Are you looking at buying the ACE 300 or the ACE 400? The ACE 300 is Garrett’s mid-range ACE machine which tops out with the ACE 400. Both metal detectors will find hidden treasure but there are a few differences that make the ACE 400 a more costly machine. Is it worth the extra?
What's Better? Garrett ACE 300 vs Garrett ACE 400
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Tell me which is best now →A Detailed Comparison of The Garrett ACE 300 vs The Garrett ACE 400
Frequency
The Garrett ACE 300 works on an adjustable 8 kHz frequency whereas the Garrett ACE 400 has a higher adjustable 10 kHz frequency.
Higher frequency metal detectors have shorter wavelengths and are better for finding small things like tiny gold nuggets whereas lower frequencies penetrate further into the ground.
Display
Both machines have Garrett’s clear and easy to understand display. There are three buttons which are mode, sensitivity, and power plus a large numeric target ID scale.
Garrett’s numeric ID scores the target metal on a scale of 0-99 and gives you a depth indication. This tells you what you’ve found and how far down it is before digging.
Ground Balance
Both the ACE 300 and the ACE 400 have pre-set ground balance that’s perfect for beginners and more experienced detectorists who want to hunt but not faff around trying to find the right setting.
If you want adjustable ground balancing, you’ll have to upgrade to the AT Pro or AT Max.
Target Identification and Discrimination
Both have Garrett’s digital target ID as described above and they both have automatic pinpointing.
Search modes on the 300 and the 400 are coins, jewelry, relics, custom, and zero discrimination. They also both have notch discrimination and eight sensitivity adjustments.
No differences here!
Iron Audio
Here’s a difference. The ACE 400 has iron audio whereas the 300 doesn’t have it.
This is one of the major differences that elevates the 400. Iron audio helps you filter out the trash effectively without constantly looking at your display. It’s worth paying for this.
Waterproofing
Both search coils are waterproof up to a few inches but they’re not submersible and the control boxes are certainly not waterproof – be careful in storms and wet grass.
Audio
Both the ACE 300 and the ACE 400 have three audio tone ID levels to help you figure out what metal you’ve found without looking at the display.
Both machines come with headphones as standard.
Coil
Garrett makes great search coils – both the 300 and the 400 have PROformance coils.
The ACE 300 has the 7” x 10” concentric PROformance and the 400 has a larger 8” x 11” DD PROformance coil.
The 400’s coil is larger and because it’s a DD it achieves greater depth plus its ‘knife-shaped’ transmission avoids getting more than one target in the sweep.
DD’s are not necessarily better than concentric coils that send out a cone-shaped signal, they just send out a different search shape.
Length and Weight
The machines are comparable in length and weight. They both extend from 40” to 53” and have three parts for easy storage and travel.
The ACE 300 weighs 2.8lbs and the 400 2.9lbs so there’s barely any difference.
Cost
The ACE 400 will cost you $100-200 more than the ACE 300. For the extra money you get iron audio, a larger coil, and a higher frequency.
The Best Choice
The 400 is better if you’re searching trashy areas or you’re simply fed up getting all the iron.
There’s more tech on the 400 than the 300 and if you can afford to do so I’d recommend getting the Garrett ACE 400 to find better quality targets with the aid of iron audio and a higher frequency.
That said, the Garrett ACE 300 is a cracking machine and if you don’t mind a lot of looking at the display screen in trashy areas then save your cash.