Garrett Vortex
Garrett Vortex Settings by Site Type Across the VX5, VX7 and VX9
Quick answer
Across the Garrett Vortex line, run simultaneous multi-frequency as the inland default, use Multi-Salt on the VX7 and VX9 for wet salt sand, raise recovery speed in iron and lower it on deep clean ground, and remember that only the VX7 and VX9 publish a Multi-Salt mode.
The Vortex platform is unusual because the three machines share a body and differ in software. Garrett publishes the VX5 as offering 13 kHz or MD-MF, the VX7 as adding Multi-Salt and five search modes named Beach, Coins, Zero, Custom and Standard along with customisable detection speed, and the VX9 as offering five single frequencies plus simultaneous multi with eight sensitivity levels. Garrett also states the VX5 can be transformed into a VX7 or VX9 with paid software upgrades.
That means settings advice has to say which machine it applies to. The table below does. All three are published as submersible to sixteen feet, which changes what site types are even on the list compared with the ACE family.
Top pick
Garrett Vortex VX7
Multi-Salt, five named search modes and adjustable detection speed, which is the point where the Vortex platform stops being a compromise for beach and iron work.
Price was accurate when this page was compiled and changes often.
On this page
What should each Vortex run on each kind of ground?
Where a row names a mode the VX5 does not publish, that is the honest limit of the cheaper machine rather than an oversight.
Only the VX7 and VX9 publish a Multi-Salt mode, so wet salt sand is the site type where the VX5 is genuinely the lesser machine rather than simply a cheaper one.
| Site type | VX5 | VX7 and VX9 | Sensitivity | Recovery speed |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mown town park | MD-MF | Multi-frequency, Coins mode | Two steps below chatter | Medium to fast |
| Old house site, heavy iron | MD-MF | Multi-frequency, Standard or Custom | Moderate | Fast |
| Open pasture, permission | MD-MF | Multi-frequency | Ceiling for the ground | Medium |
| Deep silver, clean ground | 13 kHz | 5 or 9 kHz on the VX9 | Ceiling for the ground | Slow |
| Small gold and thin targets | MD-MF | 18 or 25 kHz on the VX9 | High | Medium |
| Wet salt sand | MD-MF, with limitations | Multi-Salt, Beach mode | As high as the mode allows | Medium |
| Surf and shallow water | MD-MF, submersible to 16 ft | Multi-Salt, Beach mode | Moderate | Medium |
| Heavily mineralised inland soil | MD-MF | Multi-frequency with high-resolution ground balance | Lower than you expect | Medium |
Mode names and frequencies are as published by Garrett for each model. Sensitivity is expressed relative to the chatter ceiling you establish on the day, because that ceiling is a property of the ground. The Vortex owner's manual is the authority for your firmware revision.
How should recovery speed change with the site?
Fast in iron, slow on clean deep ground. A fast recovery speed lets the machine finish with one target and be ready for the next, which is what separates a coin lying beside a nail from a single confused signal. The cost is a shorter look at each target, which reduces depth on faint deep signals.
Garrett lists customisable detection speed on the VX7 and adjustable recovery speed on the VX9, describing it as helping isolate targets in trashy areas with fast separation. Treat it as the control you change when you move from a farmyard to a field, not as something you set once at home.
What does full submersion change about how you hunt?
It changes what you can attempt, not what you should. All three Vortex machines are published as submersible to sixteen feet, which puts rivers, lakes and the surf line genuinely in range in a way that an ACE, with its waterproof coil and non-waterproof control box, never is.
Two practical points. Wireless audio does not work underwater, so a submerged machine needs a wired waterproof headphone set. And water hunting is its own discipline with its own risks: tides, currents, cold and footing. Take the tide table seriously, tell somebody where you are, and do not wade alone in moving water. The VX9 target ID page covers how the readings themselves behave.
Is the software upgrade path worth using?
