Minelab X-Terra 70

This machine does it all, and very well at that!

Ross. M. in Reno Nevada USQ -
I purchased my XTERRA 70 in december of 2008. I've played with detectors before but really knew very little about them and took the advice of the salemsan at my local sporting goods store. I am so glad I took his advice! I wanted an all around metal detector that I could coin shoot, relic hunt and nugget shoot with. I bought the detector and spent about 8 hours testing with it. I then took it to the park near my home. The first day, I found a beautiful gold and diamond mens ring (which actually fit me) a gold cross and chain, and numerous coins! I then took up nugget shooting as I live in Nevada and have numerous places to go. I went out 3 times and found 11 nuggets in all, all relativly small but together they totaled 3/4 of an ounce. Finally, I went to Arizona with my brother to a known placer field, and hit paydirt! I found a 12.7 ounce nugget, a 3.2 ounce nugget, and a 3.5 ounce gold nugget! All in an area no bigger than my home! I have sent pictures to Minelab with a big thanks and hopefully they will post them soon. This detector is relativly easy to learn if you read the book and watch the video and take the time to test with it. Then all you need is some luck and you cant lose...

My only complaint is the earphone jack is located on the side and is a bit of a pain sometimes because your earphone cable can snag when you set the detector on the ground to dig targets, but I can live with that.This machine is very capable, and really shines in high trash areas. It has built in modes to choose from when you first start but you can edit and save settings when you become more experienced. I bought the eliptical DD coil for gold hunting and it is VERY sensitive! I would definetly buy this again in retrospect. In fact, it does so well with the gold I dont have any plans to upgrade!

Jan 09, 2009

120 Yes
7 No

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Excellent Detector

mR in USA -
Like many people, I did my home work and researched this machine for about a month before I bought it. I can honestly say that this detector is just as good or even better than what I expected.

The display is large and easy to see. The pin point feature is dead on and it's easy on the arms to swing for several hours.

One side note here.. READ your manual. Watch the DVD and PRACTICE with your machine daily.

The more you practice with the X-70, the more you will understand what it is telling you.

Once you understand the display and understand the different tone(s) you are hearing, you'll find yourself knowing what a good target is vs. a bad target.

Again.. the key word here is "Practice". It will pay off in the long run as it already has for me.

Jul 31, 2008

62 Yes
9 No

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Hold the phone !

M. A. in PA -
This md punches deep (for a handheld) Today mine picked up a 1949 quarter at 2 feet !!!! With the stock coil !!!! That to me is pretty impressive, as my friend had just gone over the area with his whites dfx....He challenged me to follow him as he swore that the xterra 70 would not pick up on anything that the whites didnt....Well well , what do we have here ? a quarter at 2 feet ? WOW !!!

Jul 13, 2008

34 Yes
124 No

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One of The Best Multi-Purpose Detectors Made!

Steve Houston in Sweet Home OR -
After many hours of use I have found the X-Terra 70 to be easy to learn and one of the best, if not the best, multi-purpose detectors out there. It is very reliable on the beach near where I live and when you switch over to the eliptical coil it makes a good prospecting detector. In the 18.75 khz mode it does like iron but so does any other detector at or near that frequency. In the 7.5 khz it makes a great coin/jewelry detector. If finding silver coins is your thing try the 3 khz mode. Overall this is one good detector!

Apr 22, 2008

56 Yes
4 No

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Complaints about the minelab xterra 70

G runyon in Las Vegas/ Wa state -
I have an xterra on the way but I'd like to comment on the complaints. Number one planting coins whatever size will not give you a response as the ground where the target is is disrupted the detector is made to read the ground with the target in it not the hole you created in planting the coil this completely ruins the detectors thought process and is void of any true comment of performance. I know this as an owner of a minelab GP3500 air testing can be compromised in to many ways to explain its testing not an actual in field example. I hope to be happy an I'm 99.9 % sure I will be as minelab simple does not put products out there that are not proven in the field. As far as the DFX mxt VS. the xterra comments I've read 200 post where people liked the xterra or vice versa its a personal choice and I've seen it go all ways from my research a lot of it I'm getting the X-terra 70 all purpose and the 3 coils with the package, I think is a fair price until as usual the xterra 80-90-100 ETC.. come out we all now the game! If its not better then whtes XLpro or garrett 250 or MXT then I'll eat my words, Good hunting to all. Grant WA state

Mar 28, 2008

30 Yes
33 No

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Minelab X-Terra 70 : A SUPERB all-rounder!

