Garrett ACE Apex Metal Detector with Raider Coil and MS-3 Wireless Headphones, Military Discount

The Garrett ACE Apex package holds Garrett's Multi-Flex multi-frequency detector with the 8.5 x 11 inch DD Raider coil, plus Garrett MS-3 Z-Lynk wireless headphones, at our military discount for active and retired service members. We recommend the ACE Apex to beginners and intermediate detectorists searching parks, fields, freshwater locations and saltwater beaches. It runs four single frequencies, 5, 10, 15 and 20 kHz, plus Multi-Frequency and Multi-Salt, and its built-in Z-Lynk transmitter talks to those headphones.

What is in the box with the Garrett ACE Apex with MS-3 Wireless Headphones and Raider Search Coil

Garrett's standard contents for the ACE Apex with MS-3 Wireless Headphones and Raider Search Coil (Garrett part 1142365)

• Garrett ACE Apex control box on the S-shaped stem, with built-in Z-Lynk wireless transmitter and rechargeable lithium-ion battery
• Armrest with armrest strap
• Upper and lower stem, connected, with push-pin locks and camlocks
• 8.5 x 11 inch DD Multi-Flex Raider searchcoil with coil cover installed
• Searchcoil mounting hardware: nut, bolt and mounting washers
• Micro-USB charging cable
• Quick-Start Guide
• Garrett MS-3 Z-Lynk wireless headphones
• USB charging cable for the MS-3 headphones

Who qualifies for the Garrett ACE Apex military discount

Active and retired military receive a 15% discount on the Garrett ACE Apex. The discount shows in your cart once you add the Garrett ACE Apex to it. Send a copy of your driver's license with the "Veteran" designation, or a certificate showing your name and branch of service, to support@seriousdetecting.com or text (844) 771-0707. We do not accept a DD-214. See every detector in our military discount collection.

Not eligible for the military discount? See the standard Garrett ACE Apex with Raider coil and MS-3 wireless headphones.

Multi-Frequency, Multi-Salt and single frequencies

Imagine someone who normally searches Michigan parks taking a vacation to Florida: we would use a suitable Multi-Frequency setting at home and switch to Multi-Salt on the wet ocean sand. Multi-Salt, labeled MS on the menu, uses a blend of frequencies to help overcome the negative effects of saltwater beaches, where sand saturated with conductive salt water produces signals that interfere with buried metal. Garrett notes that lower frequencies generally do better on larger, more conductive targets such as large silver coins, and higher frequencies on smaller, less conductive targets such as hammered silver coins and gold nuggets. Garrett notes that increasing levels of salt minerals can make the detector unstable, and in saltwater areas with highly mineralized black sand it suggests reducing sensitivity for maximum stability.

Ground balance, Iron Audio and target ID

• Ground balance: automatic, with 175 points of ground balance resolution ranging from ferrous ground to saltwater, the same resolution Garrett gives the Garrett AT Max. Moving from mild park soil to more mineralized ground, ground balancing helps compensate for the soil's own signals, but severe ground can still reduce detection performance.
• Iron Audio: lets you hear discriminated iron that is normally silenced, which Garrett says helps identify complex iron objects such as bottle caps.
• Iron Volume: eight adjustments lower the volume of iron targets while non-ferrous targets stay at normal volume.
• Discrimination and search modes: twenty pixels of notch discrimination, including eight pixels of iron, and six search modes: Zero, Coins, US Coins (with coin icons), Jewelry, Relics and Custom, plus Pinpoint. Garrett's iron masking tip is to use just enough discrimination to barely reject the iron trash, because a good target lying next to a nail can still register through their combined conductivity. Garrett also notes that the US Coins pattern may miss medium-sized jewelry.
• Target ID and audio: large 0 to 99 Target ID numbers on a backlit LCD, five audible tones, a target depth indicator and a hybrid audio system that adds subtle proportional audio for faint targets to the binary audio of earlier ACE detectors. Garrett notes that Target ID can vary widely with a target's size and thickness, and mineralized soil can make it less accurate, especially on small or deep targets.

