Spectra V3 and V3i
Approximate price: $1500
Number of Reviews: 24
on 3 pages.
Also in this price range:
Minelab E-TRAC
Detectorist
ARTIFACTMAN in Missouri -
What I really want to know is will the v3i find more stuff that my DFX couldn't? I have hunted with people who use minlab top of the line and they didn't find any more goodies than I did and some times they found very little compared to the DFX. Its a lot of cash to put down for something that will only do just as good as what you already have.
Dec 05, 2011
5 Yes
10 No
Hobbist
Scott Hardy in Ohio -
Theres a lot to say about the White's V3i, I've owned mine for a year.
The V3i has got to be the king of settings, it has a setting for just about everything, and even the settings can be broken down to fine tune the setting.
After having said that, it really is a turn on and go machine. Just pick your program for your hunt and go.
I have 3 favorite programs, the Coin and Jewelry, High Trash and Deep Silver. With each of those programs I make a few simple adjustments for the area I hunt. I'm starting to like Mixed High Pro the more I use it.
If you just want to make basic adjustments it's easy to do on the fly or if you want to dig deep into the machine's settings and set it up to find coins only on Mars you could probable do that also.
One of the nice things is, if you get the machine way out of whack with wrong settings you can restore the program back to factory original and start tweaking all over again.
I haven't found anything real deep but I was impressed I found a zinc penny measured at 9 inches lying at a 45 degree angle. I've also found coins that I have passed over with other machines in the past because of nearby trash or trash in the same hole.
It really is a great machine and worth ever dollar paid, it sets the bar high for other machines to follow.
It has a few draw backs that I can see:
It's a heavy machine, took me 2 weeks of swinging before I didn't notice its weight.
It's easy to get lost in the menus, I think White's could of done a better job on it's lay out.
Last thing is, for the life of me I can't figure out why they didn't make it so you can plug it into your computer. That would have been a cool feature. Design a program and upload it into the machine or share with others and everybody could tweak on it.
Sep 27, 2011
51 Yes
3 No
Deep Silver? Yes Deep Gold? Yes
J in Sacto in Sacramento, California -My house was built in the late 1800's and have over an acre of land. I have detected my yard since I bought the house 10 years ago. I first used my trusty MXT, great detector, pretty much cleaned out the yard.
But I felt I was missing more stuff in the ground, so I gave the Explorer SE, very good detector on silver, I found 6 more silver coins at 8-9 inches, didn't care for Minelab service as much as Whites.
It took Minelab 3 months to fix and return my Explorer, so in the mean time I bought a Whites Spectra V3, this detector gave new life to my yard, 4 more silver coins at 8-9 inches and one at a little over 10 inches. In my opinion the V3 is the best of the best detector out there.
Mar 21, 2011
41 Yes
5 No
V3i Beats Out the Competition!
Neil Schwartz in Philadelphia, PA -It has now been more than a year since purchasing my V3. I resisted purchasing it originally, feeling that the DFX had been very good to me. That all changed, however, when a two week old V3 which was only used once appeared on the local classifieds at a price I could not ignore.
I quickly purchased it and sold my DFX setup. I must say that my first impression was not favorable. I could not see any advantages over the DFX and found the configuration settings of the V3 to be overwhelming. I decided to give it some time, and I am so glad I did.
This past year (2010) has been the best year of metal detecting in my 10 years at the hobby, and I owe it all to the V3i. (I upgraded the firmware of the detector from the V3 to the V3i in the fall). I have found more gold, silver, and artifacts over the past 12 months due to the V3i's ability to find small, deeply buried items that other high end detectors could not detect.
The Polar Plot feature helps to distinguish between coins, buttons and trash targets. Digital filters help penetrate mineralized soil while filtering out EMI.
Three frequencies are able to ID targets remarkably well, with a target accuracy/probability number to help even more. I prefer using one of the single frequency modes to squeak out a bit more depth.
The detector has dozens of features and configurations to maximize your detecting experience, but for the novice there are several simple, "Turn on and go" presets available.
Although many people find the V3i a bit overwhelming at first, those that stick with it and read the manual will find it is an amazing electronic device.
Jan 28, 2011
51 Yes
3 No
FANTASTIC DETECTOR
alex white in uk -The v3 is not a machine I would recommend for novices. OK,the factory programmes are good, but to get the best out of this machine you really need to be able to make several adjustments. This means you need to understand each of the parameters you change, and what is needed for the land you detect on e.g. looking for hammerds between the nails or deep coins on quiet pasture.
After 7 months with this machine it feels I can now tailor my programmes for the environment I want to search in.
The depth is great. This is a very powerful unit you can be certain of. It's also very sensitive to small items, particularly with the 22.5 khz.
Recovery speed can be fully adjusted, though the faster the recovery the less the depth(a question of physics)-Though it still hits deep when set fairly fast.
