I have had machines for 40 years now. In the 1980's I had a Fisher 1280-x underwater machine and a Bounty Hunter. A lot of people didn't like the Bounty Hunter because it caused interference with their machines. I told a lot of people that I would get a new machine when I found one that worked better. I never did and that machine finally died a few years ago. Recently, after a few years of inactivity, I decided that if I was going to use a machine I wanted the very best. I spent lots and lots of hours online checking out reviews of the various machines and manufacturers. I almost bought a top of the line Minelab but read a lot of reviews from people who had quality problems with thier machine. I finally decided on a Whites DFX as the next best choice. I bought a used one from a dealer in our club for $525. I am very happy with it since unlike my previous machines it has a 15 KHZ circuit to help with depth on gold items. I was in Charleston and Savannah a few weeks ago and really wished I had the opportunity to try it on some of those 200+ year old yards.