Minelab Sovereign GT
Price: $1000
Avg. Score: 
4.61
Based on 36 reviews
4.61Based on 36 reviews
Avg. Durability:
5.00
Avg. Ease of use:
4.75
Sovereign gt
November 29, 2017
Awesome...I have 2. Deep Stable Iron Mask Hip. Chest Mountable
Overall Rating
Durability
Ease of Use
Would you recommend this to a new user?
Yes, absolutely!
Dean from
British Columbia
40
Perfect for wet sand
July 16, 2016
Love the Sovereign GT. It runs awesome on the east coast of FL. It's deep
and the sounds are addictive. If you can find one you will be hooked to.
Max Depth: 15 inches on US quarter
Overall Rating
Durability
Ease of Use
Would you recommend this to a new user?
Yes, absolutely!
Ben Adler from
FL
60
Nothing better !
January 07, 2015
I have been using the Soveriegn GT for 3 yrs now so I am very comfortable
with what I am going to post about it. First..
Durability...
I gave 5 Stars as I have dropped this machine and even The control box by itself countless number of times and not a problem at all. Like a Timex Watch... Takes a licken and keeps on ticken!
Ease of Use...
I had to think on this one a bit as it does take some getting use to the language of the GT compared to other detectors BUT you can easily turn On and Go with this in the pre settings from the manual and find a lot of things. Once you understand the GT Language you are going to be Amazed at what this detector will do. So 5 Stars for sure even if you're new to it.
Overall Satisfaction..
5 Stars Plus as I would not Use ANY Other detector now. I have been detecting for almost 12 years now and have tried many, many machines of all brands with and without a VID, Water and Land types. Whites, Tesoro's, Fisher, Bounty Hunters, Wilson Coin Select ( Great Machine ) and so on. All great Machines for there designed purpose but for me personally as an All Round Detector for Land and Water The GT has NO Rival!
If you like all the useless bells and useless whistles to play with and want to waste precious detecting time and miss a lot of goodies then the GT is not for you. Again.. My Personal Opinion.
Depth..
I am in Poland so on a U.S. Quarter or any other U.S. Coin I can not say BUT I have pulled 2 Zloty Coins ( About U.S. Quarter size ) at 15 Inches and smaller 1 Groszy ( Smaller then a U.S. Dime ) at an easy 10 inches I mostly water hunt and I have scooped some VERY DEEP holes and pulled up small coins and small jewelry. This Machine goes very deep if you know what to listen for and a Good pair of head phones helps in that way. I did use an Aluminun Scoop but had to get a Stainless Steel one so I could scoop deeper and not wear the front end of the scoop out.
Bottom Line...
If you want DEEP, The GT will take you there!
NOTE.. Takes 8 AA Batteries. Now I use to Use Nothing but Duracell or Energizer BUT I have found that ( At Least here In Poland ) That The Store Batteries which I get from The Big Super Market ( Carefour ) to which I get 16 for a cheaper price of 8 of the National name brand work just as well and just as long. 8 Energizer Cost 17 Zloty... 16 Carefour Cost 11 Zloty so if You do Many hours of Detecting then you may want to try something other then the top names. Can't hurt to try and may save you a lot of cash in the long run.
Now a lot of People say it is heavy and awkward and with the S handle and control box mounted on the shaft I would agree for the most part tho if you are in good shape and have a strong arm you will have no problem. A Straight Shaft is the way to go with the GT. I am 63 so it was a concern for me BUT you can Hip Mount or Chest Mount the control box which makes swinging a breeze. I myself put my control box in a small back pack and wear it on my back so I can carry headphones and spare batteries and such with me and allows me to go waist high in the water and I can detect as long as I want with no effort at all. I thought about the Excal but most of what I heard from those I know that use them say they are great when they work and I had similar problems with other water detectors I used. The Excal and GT are pretty much the same except one is waterproof and one is not or at least when you get the GT but I waterproofed mine easily with a Plano Waterproof Box and Blue Seal Cable Clamp and I am ready to go with No worries and I believe the GT can do a little more then the Excal also.
