Metal Detector Selector

If you are buying a new metal detector whether it be your first one or an upgrade to your current machine here are our editors choice for the best metal detector in various categories. Of course you could buy a used metal detector, but bear in mind that the first owner is selling it for a reason, so it might be best to buy new, at least you will know what you are getting.

Our recommendations are based on specifications, price and user experience, so you can be sure of buying a great metal detector if you use our Metal Detector Selector as your guide.

Here we will give a quick round up of the Top 3 Metal Detectors in Every Category.

Our Metal Detector Selector is updated every month to take into account any machines new to the market.

In this category you are probably just exploring the idea of taking up the hobby of metal detecting and are looking at getting into the hobby for the least cost possible. Now of course you can find even cheaper metal detectors than these, on Amazon and eBay but to be sure of getting something fairly decent you need to stick to the market leading brands rather than some unknown brand from the far east. The problem with unknown eBay only brands is that they are little more than children’s toys. Despite wild promises from the advertising blurb they will often only detect larger shallow metal items. You will be missing those deeper more interesting and older finds. There is only so many times that you will actually go out metal detecting if you are only finding bottle tops and modern junk. Our top 3 here are all from well established metal detector manufacturers and whilst they won’t find as much as a £600 metal detector, they will at least give you a half decent start in this exciting hobby.

1. Minelab X-Terra Voyager – £120

The Minelab X-Terra Voyager is the latest addition to Minelab’s X-Terra range, but it is firmly in the entry level category. It is built especially to target this entry level arena that is crammed with so many unknown Amazon brands, in fact it is specifically target those machines by only being available from Amazon rather than Minelab’s usual dealerships. You might think that the dealers would be annoyed by this but at this price range there probably isn’t much of a dealer margin to be made and its not going to be hurting the sales of any of Minelab’s mainstream detectors. So what do you get? Well a large clear backlit display for a start, this display shows target numbers that could give you some idea of what you are digging. Generally speaking the lower the number, the less likely it is to be something interesting, but its not an exact science, so only take the numbers as a guide and not a guarantee. It has 4 search modes to fine tune the machine to the kind of detecting that you are doing.

The search coil is a decent size at 11″ x 8.5″ so you can cover some ground with it, and the coil and stem are waterproof, so wet grass and puddles aren’t going to bother it. The detector operates on a single frequency of 5.82 KHz which is on the low side but perfectly useable.

All in a pretty good budget introduction to metal detecting.

2. Nokta 1st Swing – £120

As the name suggests the Nokta 1st Swing is designed as a metal detector for beginners. In doing so they have actually created a fairly good first detector, for a start it is light at around 880g, secondly it is completely waterproof so the weather can do whatever it likes and you can detect a river bed and drop it without any issues. At this price, as you would expect, it is a single frequency machine that operates at 15kHz but that is right in the middle of the frequency range of most detectors so will fine with that, in fact personally, I prefer the 15kHz to the 5.82kHz of the X-Terra Pro, but the search coil at just 7″ is a little small for me so puts the 1st Swing into second place, other than that as an inexpensive first detector it will serve you well until you upgrade and then be great as a backup detector.

3. Viking V6 – £120

In comparison to the first two the Viking V6 comes across as a bit old fashioned, and it is, it doesn’t have a display of any sort and has just three buttons and a headphone jack. It has a solid 8″ coil and the whole unit weighs about 1100g. For those who just want pure reliable simplicity then this could be the way to go. Just switch it on, fiddle with the knobs and set off walking, listening to whatever the machine is telling you. Very old school and almost analogue but if you are a bit of a technophobe luddite then why not give it a chance?

Best Starter Metal Detector Under £300

In this category you are probably looking for a metal detector that is going to give a good start to your metal detecting journey, something that will last you a while and find you some amazing coins and artifacts. You are happy to spend a little more than the price of a basic entry level machine to get some of the features that you find on more advanced machines but without breaking the bank. So on that basis here are our top three.

1. Nokta Score – £279

The Nokta Score is the entry level detector of a new trio of Score models, but what a machine for the money. This fully waterproof machine weighs in at around 1200g but like the other three in this group, operates using Simultaneous multiple frequencies, meaning that it is using a range of frequencies at all times giving you the best possible chance of finding something interesting.

It has three search modes (Park, Field and Beach), it has auto noise cancellation, 5 sensitivity settings and a pretty large 12″ x 9″ search coil. This whole package puts it on a level way beyond its current pricepoint, so is a worthy winner in this category.

