ...PP: Yes ... Tones: 3
Minelab Safari ..........$1000 ... 3.60lbs...8AA...1.5-100kHz ...11" Conc.DD... Modes: 11, 4 custom....... ADJ: Disc/Sens/Thres......189 seg ID LCD .....VOL: Adj ........GB: Auto only...........PP: Yes ... Tones: Multi
ML Sovereign GT.....$1000 ... 4.80lbs...8AA...1.5-25.5kHz ...10" Conc.DD... Modes: 4, Iron mask....... ADJ: Disc/Sens/Thres.....No LCD (optional) ...VOL: Adj ........GB: Auto only...........PP: Yes ... Tones: 6

White's VX3............$1100 ... 4.30lbs...8AA...2.5, 7.5, 22.5kHz ...9.5" Conc.DD... Modes: 8, Salt, Silver... ADJ: Disc/Sens/Thres.....191 seg ID LCD ...VOL: Adj ...GB: Man, Auto, Fixed ....PP: Yes ... Tones:191
White's DFX 300.....$1000 ... 4.60lbs...8AA...3, 15kHz .......12" Conc.DD... Modes: 9, Trash, Silver........ ADJ: Disc/Sens/Thres....190 seg ID LCD ...VOL: Adj ....GB: Man, Auto, Fixed.....PP: Yes ... Tones: 191
Fisher F75..............$1050 ... 3.50lbs...4AA...13kHz ............11" Ellip DD.... Modes: 3 w/ no motion DM.. ADJ: Disc/Sens/Thres......65 seg ID LCD ....VOL: Adj ...GB: Man, Auto, Fixed.....PP: Yes ... Tones: 65
Fisher CZ-21..........$1125 ... 5.10lbs...4x9v...5, 15kHz ........8" Conc.DD... Modes: 3, AM, DM............ ADJ: Disc/Sens FXD: Thres...........No LCD .....VOL: Adj ........GB: Man only............PP: Yes ... Tones: 3
ML Explorer SE......$1300 ... 4.00lbs...8AA...1.5-100kHz ...11" Conc.DD... Modes: 10, Iron mask....... ADJ: Disc/Sens/Thres.......Screen ID LCD .....VOL: Adj ........GB: Auto only............PP: Yes ... Tones: Multi
White's V3i ............$1500 ... 4.50lbs...8AA...2.5, 7.5, 22.5kHz ...10" Conc.DD... Modes: 10, 3x3 ID..... ADJ: Disc/Sens/Thres.....191 seg ID LCD ...VOL: Adj ...GB: Man, Auto, Fixed ....PP: Yes ... Tones:255

Just for fun, ranking their merits (larger number is better features): The AT Pro is mid-class out of a field with some heavyweights.

ML X-Terra 705 ............ 13
Fisher F75......................12
Fisher F70 ....................10
Fisher CZ-3D .................10
Teknetics T2 ...................9
Minelab X-Terra 505........7
Teknetics Omega 8K.......7
Fisher Gold Bug Pro........7
White's VX3.....................7
White's DFX 300.............7
White's Matrix M6...........6
Teknetics G2 ..................6
Fisher Gold Bug DP....... 6
Tesoro Cortes ................5
White's MXT ..................5
Minelab Safari ...............5
ML Explorer SE..............5
White's V3i .....................5
Garrett GTP 1350 ..........4
White's MXT Pro ............4
Garrett GTI 2500 ............4
Garrett AT Pro.................3
Tesoro Tejon .................0
Garrett GTI 1500........... 0
ML Sovereign GT...........0
Fisher 1270x..................-1
Nautilus DMC II.............-4
Tesoro Lobo.................. -4
Fisher GB II ..................-4
Fisher CZ-21.................-4
Nautilus DMC IIBa .......-5
Tesoro Deleon ............ -5
White's GMT................. -7
White's Sierra Madre....-10

I had my problems with the early AT Pro, but at least Garrett handled the problems in pretty good fashion ..... They are at least striving for a better product , and they are listenning to their customers complaints ........ They were really sticking thier heads out when they came out with the AT Pro, and to some extent they got beat up , but they did not stop fighting ..... Bang for the buck is hard to beat wth the AT Pro ......After all the back and forth that I went through with my AT Pro ( I'm sure a lot of you remember ) I'm still glad that I got one ......For what it does , and for what I paid for it , I'm still ahead of the game with it ....... You have to commend ANY company that comes out with ANY inovative product and support them .....If you don't suuport these companies , innovation will come to a halt .....Jim

Hmmmmmm. What a large list........ and I noticed some errors...just at a quick glance.

