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
Mine never let me down
January 26, 2008
I hunted with a Spectrum XLT for about 10 years, and loaded up on good
targets. Due to health issues, I went to the lighter weight Tesoros(and I
really like them). But, I miss the performance of the Spectrum.
Overall Rating
Irving Maynard from
Southern Va.
364
XLT AT THE BEACH
October 06, 2007
I have had my xlt for 7 years now and i am very pleased still. I have found
many items over the years,but i am impressed how the xlt functions at the
beaches. I have found many silver coins common coins rings neckleces ear
rings and yes lots of junk,but I set it to coins or the beach setting and
put the vco on and hunt from the low tide up to the soft sand. Greatest
finds at the beach was a ring with 4 diamonds and a safhire in the middle,a
beautiful cladder ring,and a silver spoon on Napitree Point were once
beautiful houses stood until the 38 hurricane wiped them away,so I love the
xlt
Overall Rating
Bruce from
Woodstock Ct USA
405
Raw power, intelligent, easy to learn
July 27, 2007
After a day in the field with this machine, I'm impressed. Used XLTs are
the #1 bargain, and better than machines twice the price. The SignaGraph
target analysis is superb at identifying iron and trash but telling you
when to dig. Sweeping the coil several times over a target builds up
columns on the display, and you soon see if it's worth digging if there are
only one or two adjacent tall columns or part columns. It works almost
perfectly.VCO pinpointing is excellent, although depth indication is not always too accurate (but I didn't expect it to be with the variety of target size I'm looking for). Not a problem at all. The bottom line is target analysis, and the XLT scores heavily in that area.
Well made 8AA battery compartment, and a well-balanced machine - I carry mine on my shoulder on the stem S-curve, and it stays there without me hardly touching it.
Very sensitive to extremely small targets - I was amazed. This is critically important in the UK where our ancient coins are tiny.
Lots of settings to play with, so lots of reading is required. Look at everyone's programs and comments on the web, and find out what works for you. The XLT is a powerful user-friendly machine. With a little experience you'll discover how to unleash its power and intelligence. Not really a beach machine.
I've used a number of different detectors in my time, but this is honestly the best. I'll be looking to buy a second one in case they get scarce in the future. For the experienced user, the XLT is a must-have.
Much easier to learn than an Explorer.
Overall Rating
DC from
UK
742
First Detector, Like it with one issue
June 29, 2007
I bought a Spectrum XLT used (1998 model) that had all new guts in it. It
works great, hits coins awesome and the responses are consistent and its
easy to use. My only issue is with the backlight - when it is on, the
detector becomes unstable, unless I ratchet the AC sensitivity down in the
53 range to get it to stop. I took it in to have it looked at, and no
problem was found - in fact 2 brand new XLT-e detectors exhibited exactly
the same behavior. Curiously, my friend bought his own XLT after seeing mine (an older model, but with the old guts) - and it does not do this. I wonder if there is something different about the new XLT circuitry.
No matter, I do not hunt in the dark anyway. Maybe someone else has seen this issue?
Overall Rating
Chris from
Toledo, OH
213
TRASH!!!!!!
June 12, 2007
I think the XLT is trash I had it for about a year now and it always
gave me problems it never has a solid repeatable tone and when it does I
usally I recover junk I'm getting sick of this detector every time I go out
I never find any thing AND TRUST ME I KNOW WHAT IM DOING!!! I've been
detecting for ten years now I went to an old park last week with the XLT
with my father and my friend and they found about 40 coins total and all I
found was two zinc pennys so I made up my mind I'm going 2 buy a garrett
GTI 1500 will see how that works out.
Overall Rating
Bryan from
Lockport ny
26132
Good machine, EASIER to learn than some
March 10, 2007
I've had my XLT for about two years. I'm not a serious detector nut, but I
have spent some time swinging this thing. I've found the factory programs
adequate and have only tweaked them a bit, and I don't dig a lot of trash
unless I'm looking for gold rings and therefore have to look at a lot of
pull tabs.The NEWS is this: Recently I met another fellow who is really into detecting for coins and relics. He has an Explorer II. He has been using that machine as long as I have been using mine. He has probably has more time on the machine. BUT we've gone hunting together twice and I found about ten times more targets than he did.
