Whites Spectrum XLT
Price: $800
Avg. Score: 
4.57
Based on 49 reviews
4.57Based on 49 reviews
Avg. Durability:
5.00
Avg. Ease of use:
4.86
White's spectrum xlt is awesome!
June 30, 2019
Did quite a lot of research and decided that for my first detector to go
with the XLT... but God a new one was $800 and frankly with bringing up a
family couldn't justify spending that kinda money no matter how badly I
wanted it.
Fast forward... in 1997, I was lucky to find a guy up on Treasure Net Classifieds that wanted to sell his three month old Spectrum XLT in like new condition. I asked why he was selling it and he told me it was too complicated for him to operate. So he sold it to me with the hard case, pinpointer and several diggers and three sand scoops for $600 and warranty transfer.
Now prior to this purchase, I had been reading the White's Spectrum XLT Owner's Manual for years many times. I had done this without having the actual detector! Yes, that is bad I wanted one! Pretty sick huh? OK I'll take it! So when the XLT arrived I was so excited and that's an understatement. I put it together, and went across the street to a park that was put in about ten years in the past.
I simply set it to the Coin and Jewelry pre-progranned setting. I found a lot of coins next to tree trunks and then decided to swing in a cleared grassy area. Got a huge signal at about 8" and dug it. Oh Lord... if I didn't have the pinpointer I would have never found it because it was tarnished black and coated with dirt. It was a ring with a huge Cat's Eye stone and had a lot of scroll work on it. To me it looked like what a pirate might wear.
One of my neighbors was a jeweler so I took it to him and asked him to clean it up the best he could. Three days later he called and said it's ready! When I got there he pulled it out and it was restored to like new. It was beautiful. He told me that this is a very unusual man's ring, he had never seen such a large Cat's Eye and that was very likely owned by a jeweler. He said that he knew that because the ring was very ornate and tested as sterling silver but did not that the numbers for sterling in the band. He said that it is the law that if a ring is going to be sold the numbers must be stamped for purity. So this ring was made for the jeweler himself. He told me that it would easily be valued at $800!
So this XLT paid for itself and then some in about 3 hours of my first metal detecting outing.
So here it is June 2019 I still have this detector and have found countless treasures and lots of junk too over the past twenty-two years I've been using it. One last thing... I have used it on a beach in Cape Cod, MA both on the dry sand and in two feet of salt water with a modified Beach program successfully. I managed to snag a beautiful 14K gold ring buried at 6" in the water that day and also fill half a relish jar with clad coins from dry sand hunting. I'll never sell mine! If you can find one of these Spectrum XLT's for a reasonable price in good condition I highly recommend you get it. Have fun and good hunting!
Max Depth: 9 inches on US quarter
Overall Rating
Durability
Ease of Use
Would you recommend this to a new user?
Yes, absolutely!
Michael Davis from
Clarksville, IN
101
Still gong in 2017 whites xlt
December 16, 2017
My Whites XLT is a surviver. It was originally manufactured in the 1990's
and purchased new by a man named Carrel, who used it to find twelve
different Civil War cannon balls that were still intact before selling it
to me. His original program is still on the machine. I mostly use it for
coin hunting. It has some great factory set programs, but you can also
create your own programs and save them for the life of the detector.
I did have to repair the detector a few years ago. The display screen stopped functioning, and there still is a slight short that causes the machine to turn off on it own without warning once in awhile. However, it has been through a lot of hunts including when it was raining, cold, and windy. I mostly use the standard coil to find silver dimes up to 5" deep and quarters up to 8" deep.
With the Big Bertha coil (15" coil), I found a 1912 Wheat penny 12" deep. The drawback is the detector is less stable with the larger coil, and much heavier to swing. I have not found a lot of silver because most of the areas I hunt are public parks that have been heavily hunted already, but the machine does go crazy when silver is under it. It sniffs out silver very well and sings loudly and proudly. I have also probably paid for the machine by now from all the clad coins I have found. Just this past year, I found 100 quarters in a one single city park in just four 2-hour hunts.
It is no longer the top of the line detector on the market, but it still is one of the best ever made. It was way ahead of its time, and still is better than most. Really, unless you are shelling out big money for a top end detector, you are not going to match the Whites XLT. A few newer detectors selling for under $400 do get better depth, but they cannot discriminate as well as the XLT, so you dig more trash with those machines. Only the top end detectors are better to be honest. Not bad for a machine over 30 years old.
Max Depth: 8 inches on US quarter
Overall Rating
Durability
Ease of Use
Would you recommend this to a new user?
Yes, absolutely!
Paul from
Illinois
194
The legendery vlf the diablo µmax
August 08, 2017
This machine is Unique and Beast who has made this metal detector put a lot
of dedication on it and made EQUALITY AND POWERFULL Beautiful machine and
weighs nothing compare to others metal detectors. Perfect for GOLD NUGGETS.
