Pro mode gives you proportional audio that varies with target strength and conductivity, while Standard mode delivers consistent binary beeps regardless of signal quality. You’ll gain approximately 1+ inch of additional depth in Pro mode—detecting targets beyond 6 inches in iron-contaminated ground compared to Standard’s 4–5 inches. Pro mode’s tone roll feature exposes irregular signals and conductivity differences, helping you distinguish trash from treasure through analytical signal interpretation rather than simple yes-or-no responses. The sections below break down exactly how these technical differences impact your detecting success.
Key Takeaways
- Standard Mode delivers binary, full-strength audio signals with uniform beeps, ideal for beginners seeking straightforward, immediate target detection without signal complexity.
- Pro Mode provides proportional audio with variable pitch and tone roll, revealing target conductivity, depth, and irregularities for nuanced analysis by experienced users.
- Pro Mode achieves approximately 1+ inch greater detection depth than Standard Mode, especially in iron-contaminated or mineralized ground conditions.
- Pro Mode’s 40 discrimination levels and faster recovery enable superior target separation and trash identification in high-clutter or challenging environments.
- Pro Mode requires approximately 20+ hours to master signal interpretation, while Standard Mode offers immediate simplicity for casual or novice detectorists.
Audio Response Differences Between Modes
Understanding the fundamental difference between Standard and Pro modes starts with their audio architectures. Standard mode delivers a binary response—your detector’s either signaling or it’s not. You’ll hear full-strength beeps at consistent volume regardless of target depth or size, providing clear audio clarity through a single crisp tone.
Pro mode operates differently. It gives you proportional audio that varies with target response strength. You’ll detect subtle sound frequency changes indicating conductivity shifts, from iron through nickel to silver ranges. Deeper targets produce fainter signals, while shallow ones ring louder. This variable audio clarity helps you distinguish adjacent targets and estimate depth before digging. The broken audio signal in Pro mode alerts you to irregularly shaped targets or non-ferrous metals that might not warrant recovery.
The tone-roll feature reveals target characteristics that standard mode’s binary system can’t communicate, giving you enhanced freedom to make informed recovery decisions. The detector’s 18 kHz operating frequency enhances sensitivity to small metals like gold nuggets and delicate relics such as bullets and buttons that might otherwise go undetected.
Maximum Detection Depth Comparison
How much deeper can you actually detect targets in Pro mode? You’ll gain measurable depth advantages through Pro mode’s proportional audio and faster recovery speed. These features let you reach targets that standard mode misses.
Pro mode’s proportional audio and faster recovery speed unlock measurable depth advantages that standard mode simply cannot reach.
The AT Pro’s 15 kHz frequency range delivers solid penetration. However, you’re trading some depth versus lower frequencies for better target discrimination on smaller items.
Pro mode’s audio sensitivity reveals subtle signal variations from deeper targets. In contrast, standard mode’s full-strength beep masks these critical depth cues. The high-resolution LCD display shows real-time depth readings alongside target ID information for precise depth assessment.
You’ll maximize detection depth by switching to All Metal mode when discrimination isn’t essential. The detector includes 40 iron discrimination levels that allow precise filtering of unwanted targets while maintaining depth performance.
The faster recovery speed in Pro mode separates adjacent deep targets that standard mode blends together, effectively bringing hunted-out sites back into play with professional-grade performance metrics.
Target Information and Tone Identification
You’ll receive fundamentally different audio feedback between these modes: Pro Mode delivers proportional audio that varies with target response amplitude, revealing nuanced information about size, shape, and conductivity through tone variations and signal strength.
Standard Mode produces full-strength beeps regardless of target amplitude, providing binary on-off signals with consistent volume for all detectable targets.
Pro Mode’s detailed audio characteristics enable you to distinguish irregular objects through broken or faint signals, while Standard Mode‘s smooth, consistent tones prioritize simplicity over granular target analysis. Pro Mode offers faster recovery time, allowing you to better detect multiple targets positioned close together. Standard Mode’s simple, basic tones make it particularly well-suited for beginners who are still learning to interpret detector signals.