Hey Johnnyanglo I didn't know the Safari at 3.6 lbs. is lighter than the Explorer se at 4.0 lbs.? I was just wondering where you got this information as I always thought the weight on these two units was the same. And what about he E-trac you forgot that one? I always thought that even though it is balanced better with the handle shift that it was still a little heavier than the standard Explorer.

May not be entirely accurate in all details - relied on internet sources. But, from those sources the Explorer SE Pro is 4.0lbs to the Safari's 3.6lbs.

ML E-trac..............$1500 ... 4.80lbs...8AA...1.5-100kHz ...11" Conc.DD... Modes: 12, Quick mask....... ADJ: Disc/Sens/Thres.......1750 seg ID LCD .....VOL: Adj ........GB: Auto only............PP: Yes ... Tones: 30
Garrett Ace 250....$215 ..... 2.70lbs...4AA....6.5kHz ...6.6x9" Ellip Conc... Modes: 6, w/ Custom .......... ADJ: Disc/Sens FXD:Thres...12 seg ID LCD ...VOL: Fixed......GB: Fixed only..........PP: Yes ... Tones: 3

The list is subjective, to a point, with criteria for weight, price, and number of required batteries weighted negatively if the unit is heavy, expensive, and requires numerous batteries. Having more search modes, more operating frequencies, ability to adjustment disc, sensitivity, and threshold, and versatility of ground balancing modes will increase the weighed score (higher is better). Having a more informative LCD gains points while having a box with knobs loses points (subjective), not being able to adjust volume loses points, not having pinpoint mode loses points, and having more audio tones is weighted higher. There is nothing in the score about depth, learning curve, balance, reliability, target ID, target separation, overall function, or if the unit's spec sheet particularly coincides with usefulness in the field, which it many not.

From the factors above, the ideal detector would be very cheap and very light, would operate on one 9V battery, have well chosen multi-freqs with a dozen search modes and many custom modes and have adjustable disc, sensitivity, threshold, and volume and feature a high res color display and include all ground balance options with pinpoint and multiple tone assignments. Obviously many mutually excluding options - cheap but with expensive parts is not likely.

With the E-Trac and Ace 250:

ML X-Terra 705 ............ 13
Fisher F75......................12
Fisher F70 .....................10
Fisher CZ-3D .................10
Teknetics T2 ...................9
Minelab X-Terra 505........7
Teknetics Omega 8K.......7
Fisher Gold Bug Pro........7
White's VX3.....................7
White's DFX 300..............7
Minelab E-Trac ...............6
White's Matrix M6............6
Teknetics G2 ...................6
Fisher Gold Bug DP........ 6
Tesoro Cortes .................5
White's MXT ...................5
Minelab Safari ................5
ML Explorer SE...............5
White's V3i .....................5
Garrett Ace 250 ............ 5
Garrett GTP 1350 ..........4
White's MXT Pro ............4
Garrett GTI 2500 ............4
Garrett AT Pro.................3
Tesoro Tejon ...................0
Garrett GTI 1500............ 0
ML Sovereign GT............0
Fisher 1270x..................-1
Nautilus DMC II..............-4
Tesoro Lobo.................. -4
Fisher GB II ..................-4
Fisher CZ-21.................-4
Nautilus DMC IIBa ........-5
Tesoro Deleon ............. -5
White's GMT................. -7
White's Sierra Madre....-10

Hi, In my opinion less is better....I rarely rely on the VDI readings to make my decision on a dig or not to dig situation...I do however rely on it for shallower targets.... I hunt by Sound I'm like a Bloodhound.....Nice effort for a comparison list Thanks......JJ

The E-trac at 4.8 pounds,no wonder my shoulder hurts after I swing it for just a few hours! I can swing my CZ-3D all day long with no pain at all. I use to think CZ's were heavy until I got a E-trac. Thats one reason I got the sunray x-8 and x-5 coils to lighten the load. I think I will leave the x-5 on for awhile and delegate the E-trac to my super heavy trash machine as it is too awesome of a machine to get rid of! And I know there is a swingy thing,But I hate to have to hook up a contraption to a machine just to use it. Besides it's always nice to have a machine in your arsenal that can tell the difference between dime,quarter,and half for cherry picking silver.