DetectProven
Metal detectors, by the numbers that decide where you can hunt.
We read the manual and the spec sheet, reconcile the frequency, ground balance, waterproof depth and weight, and tell you which numbers we couldn’t verify.
Find your fit
Start from the ground you’ll search.
- Parks and backyards
- Beaches and wet sand
- Wading and shallow water
- Gold country
- Plowed fields and old homesites
- A gift for a first-timer
Whatever the ground, we compare the two or three specs that matter for it — frequency, ground balance, waterproof depth, weight — not star ratings.
Categories
Buying guides
Beginner detectors
A first season in parks, on beaches and in shallow water is limited by a handful of published specs. These are the ones we reconcile, and how.
Specs we reconcile
- 01
- Operating frequency
- kHz
- 02
- Ground balance type
- fixed / manual / auto
- 03
- Waterproof depth
- ft (m)
- 04
- Search coil size
- in
- 05
- Weight with coil
- lb (kg)
Method
How a DetectProven verdict is built
-
Manufacturer documents pulled (manual, spec sheet)
-
Numbers reconciled against each other and against the ground you’ll search
-
Named exclusions: what we could not verify, stated on the page
Standards
What we do, and what we don’t
How we choose
We start from the ground you’ll search, then compare the published specs that limit it. Every exclusion is written on the page.
We don’t field-test
We don’t buy, swing or hunt with the detectors we write about. We read the manuals and the spec sheets, and we say which numbers we could not verify.
Disclosure
DetectProven is reader-supported. Some links on this site are affiliate links, which means that if you buy through them we may earn a commission at no additional cost to you.
FAQ
Common questions
-
Do you test the detectors?
No. We don’t buy, swing or hunt with them. We work from the manufacturer’s manual and spec sheet, check the numbers against each other, and list any we could not verify.
-
Why do you show a price band instead of a price?
Retail prices change with sales, bundles and seasons. A band such as $300–600 tells you which tier a machine sits in without going out of date.
-
What does “ground balance” mean, and why does it matter?
Soil holds iron minerals and salts that a detector also reads as signal. Ground balance tunes the machine to ignore that background. On wet salt sand and mineralized gold-country soil the type of ground balance decides whether a detector is usable; on a park lawn it matters far less.
-
Who writes DetectProven?
Every guide carries the DetectProven byline and names the editor who reviewed it, with a short bio. We publish no anonymous content.