Whites Spectra V3 and V3i
Price: $1500
Avg. Score: 
4.44
Based on 41 reviews
4.44Based on 41 reviews
Avg. Durability:
4.89
Avg. Ease of use:
4.44
Best of the Best
December 06, 2012
This detector is the best I have ever owned and yes I have had owned other
supposedly high end detectors costing more then the V3i. Just be careful when you watch youtube videos and read reviews. I’m not writing this review to sell you this detector but to give you my knowledge and experience with this detector.
The V3i is a high tech user friendly detector that was designed for you, “the user” giving you the availability to tweak this machine to best work in your environment, i. e. mineralization, EMI, hot rocks etc. but not excluding personal tweak options like screen color, live on the fly menus etc.
I have not found a detector that offers such versatility as that of the V3i. I have paid more for competitor detectors thanks to youtube and other resources that made me think, “the competitor’s detector is better then the one I just purchased”, again be careful. I paid $2500 for a detector that had a 100 different frequencies even went under water and lost money when I sold it.
Here are some of the features the V3i offers, note when I say see for yourself I mean actual visual display:
Live controls you can adjust on the fly, Discrimination, Sensitivity, Tracking, Gain and Programs just to name a few.
Probe, see for yourself the signal percent from the ground and the Noise percent returning from the ground and Ground Probe, see for yourself the severity of your ground, analyze VDI, phase and target strength etc.
Ground Filters your can set for your ground mineralization. Ground Tracking, see for yourself when ground mineralization effects change.
I love this, one or three different frequencies, see for yourself the three frequencies analyzing your target or just use one frequency if you want. This machine has an analyzer, just flip your toggle switch forward. You also have on board menu’s to help you if your not understanding a particular feature. I could go on and on noting the features this machine has and I have only just touched a few features.
If this machine seems overwhelming at first then just use the factory preset programs to start off with, you’ll still get lots of finds, learn it, and you’ll go deep once you tweak it for your area conditions and who knows, the factory presets may work fine in your area, for me, my mineralization is low so I dropped my ground filter to 5. 0 Hz Band Pass, upped my RX Gain to 13 and detected a dime at 12”. Others will argue but I just consider them cry babies who wants to be spoon feed so they buy a detector will little or no tweak options.
As you have probably already determined, I love my V3i and I feel there is no machine that can touch it for the price. But please keep in mind you can’t be lazy with this machine if you want to use it to it’s fullest potential.
My advise to anyone is, if you want a detector worth the money then consider the V3i. Everyone needs a good understanding what Sensitivity, Discrimination, Gain, Mineralization, Hot Rocks etc. is about. You also need to have some understanding of what metal conductivity is, different metal alloys and so on, and how they react to a metal detector, coins, jewelry etc. or you’ll never be happy with what you purchase.
Last but not least, consider the manufacture, do they stand behind their product, do they respond to your emails etc. White’s is Number 1 and they are USA made. Also down the manual and read it first, and buy from a local dealer if you can.
Best wishes and good hunting.
Overall Rating
Mike from
Oklahoma
6510
Love the V3I
October 02, 2012
Over priced? Not at all if you feel that way buy one used Whites ALWAYS
stands behind everything they make. Made in the USA 100 percent is always
a plus. I have owned four detectors in my life the V3I is the most recent. What I can tell you is everyone's soil is different and every detector made will work differently in your soil. The V3I with time and understanding can be set up to hunt just about anywhere. Don't like to tweak settings don't buy this machine but remember you will never achieve the potential of your machine without some tweaking.
Expensive? My V3I paid for itself the first week I owned it in gold finds. It works for me I know how to use it and LOVE IT. People who bad talk this detector don't understand it and are better off with a simpler machine.
Overall Rating
Robert D from
Brooklyn
3310
Great detector, pricey.
June 30, 2012
My first metal detector was a $20 Radio Shack bright orange kids detector.
I was 10. It was the coolest Hanukkah present ever!. I'm 48 now and I
make a little more money now then I did then. At Consider inflation and
higher taxes I don't really make all that much more now really. LOL. I made 35 cents a week that my dad let me EARN for my allowance. That was a 10 cent raise from when I was 9. I saved every penny for that detector and found a 1799 large cent, 8 Indian Head pennies. 7 silver quarters. A Mercury dime, a 1930's switchblade with a stag handle that still works like a charm today, and much more cool "stuff".
I now have the V3I. I've had it about a month. Recently I started detecting again after many years. I'm obsessed with it. Since I'm technically a newby again I just want to say I haven't really had much of a chance yet to try all the cool adjustments on the very expansive menu just yet.
I have found quite a few coppers, 2 silvers, an 1802 large cent, 1 1903 Indian Head, an old bowie knife(very rusty), and lots of tin cans.