Pro Mode Audio Detail
Pro Mode’s proportional audio response mechanism fundamentally changes how you receive target information by correlating signal loudness directly to target strength. You’ll hear volume decreasing as distance from your search coil increases, revealing target depth without visual confirmation.
The Tone Roll feature adds conductivity identification through varying tone patterns as your coil passes over objects, distinguishing flat iron from valuable targets with precision unavailable in Standard Mode’s binary response.
This enhanced audio detail demands greater battery optimization since continuous proportional feedback consumes more power than Standard Mode’s simpler alerts. However, the ergonomic design accommodates extended hunting sessions through efficient headphone integration. The Iron Audio feature enables you to hear discriminated iron targets while adjusting mid-tone signal responses for improved trash identification. The included MS-2 wired headphones provide reliable audio transmission for monitoring these subtle tonal variations.
You’ll detect targets beyond visual Target ID range, accessing audio depth capabilities that exceed the 0-99 scale’s limitations. Recovery speed accelerates between adjacent targets, delivering separation efficiency critical for trash-dense environments.
Standard Mode Simplicity
Standard Mode eliminates audio complexity through its binary response design, delivering full-strength beep output regardless of target amplitude or depth.
You’ll experience straightforward “on or off” responses that strip away interpretation barriers, letting you focus on covering ground efficiently. This user interface embraces historical context from traditional detecting methodology while reducing cognitive load during extended sweeps.
Key operational advantages:
- Consistent signal strength – Full-amplitude beeps maintain uniformity across varying target depths and sizes
- Single-tone presentation – Crisp audio output without frequency variation simplifies discrimination
- Preset configuration – Intuitive controls designed for immediate deployment in relic, coin, and cache hunting
- Reduced learning curve – Binary feedback accelerates proficiency development for beginning detectorists
You’ll find this simplified approach particularly effective when rapid target confirmation matters more than nuanced audio analysis. The standard binary audio delivers consistent response patterns that prove especially useful for simple operation across varied hunting environments. Target identification displays ferrous targets on the left and non-ferrous on the right, providing visual confirmation alongside the audio feedback.
Which Mode Is Right for Your Skill Level
When selecting between Pro and Standard modes on your Garrett AT Pro, your current skill level directly impacts which configuration delivers peak performance. Beginners benefit from Standard mode’s full-strength binary audio—consistent beep signals eliminate interpretation complexity while you’re mastering frequency ranges and battery considerations during extended hunts.
This simplified approach accelerates your learning curve without overwhelming your sensory processing.
Advanced detectorists enable Pro mode’s proportional audio technology and Tone Roll features, gaining approximately one inch of additional depth plus faster recovery time between targets. However, you’ll need extended field experience to interpret subtle signal variations effectively.
Your proficiency in reading target responses determines whether Pro mode’s enhanced capabilities translate into actual recovery advantages or simply generate confusing audio patterns that reduce your efficiency.
Available Search Mode Configurations
Your Garrett AT Pro delivers three distinct operational configurations through sequential Mode button presses: Standard, Pro, and Custom. Each configuration operates at 15 kHz frequency while maintaining independent sensitivity and discrimination settings through the user interface.
Mode Configuration Specifications:
- Standard Mode — Binary audio output with consistent tone volume regardless of target depth or size, optimized for straightforward detection scenarios.
- Pro Mode — Proportional audio response with tone roll indicating conductivity variations, enabling advanced target analysis and faster recovery speed.
- Custom Mode — Stores your preferred sensitivity, discrimination settings, and audio characteristics for rapid deployment at familiar sites.
- Zero-Discrimination Setting — Functions as effective all-metal mode across any configuration, maximizing depth penetration without true dedicated mode.
The LCD Target ID scale (0–99) remains active across all configurations, with pinpoint functionality accessible regardless of selected mode.
Performance in Iron-Contaminated Ground
Iron-contaminated ground presents the most demanding detection environment where Standard and Pro Mode configurations exhibit measurable performance divergence. You’ll gain 1+ inch additional depth with Pro Mode gear configurations, reaching 6+ inches on faint signals versus Standard’s 4-5 inch ceiling.
