Is There a 'Best' Metal Detector?

A question often asked is "What is the best detector". I asked it myself once and now nearly a year into metal detecting I've come to the conclusion that there isn't a 'best' detector. From what I can gather if a machine had all the main functions like good depth, great recovery speed, excellent target separation, brilliant discrimination, etc, then that machine would be the only one ever being sold and then you can say that is the best machine.
Mind you, I expect there's a few reading this thinking my machine does all that, so I must have the best machine. Well, to me the best machine hasn't been invented yet, it seems you can't have everything in a machine. An example is if you want depth, then you can have depth but at the expense of fast recovery speed or target separation, apparently you can't have both. You have to find a machine that suits you and is ideal for your sites. In other words think about what functions you would like on a metal detector that suits you best as you can't have them all. Think about where you are going to detect the most as there are different machines for different sites. Also think about what you want to find as some detectors are better at finding some targets more than others. Someone called Mike on a metal detecting review website summed it up brilliantly by posting:-


"Well, I have tried almost every top end detector on the market. I have noticed that each detector will detect differently. For example, I can detect a virgin site with a Whites V3i and find stuff. If I then take an E-trac over the same spot, I will find more stuff. If I then take a XP Deus over the same spot, I will find yet more stuff that the other 2 detectors had missed and Vice-Versa. 

BUT, what does this tell us?
Well- basically just one thing. It just means that each detector has it's own specific way of detecting. i. e one will detect a coin on it's side better than the other and the other will detect a different coin or object better or worse than the other detector. It does not mean that one is better than the other - it just means that each detector has different strengths and/or weaknesses. The trick is, to get a detector that you are comfortable with, stick with it, learn and master it and then really you will find everything that you possibly can - providing you walk over it. It really is that simple. Is a $1500 dollar detector better than a $200 detector? Yes - and no. Is a $200 dollar detector better than a $1500 dollar detector? Yes - and No. Get it?"

 

A good post that. 

What a lot of people overlook when buying their first detector or upgrading to a new one is the kHz rating of a machine. Again, I overlooked this myself but can see now how important it is. There is a lot of techy info on the web about this and how metal detectors work but too heavy for my nearly 60 year old brain. What I have grasped is that the kHz rating on all detectors is worth looking at, you can find the kHz rating by googling your machines specifications. My Ace 250 is 6.5kHz, my Velox One is 17.5 kHz. The kHz used to mean nothing to me but as I have been reading and doing a bit of research, I think its an important thing to look at when deciding on a detector.

So, it looks like we have to find a best machine that suits us and our sites as there isn't one that does it all. Untill that day arrives,

Happy Hunting,

Janner53.