I'm not saying that the XLT is a better machine than the II, but I'll say that it MUST be easier to learn. He brought me his books to so I can help him learn his machine...thanks minelab 8^]
Recap, I likes the XLT and would recommend it highly.
Overall Rating
Wade from
Middle Tennessee
555
White's XLT has performance
July 19, 2006
I used the White's Spectrum for 15 years. It still works very well. In
April 2006, I bought the XLT. What a great machine.
It's much lighter than the old one and hits coins and jewelry a lot
deeper. It's all in the performance and White's has performance
Overall Rating
Tom Woods from
Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania
553
Excellent detector!
May 10, 2006
I have had my White's Spectrum XLT since 1998. I bought it as a second to
my Minelab Sovereign. Hunt Sovereign at the beach, hunt XLT everywhere
else. Use what works for the situation, right?Well the Sovereign was a superb machine, but mine got "disappeared" shortly after I bought the XLT when I loaned it to a friend's fiance, and then they split up before I could get back in touch and both disappeared in the process. But the Spectrum I had wanted since I was in High School in 1992, and I have never regretted buying it.
It's got almost everything you could want. The only down sides I can see are:
- It's definitely not made for wet sand hunting in highly mineralized areas, such as the beach.
- It's not the deepest detector I ever had. The Sovereign took it to town on that point.
These two reasons are why I give it 4 stars, instead of five.
That said, I don't know about you, but I dig things at 11" and more using this detector, and quite frankly, that's about all the depth I have patience for. And speaking of digging, if you know how to properly use a handkerchief, a screwdriver, a steak knife and a trowel, you'll never see lawn scars or detectable holes again.
Setting this machine up was very easy for me because I like having complete control of the settings and I did my homework. Not really much homework to do, actually... if you want a turn-on-and-go machine, or you want to customize it down to the eye-teeth, this machine can do both.
If you want to switch modes, it does require that you stop and fiddle. But if you just de-notch everything in Discriminate mode, you can see what the VDI is, and decide whether to dig or not. You see everything, and no mode switching. How hard is that?
I absolutely love being able to "train" this machine, too. I can tell it specifically what to ignore, or I can tell it specifically what to accept.
This is a detector you absolutely can't outgrow unless you are a demon for depth - or you need a beach hunter more than anything else. I do miss my Sovereign, but I'm very happy with my XLT until it pays for the next machine, which will probably be a Minelab - but I would be unhappy if I didn't have my XLT, too.
Overall Rating
Shannon Matteson from
Port St. Lucie, FL USA
603
XLT Cracking Bit Of Kit
April 13, 2006
Hi I have been using the Whites xlt for about a year now and am I am well
pleased with it.While most people in the club of which I am a member have
the Explorer 2, they dont always make the best finds. I think You only get
the best out of a detector when you get in tune with what it is telling you
and the xlt is no exception in this respect.Another of the xlt users in the
club has found a hoard of coins worth over £40000 from the time of William
The Conquerer, with the xlt.So while it can take a little while to master
it can certainly find the goods as a beginner I have found many coins and
of those a couple of hammered coins from the 14th century.While I agree some conditions are more testing for the xlt,such as wet sand, areas of hot rocks or heavy ground mineralisation for instance.But various alterations and settings tweaks can soon deal with this.
Overall Rating
Chriso from
Nottinghamshire Uk
262
Pinpointing Targets
December 31, 2005
My (other brand) metal detector was stolen. It was a model I was very happy
with. It had good depth qualities and pinpointed small targets nicely. This
last Christmas my wife surprised me with a new metal detector.Because she didn't want to spoil the surprise, she didn't ask me what brand name I preferred. She just bought what she was told was the top of the line. The metal detector she bought was your XLT model. To be honest I was alittle disappointed. The last Whites detector I owned, plus two others I tried, had good depth qualities, but pinpointing coins and other small objects was difficult. This led to unnessary digging, not to mention lawn scars. In the standard mode, I found my new XLT detector to be not that much better. But then I discovered the VCO mode. Pinpointing small targets became a snap. And my only real complaint against your detectors disolved.
For whatever its worth, I would strongly recommend that you move the VCO mode to the standard format. It really takes the guess work out of pinpointing. For many, it would certainly cut down on unneeded digging and lawn scars, not to mention customers, such as myself, having preconceived ideas about what turned out to be an excellent metal detector.
Overall Rating
Rick Nickolaus from
Federal Way WA USA
601