Pro Mode’s proportional audio delivers 40 discrimination levels, enabling you to distinguish treasure from trash through tone roll analysis. Standard Mode’s binary response masks valuable targets adjacent to iron debris.
Iron Audio functionality in Pro Mode reveals discriminated signals that Standard suppresses entirely.
Recovery speed accelerates considerably with Pro Mode, reducing target masking in cluttered sites.
Smaller coil options maximize these advantages in iron-rich ghost towns.
Experienced detectorists exploit Pro Mode’s nuanced feedback for superior target separation, while beginners navigate iron contamination more simply through Standard’s streamlined operation.
Proportional Audio Technology Explained
Proportional Audio Technology in Pro mode generates continuous, variable-pitch tones that change in real-time as you sweep across a target. This directly correlates audio amplitude to the target’s signal strength, depth, and composition.
This contrasts sharply with Standard mode‘s binary approach, which produces a full-strength beep that activates uniformly regardless of target amplitude variations.
The rolling, modulated signal in Pro mode replaces the simple on/off response, enabling you to interpret subtle gradations in target characteristics through audio nuance rather than fixed tone patterns.
How Proportional Audio Works
When you adjust an equalizer’s gain control, what determines how wide or narrow the affected frequency range becomes?
In proportional Q systems, the Q value changes dynamically with your gain adjustments, delivering spectral clarity through bandwidth adaptation.
As you increase boost or cut amounts, Q automatically increases, narrowing the affected range for surgical precision.
Conversely, subtle adjustments maintain lower Q values, providing broad harmonic resonance across frequency ranges.
Key Operational Characteristics:
- Dynamic Q Response: Q values scale proportionally with gain changes, unlike static constant Q designs.
- Fixed Frequency Boundaries: Skirt extension points remain consistent regardless of boost/cut depth.
- Symmetrical Peak Behavior: Both sides of the frequency curve extend to identical upper and lower limits.
- Non-Destructive Reversibility: Opposite gain adjustments at the same frequency effectively undo previous moves.
Binary Vs Continuous Signals
Metal detectors process target signals through two fundamentally different approaches: binary on/off responses or continuously variable output.
Standard Mode’s binary system delivers full-strength audio regardless of target amplitude, providing clean target recognition through consistent volume until objects become undetectable. You’ll hear identical beeps for shallow and deep coins, eliminating depth-related guesswork.
Pro Mode’s continuous signal varies proportionally with target strength, revealing nuanced information about size, shape, and distance. This proportional response enhances signal clarity by displaying volume fadeout as depth increases, while faster recovery time separates adjacent targets.
Binary signals simplify operation with fewer tones and reduced variation, making it ideal for straightforward detection.
Continuous signals *release* advanced target profiling through variable tone roll audio that reveals conductivity changes, giving you complete freedom to interpret complex ground conditions independently.
Small Target Detection Capabilities
Understanding how Garrett’s Pro and Standard modes handle small targets reveals significant performance differences that directly impact your detection success.
Pro mode delivers superior depth penetration, detecting silver dimes at 6.5 inches with small coils while Standard quiets beyond 5 inches. You’ll gain approximately 1+ inch additional depth across target types.
The proportional audio clarity lets you assess depth through signal strength variations, while tone roll differentiates iron from valuable metals through continuous frequency shifts.
Key Small Target Advantages:
- Audio clarity distinguishes square nails (low tone) from nickels (mid) and silver dimes (high).
- Signal stability improves in iron-contaminated sites through enhanced iron separation.
- Iron Audio reveals discriminated targets Standard mode completely masks.
- Faster recovery time isolates adjacent small targets in trashy environments.
Standard mode provides consistent binary responses, limiting your depth assessment capabilities but simplifying quick target identification.
Learning Curve and Signal Interpretation
While Standard mode delivers immediate operational simplicity through its binary audio response, Pro mode demands significant investment in signal interpretation skills before you’ll extract its full detection advantages.