2. Minelab Vanquish 340 – £270

The Vanquish 340 is very slightly cheaper than the Nokta Score and also uses SMF (Simultaneous Multi Frequency) but is beaten into second place by not being waterproof. It does have a round 10″ coil which is pretty decent at this price point but the fact that it doesn’t have the facility to use wireless headphones is a bit of a let down compared to the Nokta. A decent machine but not good enough to take first place and its better featured stablemates the Vanquish 440 and 540 are more than the £300 limit for this category.

3. Nokta Simplex Lite

In third place is the Nokta Simplex Lite. In reality it was a tough call to separate 2nd and 3rd positions here. The Nokta Simplex Lite has some great features with 3 search modes and 30 sensitivity levels but only a single operating frequency of 15Khz. It is however, unlike the Vanquish 340, fully waterproof but only comes with a fairly small 9.5″ x 6″ search coil, so on balance comes in at third place.

Best Mid Range Metal Detector From £300-£600

In this category you are probably someone who already has a detector but wants to upgrade to something better, or maybe someone taking up the hobby who wants to start with machine that they can learn without needing to think about upgrading and relearning sometime in the future. At this price level any of these machines can be considered a forever detector, learn it, use it regularly and always find things with it. So lets take a look at the winners in this category.

1. Nokta Triple Score – £469

The Nokta Triple Score is a real game changer in this category, with a choice of three selectable frequencies plus the option of running it as a simultaneous multi frequency machine. It has 4 search modes, 5 recovery speed levels, and 15 sensitivity levels. At this price the specification would win this category alone, but if you then factor in that it comes with both a 12″ x 9″ coil and a 9.5″ x 6″ coil as well as wireless headphones this could well be the best all rounder metal detector currently available, so an easy winner in this category.

2. XP ORX – £599

The XP ORX just sneaks into this category at £599 and very nearly made it into first place. The ORX is essentially a simplified version of the famous XP Deus I, all the same power and most of the same features but easier to use. You can buy it with either a 9″ round high frequency coil, a 9″ eliptical coil or an 11″ round coil that operates at lower frequencies. My personal choice is the 11″ coil as it has found me so many amazing finds. It has selectable multiple frequencies and is completely wireless and very light at around 870g. Although the coil and stem are waterproof the tiny control unit isn’t so don’t go dropping it in any puddles. Other than being so light the ORX shouldn’t really be as good as it is, but get to know it and it will find you plenty of silver coins.

3. Nokta Double Score – £349

Third place was a tough call between the Minelab Vanquish 540 at £429 and the Nokta Double for £80 less and we struggled and argued over this one but essentially the Double Score does the same job as the 540 with the added benefit of being waterproof as well as being cheaper to buy. They are both simultaneous multi frequency machines but overall the Nokta just took third place from the Vanquish.

Best High End Metal Detector from £600-£1000

At this level you are probably already an experienced detectorist looking to make a move up from your current detector. However bear in mind one thing, if you move to something very different then there is a learning curve to get through. It is not unusual to make an upgrade only to find that your finds rate drops as you start to understand your new machine. This is completely normal and things will soon get back to where they were and to then improve as you get to understand what your metal detector is telling you.

So lets take a look at the winners in this category.

1. XP Deus II WS6 Master – £799

The XP Deus II WS6 Master is the lightweight version of the full Deus II. The main difference is that it does away with the remote control unit that is usually mounted on the top of them stem, instead all of the detectors controls and features are operated from the headphones. You can mount the headphone puck on the stem if you like which will enable you to see the control panel. All of the features and performance of the Deus II are unchanged and you can always buy the full remote control at a later date but being £600 less than the full Deus II this makes it a worthy winner in the price banding.

You get the Deus II full Simultaneous Multi Frequency and the same incredible performance of the Deus II at almost half the price!

2. Minelab Equinox 700 – £799

The Minelab Equinox range has always been a firm favourite amongst keen metal detectorists, originally with the 600 and 800 models, these have now been replaced by the 700 and 900 variants, in the detecting community the Equinox usually has its name shortened to just the ‘nox. The Equinox 700 offers a choice of four operating frequencies 4, 5, 10 and 15 kHz or switch to simultaneous multi frequency mode. The 700 is fully waterproof and has a whole host of settings and adjustments to fine tune your metal detecting experience. No wonder the ‘nox is loved by so many!

3. XP Deus I – £749

In third place we have the original Deus I, still an amazing machine that is lightweight and has a reputation for finding great things. Now overshadowed by the Deus II and the latest Minelab Equinox series it still is an amazing detector for those who appreciate something lightweight precise and very effective.

Best Ultimate Metal Detector over £1000

1. XP Deus II – £1399

3. Minelab Equinox 900 – £1099

4. Minelab Manticore – £1799