How good the SP01 Enhancer?

Now my take on the sp01 fellas. The question put forward by butch "Does the SP01 with the extra filters, raise the performance of my GP 3500 to the level of a GPX 4500?"
The answer to your question is no. Bare with me here people for I'll do my best to explain in layman's terms, what a signal enhancer (& in this case the sp01) does do or is capable of doing.
After receiving my sp01 today (thanks Nenad/Pat) firstly for the super fast delivery & secondly for the refund on postage charges for the esp01 aftermarket pouch/cover of which I realised & ordered on, separately the day after.
Now to the sp01. Upon first inspection, I was surprised to see how well/solidly built the sp01 was made. (top workmanship fellas)
I headed out this evening to a spot flogged to death, as well as gridded inch by inch by me, for the small gold it had produced in the past, in order to give the sp01 a trial over this section of ground, using the GPZ 7000 & 10 inch X-coil, as well as to compare the sp01 to the signal enhancers i had from the past (B&Z & a DETacc) both of which run off there own battery operated power supplies.
3 faint but clear in-ground target signals were detected (disregarding anything loud on or near the surface) & all 3 enhancers could pick up the faint in-ground signals of which turned out to be a tiny bit of scrap steel, with the other 2 being not gold, but tiny lead shot at depth.
Now this is where I know the enhancer is doing its job, by enhancing signals in/over a small 15X1 metre wide area, of which I myself have gridded with the GPZ 7000, using both the 14X13 & 10 inch X-coil & same settings, for absolutely no further ground responses.
The difference I found with the sp01 was its ability to filter out unwanted background detector noise a little better than both the other 2 enhancers, without any further background signal distortion kicking in, as enhancer volume was raised, (especially when switched to or used with filter no.3), maintaining good clarity on those faint in-ground target responses. Keep in mind, all three enhancers picked up those faint signals & all three were more than capable/bearable, just that the sp01 with its variable filter sound clarity, were a little smoother in way of background noise, in doing so.  
Which brings us to your question butch. Signal enhancers cannot increase a detectors output performance, but what they do do, is enhance the faintest of in-ground signal responses, of which one could not hear before (regardless of detector or detector settings used) making deep or very faint in-ground target responses now audible to the individual. They cannot turn a GP 3500's output performance, into the output working performance of a GPX 4500, for each detector emits a different output level of performance.
Use the same enhancer on a GPX 4500 & you'll most likely find it picking up faint in ground signals that the GP 3500 using the same enhancer settings on, could not.
Bottom line & no matter which signal enhancer one chooses to buy, all detector enhancers today, are more than capable of doing what they're required to do & that is enhance faint on/in-ground signal responses, of which & regardless of the type of detector/coil or settings used, could not be heard before.

Cheers Kon.

Thanks Kon.

I'd been iffy about getting one of these (more stuff to carry/hook up etc for how much benefit) but now I think I understand better than before.

Thanks for that assessment Kon i do accept fully what you've said.
However i would like to resolve the question; Will my GP3500 with an sP01 hear a faint target that a GPX detector in smooth will hear WITHOUT the sP01?
If i had a GPX detector to do the test i would do it myself.  Just trying to understand the tech a bit more...little by little.
Thanks,
Tom

Another good question Tom, unfortunately & like you'v said, this question could only be answered by putting both detectors & an enhancer to a side by side comparison test, something of which few would have in their possession today.
Going by past experiences of having used both detectors, the GPX 4500 is not only a little more better made/refined than the GP 3500, but a little more powerful than the GP 3500, enabling it to hear positive in-ground targets a little deeper down over that of the GP 3500 (both detectors tested, without the use of an external enhancer).  But again, unless testing both detectors with enhancer side by side & seeing the results for yourself, I'm talking theory, not fact.
One thing I can tell you for certain, is that after going back to using a signal enhancer on a detector once again, you are more certain to hear the faintest of in-ground target signals, with the enhancer on your GP 3500, than without.  
One thing to keep in mind, from the day of the SD 2000 release, all Minelab pulse Induction detectors after that, continued to be better made/refined to detect smaller positive in ground target signals, at slightly greater depths than each previous model before them, with little improvement on/over the much larger, multi-ounce gold at depth.

Cheers Kon.

Every new detector Minelab have released from the sd2000 to the gpz7000 have improved the sensitivity to smaller targets as you said.
However pulse induction is limited in it's depth capability just by way of the fact that it is pulse induction, that's what it is.
Similarly VLF only detects to a certain depth.
I have never used the gpz7000 but let me assume... Minelab are reluctant to admit it's a PI machine they market it as zero voltage technology. I don't deny the ZVT is new and exiting but is it just piled on top of pulse induction?

Not being negative i'll never own one, too much $$$...Still interested in the tech.
Sorry i'm getting off topic.

I know its only semantics but I would like to clear up the difference between a booster and enhancer.

Before the sP01 came along, all boosters on the market did just that. They just boosted/amplified the sound.

We coined the term enhancer because it is different to all others. The sP01 is the only enhancer on the market - ie its the only unit that actually enhances the signal, not just amplifies it. In basic terms it will put more of an 'edge' on deep broad signals. On small shallow targets, the difference in the 'edge' isn't as noticeable.

regards Pat

For speaker use most of this filtering is lost due for the need to have higher amplification introduced to get reasonable volume. Pat is right though, with good quality headphones the filtering in his SP01 Booster/Enhancer is actually very nice to listen to even at elevated volume levels.

The B&Z is a very simple design that provides good amplification with minimal distortion over a large volume range but through headphones sounds a bit gritty at higher volume levels which is why I always tell users to lower their Target Volume (Volume on GPZ) to allow the booster to have a better range of control. The B&Z circuit is also directly coupled to battery voltage so as the batteries wear down the amplification becomes more mellow.

JP

SteelPat wrote:I know its only semantics but I would like to clear up the difference between a booster and enhancer.

Before the sP01 came along, all boosters on the market did just that. They just boosted/amplified the sound.

We coined the term enhancer because it is different to all others. The sP01 is the only enhancer on the market - ie its the only unit that actually enhances the signal, not just amplifies it. In basic terms it will put more of an 'edge' on deep broad signals. On small shallow targets, the difference in the 'edge' isn't as noticeable.

regards Pat

You've gone to the point of the question Pat.
Does the sPO1 enhance the signal of my GP3500 the same as the smooth timing does on a GPX???

Tom.

butch wrote:

You've gone to the point of the question Pat.
Does the sPO1 enhance the signal of my GP3500 the same as the smooth timing does on a GPX???

Tom.

Impossible to say. Bit like comparing an old school V8 engine with a new fuel injected version. It may come close but its still older technology.

The 3500 with a new coil will run close to a GPX but it doesnt handle mineralisation quite as well and therefore wont punch as deep in tough conditions. It also doesnt have the same processing electronics that the GPX has. No additional electronics/add ons will help that.

What the sP01 may do is help you hear targets in the information your detector is already processing. Targets you would otherwise miss. As good as a GPX?.... no idea but probably not quite.

Thank you all for your input.
The season starts over here around April...marching on.

Tom

Okay you've got me.
Just ordered one for the trusty 45 & 14'' elite combo.
Bring on the yellow stuff
Staples

good on ya mate I highly doubt that you will be disappointed with it, I have also just got one and it has superised me on the 7, cant wait to try it on the 5000 with 19' evo