Minelab GPZ 7000 Review ...Testing the Minelab GPZ 7000 Metal Detector in the WA Goldfields

As usual, our Minelab GPZ 7000 review is unbiased - we purchased the new machine at full price to test it and then develop training for use in our Gold Prospecting Seminars in Cue West Australia.

We have no affiliation with Minelab so you can be sure that what we say is how we see it!

Here is a video of a 21 Grammer found at 450-500mm in May 2015 in calcrete - we still have a some testing to do on different ground like salt lakes and essentially for big deep gold.

 
 

I does appear however that your decision will be based on the excessive cost of the machine compared to what ever perceived benefits the GPZ 7000 has over the GPX 5000 for finding gold.

Post your own Minelab GPZ 7000 Review - Have your Say.

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Why dont you add your Minelab GPZ 7000 review to the bottom of this page there is a lot of people just like you that are trying to work out whether to invest the $AU10700 in this machine?

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...Help them out by including your review at the bottom of this page - at Here My Unbiased Minelab GPZ 7000 Review.

Minelab GPZ 7000 Review - First Impressions

In terms of design, features, settings you cannot compare the GPZ 7000 with the GPX models or even the New SDC 2300 machines they are poles apart, so we will attempt to provide a comparison based on different criteria so it can help you make a more informed decision on whether to spend the excessive $10700 price that Minelab charge for the GPZ 7000 machine .

Comparison Between the Minelab GPZ 7000 and the Minelab 5000 and Minelab SDC 2300 Metal Detectors.

Note however that these detectors are used for different circumstances e.g the SDC2300 is for small gold close to the coil and is designed that way - it is not for Deep gold detecting! So how you view these criteria will depend on the main use you want for your metal detector!.

Comparison Criteria.

Detector Comments.
Cost
  • (1)SDC 2300 - $3500
  • (2)GPX 5000 - New $6700 Good Second hand $4500
  • (3)GPZ 7000 - $10700 Second Hand $9500

    • Holy Guacamole Batman! - you have to be a serious semi-professional (or a millionaire) using the GPZ 7000 on a permanent basis to justify the cost of the machine!

Printed Manual
  • (1)SDC 2300 - Yes printed
  • (2)GPX 5000 - Yes Printed
  • (3)GPZ 7000 - Quick Start Guide printed and manual is Digital which you must print yourself.

    • Looks like Minelab are penny pinchers on this one - a poor effort for the GPZ 7000

Out of the Box Setup and Use.
  • (1)SDC 2300 - Unpack switch on and go - real simple.
  • (2)GPZ 7000 - Unpack and switch on - A bit more to do with setup but still pretty simple after you work out the new harness.
  • (3)GPX 5000 - A Little bit more fiddly, and Ok if you understand the settings of the 5000 otherwise there is a learning curve.
Weight of Machine and Comfort in Use.
  • (1)SDC 2300 - 2.3 kg but can be tiring because it has no harness.
  • (2)GPX 5000 - 2.4kg with Commander 11" coil - can be balanced well and does not cause tiredness when set up and the harness used properly.
  • (3)GPZ 7000 - 3.32kg - it is heavy and difficult to balance - forget the hype about how Minelab spend a whole pile of design energy on the ergonomics - this is a beast!

    • 40% additional weight in the 7000 does have an effect, this is not for older folk or those that have arm, shoulder, hip or back weaknesses. Make sure you hire and try before you buy to test how it will impact on you physically!

Learning Curve and Experience to Master.
  • (1)SDC 2300 - Simple, switch on and go.
  • (2)GPX 5000 - Settings can take some learning especially if you are brand new to the GPX and you dont like factory settings!
  • (2)GPZ 7000 - Equal to the 5000 because there is a trickiness in quietening the Detector down in highly mineralised or salty ground.
Small Gold Sensitivity
  • (1)SDC 2300 - Excellent but no depth.
  • (2)GPX 5000 - Excellent particularly with after market coils like the NuggetFinder Sadie or 12x7" Mono.
  • (2)GPZ 7000 - Excellent and with more depth than the 2300 and 5000.

    • This is a difficult criteria to judge because you will not e buying the GPZ 7000 specifically to find small gold whereas the 2300 is specifically for that task and the 5000 is very sensitive to small gold.