The V3I can be a turn on and go machine or a very intricately tuned machine with so many potential settings I'm surprised it doesn't come with it's own alien to do your digging for you. At this price it really should. Had to throw that in.
Honestly I can't say I know enough about the electronics to understand the pricing on this machine but I can tell you that it being made in the US, and with the workmanship as good as it is, it really appears to be worth every penny. Granted I still hit junk with it but I'm sure once I figure this thing out over time it will prove to be as wonderful as a metal detector can get.
It really is a work of art as it hangs literally on my wall right next to the couch so I can stare at it when I don't have time to get out and hunt. Winter is really going to be a bummer man I better get the most out of this summer since I'll be polishing the paint off it when the snow starts to fall. Jersey Shore this weekend YAY!!!!!.
Overall Rating
G.Goldstein from
Hartford, CT
3810
Great detector
June 12, 2012
It kills me to see some of these people complaining about the price of the
v3i and they have never had there hands on one! If you have never owned a
detector before don't buy this one! If you are 65 and older and complain
about detectors that have too many functions don't buy this one. If quality product backed by the industry leading service and you are willing to put in the time to learn how to use a PROFESSIONAL. Metal detector then this is the One you've been waiting on.
The time and effort that whites put into this detector clearly shows the second you open the box. I have owned detectors that were 99 percent plastic that were recket making pieces of pure crap. This machine is built to last for decades not a few years. Again its not a beginning machine. In the hand of someone who has learned the unit it WILL OUT PERFORM ANY VLF DETECTOR ON THE MARKET TODAY.
I get killer performance and the polar plot and sizing functions are great. Its screen is incredible!!!!! My favorite part of. This detector is its versatile and capabilities are sound to NONE! IN My search for the detector that fit my needs I went through all the top brands.
After lots of headache and cheep plastic I came back to whites. I had the dfx and anyone that has had a dfx knows what they could do well the v beets dfx hands down. But most important advice I can give anyone who is really hooked on treasure hunting and has no problem learning the detector putting in the time it will repay you're efforts with results.
Overall Rating
Jessie from
Alabama
3819
31 years at the same spot
May 10, 2012
Well been detecting since I was 11, 31 years ago. Started with a ww2 mine
detector then a Whites old (new then) buzz box, another Whites, then a
Tek, then a Mine, then 6000, then MXT and now the v3. I started hunting at my old elementary school in 1972 and have hunted it with every detector I've owned and several others friends had with us. Same ol' school with the MXT I found another 5 silver coins adding to the well over 100 I've found there over the past 30+ years. One day with the v3 and added 7 more silver all more then comfortable digging depth with the good'ol garden hand spade. I'm going back there this weekend with my Mil. spec. folding shovel.
Best thing I've found is the depth and its ability to detect near to trash items.
One find was 2 dimes and a nickel wrapped in aluminum foil. Funny thing is I'm sure I know the kid that lost it in 1969 as I was the kid that collected the milk money from the class and his mother always wrapped his money up like that slowing down the process haha.
Only bad thing so far is that I feel I've wasted alot of days detecting with other machines. . . . gotta go back to the same areas and do them again with this v3.
Overall Rating
Acton from
California
3612
V3i.....WASTE OF MONEY!
March 27, 2012
I purchased my V3i in March of 2011 from a dealer in Eastern Ohio. I had
been using a White's QXT Pro for about 7 years and although it is by far
the best machine I've ever used, I wanted to upgrade. Big mistake! I
should've saved my money. I've had the V3i for a year and I haven't found anything of value with it. I've ran it on every setting possible and it doesn't go deeper than any other machine. If so, then I must have a dud or it's malfunctioning. I buried an Indian Head penny in my front yard at 6 inches and the V3i wouldn't even touch it! I ran the loop of my QXT Pro over it and it may as well have jumped out of the ground! I tweaked the settings on the V3i and still nothing. Needless to say I'm going to be selling mine soon. What a disappointment.
Overall Rating
Aaron Pogue from
Ft. Wayne, Indiana
3872
THE TRUE
March 06, 2012
The Spectra V3i a great system, any body that complains about the price of
the unit is a penny pinching low life, The Spectra Vsi is the Cadillac of
metal detectors, in the real world you get what you pay for, The Seectra
V3i is worth every penny and more.
Overall Rating
Adam lynn from
Atlanta Ga,
3460
Detectorist
December 05, 2011
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.
Overall Rating
ARTIFACTMAN from
Missouri
1948
Hobbist
September 27, 2011
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.
Overall Rating
Scott Hardy from
Ohio
1175
Deep Silver? Yes Deep Gold? Yes
March 21, 2011
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.
Overall Rating
J in Sacto from
Sacramento, California
869