The 8.5 x 11 inch DD Raider searchcoil

Garrett describes the 8.5 x 11 inch DD Multi-Flex Raider as the perfect size coil for open field searches, with great coverage area, easy target separation and excellent detection depth on coin-sized and larger targets, and smooth operation even in highly mineralized soils and on saltwater beaches. Its wider footprint searches a broader strip with each sweep. The entire coil can be submerged, its coil cover protects it from scratches, it weighs 1.2 lbs out of the box, and it works only with Garrett Apex detectors. See our metal detector search coils.

Z-Lynk wireless audio and the MS-3 headphones

Every ACE Apex has a built-in Z-Lynk wireless transmitter, and the box holds Garrett MS-3 Z-Lynk wireless headphones, so you can hunt without a headphone cord. Garrett gives the delay between detector and MS-3 as 17 milliseconds, six times faster than Bluetooth headphones. The MS-3 has volume control, folds down for storage and runs up to 30 hours on a single charge from its own USB cable. Garrett rates it IP52, protected against light rain, and says it should never be submerged in water. The 1/8 inch jack still takes wired headphones, Bluetooth headphones do not work with Z-Lynk, and other Garrett Z-Lynk products such as the PRO-Pointer AT Z-Lynk pinpointer play through the same MS-3. See our metal detector headphones.

Water and beach use with the Garrett ACE Apex

Garrett says the ACE Apex searchcoil and lower stem are fully submersible, but the control box should never be submerged. The control box is rainproof: Garrett builds it to keep rain and blowing rain out of the housing, provided the rubber covers are firmly seated in the USB and headphone openings. On wet sand, at the water's edge and in shallow creeks and swimming areas, keep the control box dry and above the waterline. For someone who needs a fully submersible detector, we recommend the Garrett Vortex VX7 or Garrett Vortex VX9, because the ACE Apex control housing is not designed for underwater use; see also our waterproof metal detectors.

Battery, weight and build

A built-in rechargeable lithium-ion battery gives up to approximately 15 hours of use, depending on settings. Garrett lists a recharge time of 4 hours from any USB port with the detector off, longer if it is on, and recommends charging for 4 to 5 hours before first use; the rapid charging system needs 500 mA for the fastest charge. The aluminum stem adjusts from 40 to 53 inches (1.016 to 1.35 m) with push-pin locks and camlocks. Garrett makes its metal detectors in America.

Getting started with the Garrett ACE Apex

We would start with a suitable factory search mode, such as Coins in Multi-Frequency, then learn the settings that matter most on the ACE Apex: Multi-Frequency versus Multi-Salt, ground balance, Iron Audio and discrimination. The most common mistake we see is assuming that because the searchcoil is waterproof, the entire detector can be submerged. Garrett recommends lower sensitivity when the detector behaves erratically because of trash, mineralization, electrical interference or other detectors, and a different frequency channel to reduce electrical interference from sources such as power lines; higher sensitivity is for very small or very deep targets. New to metal detecting? Our getting started with metal detecting guide covers the basics.

Garrett ACE Apex compared with the ACE 300 and ACE 400

The ACE 300 and ACE 400 are Garrett's single-frequency ACE models, at 8 kHz and 10 kHz, and both adjust automatically for ground minerals without a ground balance control. The ACE Apex adds Multi-Flex multi-frequency, 175 points of ground balance resolution and a built-in rechargeable battery. The differences below come from Garrett's published specifications.

Garrett ACE Apex specifications

Garrett covers the ACE Apex with a 3-year limited warranty covering defects in materials and workmanship. Garrett's MS-3 Z-Lynk wireless headphones carry their own 2-year limited parts and labor warranty.

For our full Garrett ACE Apex guide, settings advice and comparisons, see the Garrett ACE Apex collection.