That's just my opinion and what works for me. The Iron Mask Is Awesome and saves a lot of unnecessary digging or scooping. I keep my notch at about 2 o clock, Sens all the way counter clockwise, Disk Mode, Band 1, Threshold On at about 12 to 1 o clock so you just barley hear it and Volume at about 3 o clock. This works great for me about 90 percent of the time and I change to where I am hunting if I need to but that is rarely.
To Sum it All Up... They discontinued making them now so if you can get one.. DO IT!! You will pay Top Dollar for Sure But it will be worth every Penny of your investment and that is how to look at this machine as it will pay for itself over and over again. I posted a review on the Teknetiks Euro Pro that we got for my wife and I tell you that is a Super Detector for the money but she wanted to water hunt and as it goes, the water lures you out to want to go a little further every time and she almost ruined her detector so I am giving her My GT and I am getting another one no matter what I have to pay for it. 17 frequencies so you are covered for all targets.
I have the 10" tornado Coil on it and easy to swing and for a stock coil will go DEEP. The Key is using the settings for where You Hunt BUT Most Important of All is... BE PATIENT and LEARN The GT LANGUAGE and You will Be doing a lot of Happy Dances. Go Slow ( as the GT does have a Slower recovery Speed the most detectors ) and Reap the Goodies that everyone else leaves behind. THE GT ROCKS !!!! ALL ROUND AND THE BEST THERE IS HANDS DOWN!
Krakow Ron In Krakow Poland
Max Depth: 15 inches on US quarter
Overall Rating
Durability
Ease of Use
Would you recommend this to a new user?
Yes, absolutely!
Ronald Ghiotto from
Krakow Poland
234
Sovereign gt is my love
June 12, 2013
You drink coffee? Then you know what it is an addiction. I have been
addicted to its sounds. I mean to my Sovereign GT. Trying to experiment
with it a little, because I like to challenge myself, and I have found that
Sovereign is going to give me a lot of joy of this meaning for a long time
on.
Honestly, on my first serious outing on the shore of Mediterranean sea, in the very first minute of my treasure hunting I found two gold teeth and then, later, in seven days of my vacation, about 50 euros in coins, some junk rings, two silver rings and a lost of junk. I could not wait for this vacation and I have to admit that the first tryout of my Sovereign was exactly what I was expecting of it, easy of use, sound was telling me what is there, OK, again later on, sometimes I made wrong decision, I did not dig, because a signal was deep of the ououou type, then my friend with Garrett came, searched and found quarter (Euro).
But this particular moment was anyway "the sign" for me, week later, I found on the meadow above this place, 7 wonderful coins, the oldest one was of 1800 year! I trust and I understand this machine, and what is very exciting? I know that there is a lot to explore on it, combination of settings, lately, I use certain order of change of settings, first I search in all metal, when I have a signal, then I switch to Iron Off and then it says it is there or not. Then I switch back to all metal and continue searching.
So, I play with it and I enjoy it. And it is only beginning, I do not use disc or sens or other settings changes too much so far. I believe that other manufacturers also make the best products they can, but somehow I have had in my faith written - Minelab Sovereign GT, so I take my chances and make of it a friend of mine!!! What is very funny for me when using this detector? It seems to me like a human being. Sometimes it has a kind of mood. You have to get used to it.
Max Depth: 14 inches on US quarter
Overall Rating
Durability
Ease of Use
Would you recommend this to a new user?
Yes, absolutely!
Al from
Italy
183
Sov' GT
August 12, 2012
The best machine you will ever buy, got mine about a year ago and
absolutely smitten with it, you know you need confidence in your machine
and this machine does that, E-Trac on steroids, so, so simple to use and
set up, ready to go in seconds, both on land or beach combined with a
coiltek 15" wot coil it's a killer combo!The machine is a little on the heavy side but used with a bungee, not a problem, do yourselves a favour, GO TREAT YOURSELF!.. . Just have a look at the "Des Dunne" intro' to the GT, what he says is spot on.
P. S. I don't work for minelab but if I did this is the machine I would push.
Overall Rating
Bazza from
north wales
174
Sandman
May 14, 2012
The first metal detector I bought back in 1997 was a Minelab Sovereign.
