White's Spectra V3 (Vision) Field Test part 1

May 27th, 2009 |

Author: admin

White’s new flagship has proudly left port!…the Spectra V3!

Part 1 of however many it takes!

To say there are a LOT of features and options on White’s newest flagship, the Spectra V3, is an enormous understatement! I’ve spent weeks deliberating on the best way to present a review of the Spectra…and I finally decided to break it into phases. If I tried to put everything into one story, I think it would almost be overwhelming! (to me too…trying to write it!) There will no doubt be some outstanding books and tutorials written on this machine. I would strongly suggest buying one of those when they become available (Jeff Foster or Andy Sabisch?).

This first “phase” report is about the packaging, contents and overall new user impressions. As the chapters continue, I will branch out into other aspects such as assembly, air-testing, interface and “real-world” usage.

So here we go!…

White’s Spectra V3 Review, part 1

Arrival and unpacking:

Shipping box

Is there any better feeling than to arrive home and find a new metal detector on your porch? Nope! The distinctive White’s logo meant one thing and one thing only…the new Vision had arrived (name later changed to Spectra V3…more on that later). Now, there are those who carefully open the packaging…and there are those who tear into ‘em with kid-at-Christmas enthusiasm. I started out “careful”, but due to the hefty staples holding the outer box, I said “The heck with it!” and starting yanking and pulling!

Spectra inner box

My enthusiastic box pulling yielded another pleasant surprise…double boxing! I like it when dual boxes are used. The inner box is the one with all the cool artwork and product information.

packed as shipped

Call me weird, but I love to see stuff securely packed from the factory…as the Spectra V3 was! Each item has its place..and is protected by a separate clear plastic bag (I had already pulled it off the display section). Nice and snug…as it should be!

All the goodies

I decided to empty all the contents on the floor for a photo…and a nice pile of goodies it is indeed! My eye is immediately drawn to those cool wireless headphones! Outstanding idea…and extremely useful. I have “almost” cut my way through my headphones cable many, many times while bent over digging a hole with my trusty ol’ Lesche!

Overall, the Spectra ships with an impressive amount of accessories. For power, there’s a standard battery pack, rechargeable pack and charger. There’s also a “goodie” bag with rubber feet for the base of the under-arm housing and adhesive foam padding. They also include velcro cable straps and rubber bushings for the coil mount. Assembly is a snap and all the parts fit securely and precisely. I used to have a DFX for a while and thoroughly enjoyed it…tons of options and flexibility. The Spectra V3 takes this up to an entirely new level! However, you would expect flexibility to also mean complexity…but not this time. The software and interface for the Spectra V3 is light years ahead of where they were with the DFX! You can tell a TON of work went into making common tasks accessible (more on this in a later installment).

Well, my goal with this first report was to relate the feeling you get when first recieving and opening the the Spectra V3. My feeling is “Wow!” very, very impressive. Physical construction is solid and the color LCD display is awesome (and very visible under all lighting conditions so far). Initial out-of-the-box air testing was outstanding. There’s no doubt the Spectra V3 was a labor of love for the folks at White’s!

More coming soon in part 2!

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Tags: photos, white's electronics, White's Spectra V3, White's Vision