I prefer to hunt in middle frequency(7.5)-great depth and sensitivity. Here in the UK the 22.5 khz does seem susceptible to emi. I recently had mine upgraded. I read on the forums this helps with this as it's a more stable unit. I've yet to goto my roman sites and test this-before I just couldn't use single 22.5khz, though 3 frequency and 7.5 khz where nice and quiet. Still got some hammerds and small roman bronzes with the 7.5 khz.
The target id is brilliant. The polar plot is of great help in telling you it's large iron, even if the vdi number says it's a good target. The machine can give you so much information that it's exciting just digging to see if your guess was right!
Yes it's expensive, but if you are passionate about this hobby I would say this machine is a good investment.
Nov 14, 2010
44 Yes
4 No
my v3i
jeremi mann in dadeville alabama -THIS DETECTOR IS HANDS DOWN THE BEST VLF MULTY FREQUENCY DETECTOR ON THE MARKRT TODAY! I have had mine for 6 months now and yes there is a learning curve on the unit. Every trip adds to your bag of tricks, your depth and you understanding of all that whites put into this splendid machine useable features are everywhere.
All the bells and whistles have a purpose you will see in the field. Its the best detector for the money anywhere in the universe. Little green men couldn't have done better than the engineers at whites did. And service after the sale is what whites has been known for from the day they opened the doors in Sweet Home Oregon. I would have gladly paid more to have a machine this versatile. Its simply worth EVERY penny!!!!!!!!!!!!If u r a hard core th'er this unit will amaze you every day in the field. And talk in adds is cheep whites put their money where their mouths were. GET ONE TODAY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
jeremi mann
Sep 15, 2010
27 Yes
21 No
Patience, patience . . .
Marko in Potomac, MD -I currently own a Minelab Explorer II, SE, SE pro, Whites XLT, GMT, and Fisher F75 with a wide variety of aftermarket coils. In the past, I have owned a Heathkit, White's Coinmaster II, and DetectorPro PI. This is by far the best detector I have ever used.
Recently, I took it to Ganes Creek in Alaska to hunt gold. In a site that has been constantly mined since 1906 iron trash is a real problem. The V3i's ability to discriminate iron and other metals is unparalleld. One day I averaged three holes dug per nugget. With the White's GMT I constantly dug "iffy" targets that were iron.
Having said that, a word of caution. It is unlike any detector I have seen previously. If you try to use the same detecting techniques that work well with other machines, you will be frustrated. It took me two full days of using the detector and collaborating with another V3i owner to finally "get" the machine. The 3 by 3 id method is unique. Stick with the factory settings and only adjust the volume. Use the prospecting mode for nuggets and not coin and jewelry.
Aug 06, 2010
46 Yes
4 No
Spectra V3 GrabA** Junk
Kevin Groce in Glasgow, Ky -
I had a whites DFX 300 it was a great detector and I found a few real cool coins with it ... I really liked the pinpoint on the detector when the spectra v3 came out, I sold the DFX and got the spectra v3 for 1500 ... I noticed that I couldn't detect gold right and couldn't pinpoint the target as well as the DFX could... I reset the system to defaults and placed 3 gold rings in my yard and it couldn't detect them... maybe I had a damn DUD ?????
I just sold this one on ebays to buy a mindlab e trac ... I guess I will give this a whirl .... if you would like to respond to me great @ kentuckytreasurehunter@gmail.com or myspace.com/kentuckytreasurehunter I own a computer store and 6 months out the year I'm the guitar tech for a rock and roll band on tour called Black Stone Cherry on Road Runner Records... Thanks ... Kevin
Apr 13, 2010
21 Yes
77 No
Too Much Money For Alot Of Nothing!
jeff in mcconnellsburg pa -$1500 bucks! We all love metal detecting but that much for a detector? Seems like whites has started dealing with all the high rollers and forgot about us folks who are not rich. I'm tired of the nickel and dime shell game. Buy this detector for $1200 and if you want more depth buy this $300 dollar coil! I hear of guys wanting a big foot coil for the v3s. Well for $1500 bucks that thing should pull china men out of the hole! If you want a good detector buy a whites eagle2 sl or a spectrum. They can give this one a run for it's money! I see they are starting too pile up on ebay like the prizm lines are! tesoro and garrett are getting more competative with deeper machines for $600 dollars or more less than the v3. I wonder if a jar of vasoline comes with the bonus package when you buy one!
Apr 02, 2010
57 Yes
63 No
V 3 DETECTOR, AWESOME MACHINE
GREG WARREN in MEDINAH, ILLINOIS -I have hunted over 30 years, bounty hunter, whites xlt, and whites dfx, my yard the site, 1890 farm house in Medinah, Ill. I have gotten some nice coins, mercury dimes, barber half dollars dfx pounding my yard, nothing showed up, cleaned out my yard, V3, with eclipse shooter, 4x6, in 45 minutes, 1917 mercury dime, 4 wheat pennies, all earlier 1920's, all 6 inches deep, V3, awesome machine.
Mar 24, 2010
39 Yes
8 No
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