Marco Nero - Film Designer / Prospector in Sydney, NSW, Australia -
I purchased the X-Terra 70 at Christmas 2007 after a considerable amount of careful research. I wanted a detector which would give me good results on the beach, in the country and on the Goldfields. It had to be current technology and it needed to break down and fit into a backpack.

The X-Terra 70 is very much a professional machine with a lightweight frame. It even features many of the Professional features found on the top of the line machines in the GPX range. It can be carried in either hand without the need for a harness or support strap and uses AA Batteries: VERY important since you can buy replacements anywhere on the way to the beach or goldfields and carry a spare set without noticeable additional weight. It is also AMAZINGLY low on power consumption so a set of batteries can last me several days of constant use before having to replace them. Specialized batteries for OTHER detectors can weigh a LOT more, possess the dimensions of a house brick, need to be worn on the belt and may cost hundreds of dollars to replace or buy a backup for.

This Detector has default settings in both Coin & Relic Mode and also in Prospecting Mode. But it also has a lot of flexibility for programming personal settings and is the lightest detector I could find with the most features. I just balanced mine on the tip of my finger to confirm it can be done before writing this review.

On the goldfields, it handles the "Hot" mineralized soils better than any of the competition in the same range. It has a range of optional coils allowing considerable flexibility and can (depending on the coil) detect surface gold just a couple of millimeters across and under water (with the 6" waterproof DD HF coil) to larger pieces deeper down using the Elliptical DD HF Coil.

I found the corroded remains of a hair-thin needle fragment buried under ironstone pebbles in a crack in bedrock under 4 inches of water just two days ago using the X-Terra 70 with the optional 6" DD HF coil. This was followed shortly after by a small gold find of several grams located with the Elliptical coil and situated about 4 inches beneath the surface of noisy mineralized soil on the goldfields.

A few weeks ago I found a hoard of pre-decimal coins buried in the mountains and over 200 grams of gold chains & rings along with two hundred dollars worth of coins over a small area of beach which had been scanned previously by other detectorists.

The standard Concentric Medium Frequency coil that the detector ships with is ideal for beach combing and coin/relic hunting. I find the Detector to be easy to use and sensitive enough to handle in any location. In my opinion, this is a benchmark in detectors from Minelab and even a worthy backup or secondary detector to serious Prospectors and a primary detector for Coin & Treasure Hunters since the Target ID display can be used to approximate the target before it is done.

Worth every cent in my opinion. Popular, Reliable and rugged. I expect it will stand up by itself for years to come. Heck, I even use my Minelab X-Terra 70 detector in Pinpoint Mode to scan my walls at home for electrical cables before hanging a picture.

This is a worthwhile purchase for those wanting a high-end beach machine or coin & relic detector ...and is also perfect for those wanting to look for native gold yet are not prepared to outlay the higher costs required for an exclusively dedicated Super Gold Detector (which in turn would probably be unsuitable on the beach). For this reason, I have determined the X-Terra 70 to be the perfect "all-rounder" for all targets.

4.8 out of 5

Mar 26, 2008

137 Yes
4 No

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Another European view

James in Europe -
I want to respond to the reviews by Europeans below, I detect in Europe and have used a Quattro and a Sovereign GT and also some Compass machines, the XT-70 does a great job on my sites, I had hammered coins my first and second trip out!
One reviewer below said the the 70 gives no signal on fibulas, that's a bewildering statement, if I can find small hammered coins in C&T mode how can he not detect a Fibula!!
Now on highly minerlized sites you can not rely on the meter as it will often id small non ferrous as iron, be aware that -2 is not iron but a good target, if you get a signal in C&T mode showing deep but the numbers are dancing around simply switch to prospect mode, if it screams or is very loud it's iron, if it's a soft faint signal it's probably a good find.

