Troy Shadow X5
Price: $1000
Avg. Score: 
3.87
Based on 23 reviews
3.87Based on 23 reviews
Avg. Durability:
5.00
Avg. Ease of use:
3.50
Love this detector
May 09, 2016
I currently own 27 detectors and use the shadow about 80 percent of the
time. I use it in Tot lots to find the small jewelry stuff. First I go
through with the XLT and Bigfoot to clean the top few inches then take the
shadow out for the deep cleaning. The only thing is, you can't get close to
the steel poles like you can with the Bigfoot. In the last 6 weeks I have
found 10 silver rings and one 10k gold with the shadow. You will be amazed
at the small items this detector will find.
Max Depth: 9 inches on US quarter
Overall Rating
Durability
Ease of Use
Would you recommend this to a new user?
Yes, absolutely!
Larry from
Phoenix
131
Your buying hype
May 30, 2013
I heard so much about this machine so I was able to try one for a few
weeks. I'm a relic hunter all the way.
I took this detector to a spot with high mineralization and detected for some civil war relics. I mark my areas all the time so I can come back and hit it with something better in the future. I did manage to dig 5 mini balls at 6-7 inches but I dug tons of iron!
Next I went over the area with my fisher 1270 and I managed to pull 9 mini balls out of the same exact area at 9-10 inches and an eagle button at 8 inches. And a very few pieces of iron but they were all horseshoes.
Listen, for half the price you can get a better detector. A Vaquero or a 1270 for less than $600. To be honest you can buy both of them for what one of these machines cost.
Overall Rating
Durability
Ease of Use
Would you recommend this to a new user?
No, it's too complic
Tom from
Pa
1622
X5 Shadow still take the depth prize..
December 02, 2012
"You can get similar machines (e. g. Tesoros) that perform just as well,
at 50 percent of the price. "I have found that for 50 percent of the price of the Troy X5, a Tesoro will get just about 50 percent of the depth of the X5. Troy Galloway is still da man!
Overall Rating
Geow from
Georgia
227
Great detector
November 06, 2012
I've had 3 of them. It's one of the most versatile detectors ever made.
I've detected mild and mineralized ground in Virginia and it didn't
disappoint. On one outing in Va. I located a target which came in as zinc. From experience, I knew it was probably a Minnie ball. I got a very clear strong signal. We called a friend over to see if his top of the line White's could detect it. It couldn't. This experienced detectorist thought the find was iron.
So we finally dug it up. First thing out of the hole was a 3" nail. about 1" deeper was a nice Minnie.
Doesn't get any better than that.
Used ones are much in demand.
Overall Rating
John from
Missouri
173
ARCHEOLOGIST
January 22, 2012
About 4 years ago I met Troy Calloway whilst on a hunt in america with a
friend. We disscused his metal detectors in great depth, I was very
impressed, and at the time I was using my trusty tesoro silver sabre umax,
a brilliant machine that has found me countless pieces of treasure, coins
and artifacts, however my friend asked me to try out one of Troys shadow
x5s, and I have not looked back since, finding celtic gold and silver
staters, roman silver, medieval silver coins plus Saxon and Viking coins,
and Saxon and Viking artifacts.I now have 2 troy shadow x5s, and I think they are the best detector on the market, and such great value. Just take a little bit of extra time setting it up and it will pay dividends.
Overall Rating
TONY WOOTTON from
ENGLAND
334
Shadow X5 Best Machine I've used.
March 07, 2010
I have been an avid detector user for almost three decades and have owned
many machines in that time.I purchased an X5 show room demo 7 years ago and have used the machine almost on a weekly basis, this machine has never let me down, I detect in all weathers sun, rain, wind and frost it has stood up to it all very well indeed with no repairs needed.
I know other enthusiasts who have owned x5's machines and could'nt get on with them because of the iron they were picking up and later sell them on which is fine by me because it's less competition in the field.
Take the time and get to grips with the signals and it's like the ground throwing artefacts and coins at you, when this machine is set correctly it really does have great depth capabilities.
I set up my machine so it just discrims iron nails, this way it just hoovers up the smallest of gold, silver and bronze, yes you do get larger Iron signals come through but you soon learn the strength of the tone if it's Iron or not, also a little secret it to run the searchhead over the signal in pipoint mode, if the machine screams in a high pitch squeal then it's iron.
The only downside to owning one of these great machines is that they don't make em no more!
So when mine gives up I'll just have to buy a secondhand used one.