If you detect a hotrock just (switch hotrock and Leave it normal Hot Rock
Adjust Knob) FIRST for Ground Balance put the ground balance knob in the
middle with a machine off now Turn the GROUND knob clockwise 4 full turns
RIGTH>>. Set the THRESHOLD knob full down <You want it to be clearly audible, but not loud. Best in the middle Close to 1 o'clock you need to use headphones for better Accuracy I recommend small headphones for better sound for this metal detector. NOW Gently "bob" the coil up and down 1 to 4 inches above the ground surface in a spot that looks typical, and where there is probably no buried metal. Keep the coil level and parallel to the surface of the ground as you raise and lower it. NOW Slowly rotate the GROUND knob counterclockwise DOWN <
NOTE: You MUST use the GROUND knob correctly or you will hear the sounds of the ground everywhere. Hopefully I explained And hopefully that helped -_-?
Max Depth: 9 inches on US quarter
Overall Rating
Durability
Ease of Use
Would you recommend this to a new user?
Yes, absolutely!
LAMB from
Au
103
Whites spectrum xlt
September 06, 2015
I have been detecting since mid 70's. I have used just about every detector
out there and I still come back to the Whites Spectrum and my whites 6000di
sl pro. You just can't beat GEB discrimination. Most detectors use TR and
Pulse and whites was the first to use GEB and it's still the best to date.
Find you a good XLT and you won't ever need anything else. The VCO
pinpointing is awesome. I have dug silver walking liberty halves at easy 10
to 11 inches. I won't ever waste anymore time or money on any other
detector. This is as good as it gets.
Max Depth: 8 inches on US quarter
Overall Rating
Durability
Ease of Use
Would you recommend this to a new user?
Yes, absolutely!
Larry Breland from
United States
4424
Very impressed
January 13, 2015
This is one great machine! I picked one up and it's already found some cool
relics, silver and coins. Awesome discrimination in trashy areas.
Max Depth: 12 inches on US quarter
Overall Rating
Durability
Ease of Use
Would you recommend this to a new user?
Yes, absolutely!
Anthony from
New Jersey
3913
Excellent machine !
July 13, 2014
One of the best deepest machines ever! I have found a German helmet six
feet deep. It has ready to go programs for the novice but you can also play
with it and make hundreds of changes, its so versatile that you cannot get
bored. I have a dfx also which is the same as good but with an extra
frequency that makes it a bit better on gold and a couple other features
that make it more stable when I crank it all the way up. THE BEST MACHINES
MONEY CAN BUY!!!!
Max Depth: 12 inches on US quarter
Overall Rating
Durability
Ease of Use
Would you recommend this to a new user?
Yes, absolutely!
John from
Greece
1946
Spectrum xlt 1.1
June 08, 2013
Just the best machine ever, once mastered it can be what ever you want it
to be, a switch on and go machine, or program it to suit what ever site
your working on.
Max Depth: 10 inches on US quarter
Overall Rating
Durability
Ease of Use
Would you recommend this to a new user?
Yes, absolutely!
Chris Montague from
UK Near Cambridge
3812
Detecting France
April 01, 2012
Been using the XLT for some years now, after detecting for some 25 years.
Had all sorts before the XLT, but the good old XLT is by far the best
detector I ever had. I've got it set up with a program suitable for the type of ground over here (relics deep), and don't fiddle with it anymore. I guess that's the trick, don't try to change to much in the settings, if it works fine it works fine! The problem with a complex detector like the XLT or the DFX is that you are always afraid you detecting in the wrong mode, got something wrong in the settings. Just don't go crazy on the settings, if it works fine its works fine and don't change anything.
Another thing, try digging the low VDI's, often these are good targets too! Found a nice chuncky bronze fibula that only came up as a 3 on the VDI!
Overall Rating
A.B. from
France
596
Treasure hunter
October 22, 2011
It's simple. I've been treasure hunting for over thirty years. I have a
real job, and now my findings are matching my annual salary. (AND I HAVE A
REALLY GOOD JOB). I have nearly 30 detectors and the rule is, "LEARN YOUR
MACHINE". The White's XLT is a manipulative detector. You can change and
modify programs better than any other, but you have to know what you are
doing. That comes with experience, and it will go deeper.The question everyone has, AND I MEAN the Hard question is, can my purchase pay me back my investment? The answer is,YES, if you are a winner.
Research your target area and work it like a job you love to do. I worked two years finding nickels and dimes, and worked one afternoon finding $12,500.00. To date my findings are (Sold prices, not numismatic values) $201,057.00 and I do it with my wife and kids, which means the value of my life is ten fold.
Overall Rating
CHUCK from
Usa
9281
XLT is the best machine ever
October 13, 2011
Programing is the ticket on this machine, no other machine can compare.
Have used them all over the years and the XLT is by far the best.
Overall Rating
Dean from
Nashville,Tn
5711