I've gotten pretty proficient at listening to the sounds from the Soveriegn and the Excal. I've thought many time that I might move up to an etrac or a 3030 when I retire in a couple years and thought I might give the meter a try and see if there is any advantage.
The CTX 3030 is a glorified E-Trac. It is heavier, has GPS, and is waterproof.
(Costs about a thousand more)
I'm hunting with the E-Trac and it is doing quite the job in finding silver for me.
The VDI on the E-Trac will give away an iron signal by hitting the pin point button.
Both silver and iron will sometimes give off a loud chirp which will definitely get your attention.
Do you want to dig deep iron?? I think not. When you get these iffy signals,,
and you're not sure if it is iron or silver,,, you hit the pinpoint and the front number will jump to
"35" or something way above the normal "12",, if it is iron.
You can't see those numbers if you don't have a VDI.
There is an easy learning curve on theE-Trac. (At least I think so).
Nope, I don't work for Minelab. lol Good luck with your decision.