You’ll experience consistent, full-strength beeps in Standard mode regardless of target depth or size, building user confidence through predictable audio clarity.
Pro mode’s proportional audio system reveals critical target characteristics—depth through signal fade, shape through tone irregularity, and conductivity through tone roll variations.
Expect approximately 20 hours of field time before Pro mode’s nuanced signals become intuitive rather than overwhelming.
Standard mode excels for basic presence confirmation, while Pro mode accelerates adjacent target recovery and provides instant depth assessment once mastered.
Most detectorists temporarily revert to Standard mode when starting, then shift gradually to Pro after developing audio interpretation proficiency.
Treasure and Trash Separation Techniques
Pro mode’s proportional audio system transforms trash identification from guesswork into analytical decision-making by exposing the irregular conductivity signatures that betray aluminum foil, pull-tabs, and fragmented ferrous debris.
You’ll hear broken signals and tone variations that reveal non-uniform targets, while standard mode’s binary beep masks these critical distinctions.
In challenging ground mineralization conditions, Pro mode’s coil sensitivity adjustments preserve trash-detection nuance that standard mode eliminates.
Advanced separation techniques:
- Tone roll analysis – Sweep slowly to detect conductivity shifts characteristic of composite trash objects
- Signal consistency checks – Rotate 90 degrees; treasure maintains stable audio while trash fragments produce erratic responses
- Recovery speed exploitation – Pro mode’s faster processing separates adjacent targets within 2-3 inches
- Depth-proportional fading – Volume decrease indicates genuine depth versus shallow trash masking
Frequently Asked Questions
Can You Switch Between Pro and Standard Modes During a Hunt?
Yes, you’ll instantly switch between modes mid-hunt using the Mode button—no power-cycling needed. Pro mode customization delivers proportional audio for nuanced targets, while Standard mode limitations include binary on/off responses. You’re free to adapt real-time based on field conditions.
Does Pro Mode Drain Battery Faster Than Standard Mode?
Yes, Pro Mode drains battery faster. One hunter reported 5-6 hours runtime versus Standard’s 8-10 hours. Battery impact stems from proportional audio processing and increased chatter. Power management favors Standard Mode, though you’ll sacrifice Pro’s sophisticated target analysis capabilities.
Will Pro Mode Work With All Headphones and Wireless Audio?
Pro Mode maintains full headphone compatibility with all audio setups—wired and wireless. You’ll experience identical wireless audio performance across both modes, so your Z-Lynk or adapted third-party headphones won’t face any operational restrictions.
Can Beginners Damage Settings by Accidentally Switching to Pro Mode?
Worried about breaking something? You can’t damage settings switching to Pro mode—it’s purely software-based mode customization. Your sensor sensitivity remains intact, and you’ll simply revert to Standard mode if the advanced audio features feel overwhelming initially.
Does Weather or Ground Mineralization Affect Pro Mode Differently?
No documented weather impact differences exist between modes. However, Pro mode’s proportional audio and faster recovery give you better mineralization effects discrimination in challenging ground, letting you extract more target information than Standard mode’s binary response.
References
- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jTomN-uXrR8
- https://bigboyshobbies.net/blogs/default-blog/garrett-at-pro-and-garrett-at-gold-what-is-the-difference
- https://kellycodetectors.com/blog/garrett-ace-400-vs-at-pro/
- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1L2cWDn4Ex0
- https://www.treasurenet.com/threads/garret-at-pro-modes-work.525785/
- https://metaldetectingforum.com/index.php?threads/when-to-use-pro-mode-on-atpro-and-other-small-question.179921/
- https://www.metaldetector.com/blogs/new_blog/garrett-at-series-comparison-at-pro-at-gold-and-at-max
- https://www.highplainsprospectors.com/blogs/news/what-is-the-difference-between-the-garrett-at-pro-and-ace-400-metal-detectors
- https://garrett.com/garrett-at-pro-w-ms-2-headphones/
- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MzP3Kv1qSdk