Living in central North Carolina, it was mainly used for coin and relic
hunting. Hunting Civil War campsites and battlegrounds, the machine
preformed poorly. It just couldn't punch through the heavily mineralized
soil. I sold the machine and bought a Whites XLT and found over a hundred
bullets, ten buttons, and a rare CS belt buckle. Minelab machines are
expensive and over hyped. If they were half as good as their owners
claimed, everyone would own one. And no I do not work for Whites metal
detectors. But I do know a dog when I see one.
Overall Rating
Kevin Palo from
Fort Pierce,Florida
1848
NOT worth the $ for Oregon
December 03, 2011
I have detected for 7 years. I bought this machine after using an Excal
800 for a year. I used this machine for parks and schools. It is a fine
detector, and MANY love it, but I had several issues such that I sold it
and wouldn't ever buy one again: People claim its wonderful depth and stability. In Oregon, I never was able to get depth and stability with the SOV. I found that I usually had to hunt with sensitivity turned almost as low as it would go. I don't think the SOV was engineered for the high mineralized soils of Oregon.
If one desires an aftermarket meter or Sunray pinpointer, the tangle of cords becomes quite cumbersome. I had cords running from the coil, to the pinpointer switch, to the meter and then the control housing. It was a mess! The cords were always in the way. This worsens if hipmounting is desired.
Aftermarket switch protector's MUST be installed to protect the toggle switches from ruin. It baffles me that one must buy aftermarket protection. Minelab should equip an $1000 detector with such.
EMI: Electromagnetic interference. The Sov GT is equipped with a frequency change switch. However, detect alongside someone using an etrac, and GOOD LUCK. I was unable to hunt within 100 feet of my friend using an etrac, even after he used noise cancel.
Weight: This machine is very heavy and most will want to hipmount it to avoid discomfort. See the above cord issue with that.
Many love this detector. Many have cause. I did not! Perhaps its performance in certain soils outweighs the issues, but not in Oregon soils!
Overall Rating
Dirk from
Oregon
1929
Sovereign Gt
October 11, 2011
This machine is a good all round machine which is easy to use ideal for the
beach and good on pasture.It does have certain build issues that owners should be aware of, one is that over a period of time the plastic lugs on the battery pack will crack and in some cases break off, so you need to be a bit caring when taking the pack in and out of the machine.
Also the coil connecting plug on the box will not take to much pressure pulling and pushing will eventually cause that plug to invert due to the plastic getting brittle and cracking, basically treat it with a bit of respect, mine is over two years old and goes out in all extremes of weathers, so has had some wear and tear.
If you are going to hip mount it again put a couple loops around the hip mount belt as per the instructions, avoid to much pull on the coil lead connection.
If you do this you will get lots of service from
this brilliant Detector.
Overall Rating
Peter from
Hove Actully
272
Absolute Best Detector - Hands Down
September 12, 2011
If you are a coin hunter, with the 180 meter, you will not dig any aluminum
or zinc pennies. Anything at 180 or slightly above will be a copper or
silver coin with the "very occasional" junk item. This detector reigns
above all. Get one and dig less junk for sure. If you are a deep coin hunter you need this detector. If you want gold, then you will need to dig everything. This is the case with all detectors. Gold covers a very broad spectrum, get used to digging pull tabs, etc. Awesome detector hands down!!!!!
Overall Rating
Lloyd from
Farmington Hills, MI
209
Best field machine i have used
August 24, 2011
2 years ago I brought a sov gt, I still have not found a better machine,
well maybe the Excalibur it's big brother. I have used the sov gt in fields
mostly plowed or pastures over 200 years old and that machine does not miss
anything in iron mask on, fixed, sen's auto, volume max and most of all a
good pair of head phones. I use black widow. The e-trac is a good machine but it does not come close to the depth the sov gt gets the s-12 coil gets me up to 14 inches on a copper coin or a cw button, same with very old silver it screams!!! I love this machine.
Jim
Overall Rating
Jim from colonial long island from
1640,s southold ny
254