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Testing the XP Gold Maxx power

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XP Gold maxx power quick review
Xp metal detectors have been very popular in the UK since the launch some years back, the XP GoldMaxx took the podium having been specially designed to suit the professional metal detectorists needs.
Fast recovery speed and precise discrimination threw the gauntlet down for other manufacturers to follow.

That's the Mk 1 Gold maxx...what can I say about the Gold Maxx power
There is very little left to be said, so many others have said pretty much everything to say. Some detectorists I have talked to do not get on with the new power, strangely enough most of them were ex Mk1 owners, all new machines take time to learn .

Here is my quick review
 I have not been so involved with the latest XP's, there's an old saying "to many cooks" ...however as you may well know I donated a lot of time and effort to the original XP launch some years ago, the original Mk1 was a part of my detecting life and the ONLY machine I used.

The Gold Maxx Power has the same weight and appearance as the original, the control panel has the only noticeable difference, we now have an "iron threshold" replacing the original discrimination. This is more of an Iron only rejection control...just out of auto accepts most iron, then  rejecting higher levels as the control is turned clockwise. For those who don't want to many tones the GMP can be used like a conventional detector simply by using the Iron threshold as a discriminator when the Iron volume is turned to zero.
I found the Iron threshold at the 11 o'clock position with a slight Iron buzz on the Iron volume to be adequate for me. When the Iron threshold is turned fully anti-clockwise it clicks into "auto" which is a fixed pre-set to reject most hot rocks/coke...wet coke may still give a response.

The frequency shift is linked in with the WS1 cordless headphones, you can read about them on the XP web site and xp metal detecting forums, I have an original pair of WS1's, for some reason the battery will not hold a charge so I can not use them for any amount of time.

The silencer determines how much the iron signal is broken up, this works in the same way as the original maxx, although 2 or 3 tones are now accessed via this control. When turned on the machine defaults to the 3 tone setting every time, to activate 2 tones you will need to quickly switch the silencer from 1 to 2 twice.

In the field with the Gold Maxx power
My model came from Detecnicks and fitted with the latest version 4 chip, I have no idea for what reason(s) this later chip was fitted. The first thing I noticed was the sensitivity could only be turned half way before the machine became unstable. Earlier models could be set much higher, also the sensitivity appears to have a much finer adjustment, the slightest touch can make the machine very sparky, this allows the operator to work the machine on the "edge".
Sensitivity
The best way I can explain the sensitivity function on the Gold Maxx Power is it amplifies the signal returning from the target and not the power going into the ground (audio boost).
Set up
Having settled down with the machine running in 2 tone, iron threshold 11 o'clock, sensitivity 11 o'clock and iron volume at 10 o'clock it all became familiar again...buzz...buzz....buzz...zing. The Gold Maxx power performed very well with no noticeable changes to the Mk 1.
 At some point I will be comparing the 2 machines side by side in the field.
TIP : When searching in stubble try to bulk wrap the coil lead just above the first stem lock, this will make the coil slightly heavier and easier to work stubble.

Comparing the Gold Maxx power to the original GoldMaxx
The Gold Maxx power claims more depth and faster recovery speed, so far I have found no major difference, although if there was an opportunity to turn the power up past mid way I am sure it will be deeper on clean pasture.

 The only initial difference I can see between the original Gold Maxx and the Power is the Gold Maxx Power has a slightly harsher signal on shallow and large targets, almost like a forced sound, making iron identification a little difficult at first, where as the earlier models gave a very soft tone on good non ferrous targets at all depths.

 The harsher sound is only noticeable at higher sensitivity settings and may be a trade off for the power running a faster recovery speed, I have been told the new v4 chip is much sharper than the standard V3 chip which is more like the oiginal Gold Maxx..

The Iron threshold on the control panel is a nice touch and is most certainly an advantage when searching ancient sites, it save's taking the box apart and adjusting the 2 tone pot to suit your sites, as we did when "tweaking" the Mk1.
I would suggest you avoid the "Auto" setting unless you are a total beginner, this can null the performance and sharpness, however if hot rocks are a real problem you may have no choice. Here in Buckinghamshire we are very fortunate and have very little hot rock, I have been sent boxes of samples from around the UK, some just simply can not be rejected with single frequency machines.
Summary
For general searching there are plenty of other machines available on the market that will do the same job for the same price...However it's real potential will be apparent when searching contaminated sites littered with nails then the Gold Maxx or Goldmaxx Power is in a class of it's own.

Gold Maxx headphones...Important
As with all Gold Maxx models headphone quality is paramount, get the wrong match and the singnals will sound dead and lifeless.
I would recommend using the original backphones supplied with the machine, cordless WS1's or 2's the best heavy duty headphones we have used so far are the Sprite's, naturally available from me. !!!

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