The golden rule with this machine is when you get an iffy signal in C&T mode switch to prospect, if it's a faint signal you must dig it REGARDLESS of what the meter says!

Things I don't like are the 18.75Khz coils like iron a bit too much but they are much better at finding targets next to iron, the stand is crap and the machine always falls over.
Overall I like this machine, it takes a bit of learning but does well if you know what you are doing.

Mar 26, 2008

49 Yes
3 No

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This is my 5th Minelab

Suncoast Wally in Florida -
Since Minelab first started selling detectors in USA I have owned 5. Most of which were Sovereigns. I recently traded the last one on an X-70. I really wanted to use a light weight detector with a meter. Both are great on 70. Coin recovery from 8" still had a strong signal and I expect 10 to 12 inches shouldn't be a problem. I live in Florida and ground mineralization is non existant. I have used the Noise Cancel with success and for the norm we do not have to ground balance in Florida. I got the elliptical 10" 18.75kHz coil also and need to answer those complaining about buying extra coils. This is the normal routine with any detector unless you only do one type of detecting. None of the other detectors made have a coil that does it all. One of my other detectors I have 3 coils and another one 2 coils. It's the name of the game, just like a carpenter you just need the right tool to do the job.
At this point I am very happy with the 70 but admittedly only have limited experience but after 20 years detecting, the 70's learning curve should be short and I do expect good things. I will post again in a few months when I have a few more miles under my belt with this machine!

Feb 29, 2008

31 Yes
6 No

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Great detector.

litlewolf2 in MN, USA -
I'm new to detecting, but I'm a stats freak. I searched the net and other resources extensively for reviews and stats as to what to get. I had a cheap detector, which got me hooked. This time around I wanted to make sure I spent my money wisely and the X-Terra 70 was a great choice from what my research told me. I posted a few polls on metal detecting forums. Here is the question I posted and the results that came of that on 3 forums.

"So here is what I'm looking for in a detector.....

Can go deep 8"+ for coins.

Can help determine the difference between clad/silver.

Decent pinpointing.

Something that does not weight a ton.

That won't take a full year of learning just to use it half way decent. I'm willing to put time into it to learn but not every day. Just not overly complicated. But more advanced then the ACE 250.

Preferably Under $1,000.00. (Willing to go over if you make a very good argument why a SE or other 1K+ detector outperforms and is worth the extra vs. some of the others.)

Good for Minnesota soil (don't think much mineralization here).

Coil can be used underwater.

Good land detector.

Preferably more then a 1-year warranty.

Something other then a Bounty Hunter. The rest I'm O.K with.

Thanks for the help!!!"


=====Results======

Detector Total votes
X-Terra 70 28
DFX 29
Cibola 12
Explorer SE 18


The DFX did get more votes but it was close. The X-Terra 70 had a better over all deal with most of the dealers as far as add-ons and price. So I went with it and it helped me considerably. This site also contributed a lot towards my decision and I figured I would post my results here to. Hope this helps!

It's a very easy to use detector and can go very deep. It's also got a gold prospecting mode so it's very versatile. It's a great all around detector.

Feb 15, 2008

57 Yes
3 No

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X-70 The best multipurpose detector ever.

Tom in California -
Terra 70 is a deep seeking detector with lots of useful functions that are easy to use. It is as deep as a CZ or even the Explorer some places. Sensitivity to gold and small targets is still very very good, I believe it to be maybe the best multipurpose nugget hunter made and still one of the best coin detectors too. If I was to advice a person to buy a detector above 600 $ it would be this one, it has everything exept weight, light as a feather.The coils I use are the stock and the 6" DD. The 6" DD is a really deep and sensitive coil. I would advice that to be the first coil to buy as an accessory.

Oct 05, 2007

63 Yes
4 No

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