Golden Mask 5+ SE – metal detector review (photos and settings+)

Greetings dear comrades!

I have been digging with Golden Mask metal detectors for a long time, not for the first year. There is experience with Golden Mask 4 PRO, with Golden Mask 5+, but in 2018 the manufacturer introduced a further improvement Golden Mask 5+ SE, which means SE – Special Edition, probably. So to speak, an even more improved version of the famous Mask version 5.

We can say that nothing has changed externally, the buttons and menus are in the same place, from 5+ there is almost everything here, except for changes in the electronics. But we'll talk about this a little later.

Device contents

In our version, we ordered a set with two coils in order to actively walk through ancient fields and pick up antiquities and coins. A 12″ Spider coil is perfect for this purpose, and a 9″ coil is suitable for digging in the forest, ravines and littered areas.

The standard kit is quite rich – here you have the device itself, cases, and 10 AA batteries, charging for them. By the way, the batteries, as in most other models of Golden Mask metal detectors, are charged directly from the battery compartment, and this is a big bonus.

The headphones are wireless and when ordering you can choose a model – either WS105 or WS106. I chose WS106 – I liked them better, they fit better on my head. The headphones also come with a separate charger with a micro-USB cable.

At this final price of the device, this is one of the best configurations that currently exists on the market.

Improvements in the model and its search characteristics

Mask 5 has always been considered a strong middle ground in its class. The device is quite flexible in settings and allows you to configure it either to achieve the greatest depth or for the fastest response to search in littered places. I tend to go somewhere in the middle, trying to make the most of the high PBow and Gain settings.

Among the differences in the menu in relation to the previous model Golden Mask 5+:

Gain: has 3 levels (0,1,2). What gives an increase in depth.

PBox: also has 3 levels (Low, Medium, High). It also gives a noticeable increase in depth.

Iron Volume – the iron volume function has been added, now you can set it completely to zero and respond only to signals from non-ferrous metal. Very useful in littered fields!

Everything else on the menu remains the same.

As I wrote above, first of all, the changes affected the electronics, and this is immediately noticeable in the search. The device works much more stable than previous versions. I set the threshold tone level to the maximum (30) and the device behaves quite stable. Previously, on my Mask 5+ I could only bet 25-26. Thus, the depth for small targets increased.

For example, I lifted this button below from almost 25 cm. It’s a small target, made of several metals, it’s good that my shovel digs deep and is not small, I was able to quickly dig up the target.

On the other hand, the button, as can be seen in the photo below, was simply oxidized; apparently, not the best metal was used for its production.

The search device behaves very stably and gives a clear signal when there is an object under the coil. It was the same with this button. Despite the mown hard grass sticking out in places, the device did not interfere when the coil hit it. Typically, such grass causes interference with most metal detectors.

One of the interesting changes is that since the coils are new, it is clear that they have also been improved; the cable on the coils has changed. Replacing the cable must also have affected the more stable operation of the metal detector.

Another good example is a 1 kopeck raised in 1913 at a depth of about 23-25 cm. A decent depth for such a target in our rocky soil!

1 kopeck in silver, 1842, came out completely at the end of the field, but it was impossible to miss the signal from it, because the coin lay 15 cm, almost on the surface. Great field for coins in good condition!

As an example, a freshly dug hole with a coin. Of course, the device shows well whether there is a useful find or a large iron/unwanted target under the coil. The manufacturer assures that the device operates 80% using analog technology, but target separation and object discrimination are at a good level! I made mistakes several times on deep targets and dug up small oxidized rusty pieces of metal, but any device shows such targets as useful and cannot be ignored. Otherwise, the device clearly shows that there is a good target under the coil that needs to be dug and, in most cases, it turns out to be right.

My settings

Since the Golden Mask 5 Plus SE has 2 frequencies: 8 and 18 kHz, we need to choose what targets we will hunt today. 🙂 On such fields, where I was during the last trip with GM 5+SE, I use 8 kHz frequency, Gain 2, PBox High, Treshold 30, Disc. Depth 7-10, Disc Mode: Bi-tonal (mono), GB usually at level 28. Of course, it would be possible to set All Metal discrimination, but the field was a little littered and I used bi-tonal discrimination.

For heavily littered areas, plowed fields and the beach, I would recommend using a frequency of 18 kHz, Gain 0-1, PBox Medium/Low, Treshold 30, Disc. depth 12-15, Disc mode: Bi-tonal.

Regarding the choice of frequency – it is preferable, nevertheless, to use the frequency 18 kHz as often as possible, but I sometimes use 8 kHz, especially in fields that have not been plowed for a long time or have not been plowed at all – a large cover of grass quite often hides various copper and silver in depth, and the frequency of 18 kHz may not be enough to pick it up at the limit of the detection depth of the metal detector. In general, it’s best to select the best settings for your conditions, soil, type of search, and what exactly you want to find at your spot (or what it contains), so I’ve given you the main direction.

Our summary of the metal detector

To summarize, you need to look at the device in which market you are currently buying it. In Europe, where the price of metal detectors is quite high, the Golden Mask 5+SE occupies a very advantageous position, because its price is at a level where semi-professional and average metal detectors cannot compete with it in price, and the Mask in its new incarnation shows better results, sometimes outperforming professional metal detectors in terms of their search characteristics.

It may not be the biggest “harvest” from the field in the photo above, but the comrades who walked in the neighborhood were left without any finds at all. Luck? Or an accident? Don't know. According to the tests, the metal detector is clearly higher than all its classmates and can be recommended for purchase even as your first metal detector; it will be quite easy to figure it out, especially using the settings above.

No worries, friends!