Overall Rating
Anglo-Saxon from
Kent the garden of England.
572
Well rounded detector
December 14, 2009
I didn't go for the hype or the expense. I bought my X5 used and have
added the 5", 7" and the 5"X10" DD coils. I have been detecting for 9 years and have had 11 detectors including the Troy. Which I've used for two years. I use it for coin shooting and relic hunting and of all the detectors I've owned it fits my needs best.
I can't speak for highly mineralized ground for I have moderate soil so I won't speak of what I don't have.
All in all it is the one detector that I plan to keep.
Overall Rating
TerryETex from
East Texas
252
Shadow X5
November 30, 2009
Like many others, I fell for the excessive hype and bought an X5. I will
admit it's the best built detector I've seen, but like every other higher
frequency detector I've used the performance drops off to average and then
poor in moderate to higher mineralization. Even in good ground the ground
balance has to be set so positive to reduce the noise that the depth
suffers.A better choice would be a dual frequency Fisher CZ, or even a Tesoro Vaquero or Tejon. The Vaquero and Tejon are no better than the X5, but they're basically half the price so the sub par performance is at least less expensive.
Overall Rating
Bob W. from
North Georgia, USA
1721
Shadow X-5
October 09, 2009
I am a person who wants to try all detectors in the search for the perfect
coin detector and I finally got a chance to try the x5. I bought this mint
x-5 a couple of weeks ago and in that time I have used it for about 20
hours. I started with a fresh Duracell battery and the battery check is
still indicating a full battery, so that is a plus. The first thing you notice about the x5 is how light it is. About the same a a Tesoro Umax. Also, you will notice the quality of build. Every piece is well thought out and built like no other detector I have used. Coil cord and cord reliefs are top notch as are the switches and knobs.
The first time I used it, I set it up with the disc set just below nickle and I used th coin check switch to check the conductivity of my targets. The manual states that a silver or copper coin will ring in when the zinc check is activated. On some coins, I got a clear signal, but on others, I got quick fuzzy beep and then static while sweeping over the target. I intially ignored these fuzzy signals and I dug very few coins. After 10 hours or so, I decided to check out what was giving these half hearted signals. They turned out to be copper pennies and clad dimes. I learned a valuable lesson.
Next, I started using the nickle check function. The manual states that nickles or possibly gold will not produce a signal in the nickle check toggle position. I only dug one nickle and was slightly disappointed in this feature. Again after 10 hours or so, I started digging the signals that were causing static and very poor signals in nickle check. Bam, I started digging nickles and DEEP nickles. Today I dug a V nickle and a Buffalo nickle and both were 8 inches or so deep.
I hunt for coins and I like the coin check feature of the x5. Another trait that is becoming more clear to me is the audio. It is not digital and after some hours on the detector you can start to tell pull tabs without increasing the disc. They have a shrill about them compared to coins. Also, the audio has a soft quick blip on a coin. The pinpoint button does not fizzle out when you are half way through pinpointing. This audio lets you size the object and decide whether to dig or not. The deeper the target, the softer the signal. I like that on any detector.
I have also played around with sweep speed and you can sweep slow or fast without missing too many targets. Competition hunters will like this. What I don't like. This detector is super sensitive to brass and lead. I have dug some brass rivets and small buck shot at depths that are DEEP. These small targets sound like a deep coin with the modulation of the audio and the pinpoint. I am a coin hunter and I don't like getting bogged down in the trashy parks I hunt digging split shot and rivets. The relic hunters like this power, but I don't.
I usually try a detector for a couple of months and move on to the next one, but I think I'm going to give the Shadow more time next spring. All in all, a pretty neat detector, but not perfect.
Overall Rating
R.L. Johnson from
NE Ohio
351
Great quality - average performance
August 01, 2009
I've owned the X5 and the X3. Took them to Detecting In Virginia twice. Had
Troy Galloway give me a personal demonstration on ground balance (for the
X5). My opinion? Very well built machines. However, I have to agree with a
lot of people that the cult/hype simply doesn't justify the extravagant
cost. Tesoro makes machines (Tejon and Vaquero) that are VERY similar in performance, but at about half the price. As a matter of fact, I find the Tesoros to be a lot simpler to understand than the Troy's. So my bottom line? Troy's are good machines. But they are nowhere near worth the cost. You can get similar machines (e.g. Tesoros) that perform just as well, at 50% of the price. I am in no way affilitated with Tesoro.... in case you are wondering. Sorry Troy.
Overall Rating
Bill from
Ohio
2126