Large Deep Nuggets.
  • (1)GPX 5000 - Have tested with big coils and the machine will ping them.
  • (2)GPZ 7000 - Haven't found any yet so taking the Minelab tests on trust.
  • (3)SDC 2300 - Not what the detector is for.
Noise and difficult Ground.
  • (1) GPX 5000 - quiet and can easily remove noise even on salt.
  • (2) SDC 2300 - Noisy but the signal still comes through strong.
  • (3) GPZ 7000 - Warbly, difficult on salt, hard to remove noise unless you have had experience with it and understand the use of of the Quik trak button. Minelab have put our supplemental instructions on this and a Ferrite which is used in the Ground Balance process.

    • The Minelab 5000 can be tuned so there is no extraneous noise, this is extremely important because if there is any extraneous noise apart from your threshold hum you are definitely leaving gold in the ground!

Audio
  • (1)GPX 5000 - After market Amplifiers and speakers lift this to first place.
  • (2)GPZ 7000 - The wireless speaker is patchy with annoying breaks in transmission but okay audio if worn on the shoulder close to your ears.
  • (3)SDC 2300 - Not for the deaf.

    • If you are using headphones you are not getting all the target sound and unless you have excellent hearing will miss small targets - external speakers are essential in our opinion and the only time you should not use them is in windy or stealth conditions.

Ground Balance
  • (1) GPX 5000 - Quick Track button and simple.
  • (2)SDC 2300 - Quik track button.
  • (3)GPZ 7000 - do it wrong and you upset the algorithm in the machine and introduce a lot of noise into the machine which will definitely drive you crazy.

    • Minelab have themselves to blame over this which is the commonest criticism we have encountered by people using the GPZ 7000. Lack of information and initial user training really made this an issue that maybe should not have been so damaging.

After Market Gear and Protective Bags
  • (1) GPX 5000 - Heaps of excellent after market coils gear, bags.
  • (2)SDC 2300 - Not a lot but good to see some amplifiers and external speakers now arriving on the marketplace, no additional coils.
  • (3)GPZ 7000 - You have only just recently been able to get standard parts for the machine, Minelab also deserve criticism for releasing a metal detector that didn't even come with their own generic spare parts for a considerable time after release.

    • Minelab deserve a kick in the butt for this, also the fact that there was no protective bag, or cover for the LED screen control panel and it was either a lack of planning or disinterest in their customer needs that caused it. Either way, for the most expensive metal detector ever released to the consumer market it was unforgiveable.

Should you Buy a New Minelab GPZ 7000

This will be a decision you need to make after reading this Minelab GPZ 7000 Review and others below - I think it should be based on a number of criteria such as

  • Price - dont buy it if you are not really financial.
  • Amount of Use - Only buy if you will be using it all the time and not just a one trip warrior.
  • Physical strength and capacity - If you have physical problems then it is a heavy machine and will affect you.
  • Type of detecting you want to do - If you are OK with small gold that you don't have to dig too deep for then you don't need the GPZ 7000.

If it helps your decision in any way, Udo has not been using the GPZ 7000 and I have been doing all the testing.

He is of the belief that everything that I have found with the 7000 would have been found with the Minelab GPX 5000 using a 17x11' mono NuggetFinder coils for the deeper nuggets (21grams at 450-500mm in calcrete) and a 11x7" NuggetFinder Mono coil for the smaller nuggets.

We have not yet found any deeper bigger nuggets because, basically, you have to walk over them first!

One advantage is that you can metal detect small gold and large deep gold nuggets with the one Metal detector by simply changing the settings. This eliminates buying and changing coils which is necessary with the Minelab GPX 5000 and earlier models.

Minelab 5000 Second Hand

Right now there is a lot of Minelab 5000's coming on to the market second hand with plenty of additional parts supplied. So it may be a good time to upgrade to the 5000 if you do not have one.

Beware Counterfeit Minelab Metal Detectors When the GPZ7000 Arrives.

Just beware when you are buying a second hand machine that the scum of the world are not taking advantage of you.

There are MANY Minelab detectors that are counterfeit, I would imagine you can find these on Gumtree or Ebay but just beware and make sure that you buy legitimate machines.

Buy form a Minelab Dealer and pay the slight premium for protection.

See this page Counterfeit Minelab Metal Detectors


Do You think the Minelab GPZ 7000 Metal Detector is Value for Money?

What is your experience of the GPZ 7000 is it value for money, are you finding extra gold, is it noisy?

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What Other Visitors Have Said

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Learnt a lot in Cue. 
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Had a GPX5000 but because I generally upgrade to each new Detector Minelab bring out. I like the concept of the 7000, but believe Minelab have presented …

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