It is worth understanding before you buy rather than after. Garrett states the VX5 can be transformed into a VX7 or VX9 with paid software upgrades, and that the VX7 can be unlocked to VX9 with a simple software update rather than a new detector. That is unusual and genuinely useful, because it lets you find out what you actually need from a season of hunting before paying for it.
The calculation is simple arithmetic: compare the VX5 price plus the upgrade against buying the higher machine outright, and weigh the difference against the chance that you never need the upgrade at all. Plenty of people hunt inland pasture happily on a multi-frequency mode and never touch salt water. The specifications page sets out what all these machines share.
What does a water-capable machine need around it?
The machine being submersible does not make the rest of your kit submersible, which is where most wet-day problems start.
Garrett Vortex VX7
$499.99Multi-Salt, five search modes and customisable detection speed at $499.99, upgradeable to VX9 later.
Best for: beach and mixed inland hunting
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Garrett Pro-Pointer AT
$109.99Submersible to twenty feet with a fast retune that copes with mineralised ground and wet sand.
Best for: water and beach hunters
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Garrett Vortex VX5
$399.9913 kHz or MD-MF, submersible to sixteen feet, and upgradeable when you know what you need.
Best for: buying into the platform gradually
Check price on AmazonHow we chose
We did not test these machines in person and we publish no find claims. Picks are researched from manufacturer specifications and owner manuals, published listing features, waterproof ratings and warranty terms, and the recurring themes in verified owner reviews. We favour the established detector brands because coils, shafts and control boxes have to stay available years after a model is discontinued, and we place every pick in the tier where its price and capability honestly belong.
Sources
- Garrett Vortex VX5, VX7 and VX9 owner's manuals
- Garrett Vortex VX7 published listing, for Multi-Salt, the five search modes and customisable detection speed
- Garrett Vortex VX5 published listing, for 13 kHz, MD-MF, submersion depth and the software upgrade path
- Garrett Vortex VX9 published listing, for frequencies, ground balance and sensitivity levels
Frequently asked questions
Does the Garrett Vortex VX5 have a Multi-Salt mode?
Garrett publishes Multi-Salt for the VX7 and describes the VX5 as offering 13 kHz or the MD-MF multi-frequency mode. If wet salt sand is your main ground, that is the difference that matters, and it is worth either buying the VX7 outright or budgeting for the paid software upgrade Garrett offers to move a VX5 up the range.
What search modes does the Vortex VX7 have?
Garrett lists five search modes plus pinpoint: Beach, Coins, Zero, Custom and Standard. Zero mode, which applies no discrimination, is the one experienced relic hunters tend to live in, because it hands you every signal and lets your ears rather than the software decide. Custom is where you store the configuration you arrive at after a season.
Can I use wireless headphones underwater with a Vortex?
No. Radio does not propagate usefully through water, so a submerged machine needs a wired waterproof headphone set regardless of what wireless system it carries. Garrett builds Z-Lynk into the Vortex line for land use. Plan for two audio solutions if you intend to hunt both on land and under water, and check the connector before buying.
How deep can I take a Garrett Vortex?
Garrett states the Vortex machines are fully submersible to sixteen feet, or five metres. That is a rating for the equipment, not advice about your own safety. Moving water, cold, poor visibility and uncertain footing account for most incidents in water hunting, so treat the depth rating as a hardware limit and your own judgement as the real constraint.
Should I upgrade a VX5 to a VX9 or buy the VX9 outright?
Compare the VX5 price plus the upgrade cost against the VX9 price, then weigh the difference against the possibility that you never need the extra frequencies. If you hunt inland pasture and parks, a multi-frequency mode covers most of what you will meet. If you are on salt water regularly, buy the capability now rather than working around its absence.
Researched, not professional advice. This page is compiled from published specifications, manuals and owner-review consensus, not hands-on testing. Target ID numbers, depth figures and settings vary with soil chemistry, moisture, target size, depth, orientation and firmware version, so treat every figure here as a starting point and verify it against your own machine's manual and your own ground. As an Amazon Associate we earn from qualifying purchases.