XP ICON & ICON X: Full Launch Review

XP ICON and ICON X: Everything You Need to Know About XP's Most Exciting Launch in Years

When XP Metal Detectors does something, the detecting world pays attention.

The Deus changed everything in 2009. Wireless before wireless was mainstream. Fully modular before anyone knew what that meant. The Deus II in 2022 then raised the bar again — simultaneous multi-frequency, an unmatched audio system, and a coil ecosystem that set the benchmark the entire industry has been chasing ever since.

So when XP announces a new range, the question isn't is it worth looking at?

It's: what exactly have they done this time?

The answer — the XP ICON and XP ICON X — is more significant than the price tag might initially suggest.

What Is the XP ICON Range?

The XP ICON range is a pair of wireless, FMF multi-frequency detectors that bring genuine XP performance to a price point the brand has never operated at before. Two models. One shared DNA. Starting at £435.

This is not a budget detector with an XP sticker applied. It is a detector built on the same FMF® platform as the Deus II, using the same wireless architecture, compatible with the same coil ecosystem, and carrying the same 5-year warranty.

The XP ICON is what XP built when they asked themselves how much of the Deus II experience they could deliver at half the price — and the answer turned out to be: most of it.

Both models are engineered and manufactured in France, like every XP detector before them.

Understanding FMF® Technology — And Why It Matters Here

FMF stands for Full Metal Frequency. It is XP's simultaneous multi-frequency platform — the same technology at the core of the Deus II that makes it so effective across varied soil conditions.

Here is why it matters in plain terms.

A traditional single-frequency detector transmits at one frequency. High frequencies are better at detecting small, low-conductivity targets like thin gold and small hammered coins. Low frequencies are better for deep, large targets. Choose wrong for your site and you leave finds in the ground.

FMF transmits multiple frequencies simultaneously. The detector reads the soil and targets across the whole spectrum at once, giving you better target ID stability in mineralised ground, more consistent performance on wet sand, and the ability to pick up targets that would slip past a single-frequency machine.

On the ICON range, FMF runs alongside selectable mono frequencies.

The XP ICON gives you 4 kHz and 14 kHz as manual options.

The XP ICON X adds 28 kHz — the high-frequency setting that significantly improves sensitivity to fine jewellery, thin hammered coins and small medieval fragments.

For most detecting, you run FMF. When conditions or site type calls for it, you switch to mono.

This is not a simplified version of FMF. It is FMF.

 

Two Models. What Actually Separates Them?

XP have been deliberate about how the ICON and ICON X differ. This is not arbitrary product tiering — each difference reflects a real decision about who each detector is for.

The ICON is designed to get you detecting immediately and grow with you as your experience builds.

The ICON X is designed for detectorists who already know what they want from a machine and want the granular control to get it.

Both weigh under 850 grams. Both are waterproof to 5 metres. Both run the same 11-hour battery. Both use the same 28cm FMF coil. Both connect wirelessly at approximately 4ms latency — imperceptible to the human ear.

The XP ICON: Powerful Simplicity

The standard ICON is a lesson in purposeful design.

Three factory programs — Field, Beach and All Terrain — cover the most common detecting scenarios. Power on, select your terrain, and sweep.

For the vast majority of sessions, that is all you need to do.

There is no configuration required, no ground balance ritual to learn, no audio modes to decode before your first dig.

That simplicity does not come at the cost of capability.

The ICON's 25 sensitivity levels, 28-segment discrimination, iron volume control and ground balance system (grab, tracking, standard and pro modes) give experienced detectorists everything they need to adapt to difficult conditions.

The three user-configurable slots mean you can save your own settings and load them at the start of a session.

The audio system covers PWM and Square wave modes, with 2-tone, 3-tone, 5-tone and Full Tones configurations.

Full Tones — the continuous analogue-style response across the target ID range — is what many experienced detectorists use to read the characteristics of a target before committing to a dig.

The ICON has it.

The XP ICON is the detector you hand to someone who has never swung a coil and expect them to have a genuinely rewarding session.

It is also the detector an experienced user picks up as a lightweight everyday machine without feeling like they have compromised.

The XP ICON X: When You Want More

The XP ICON X takes everything the ICON does and extends it outward in every direction that matters.

28 kHz mono frequency. For anyone hunting sites with small medieval finds, fine jewellery, or challenging soil that swallows low-conductivity targets, the third mono frequency is a meaningful addition.

28 kHz genuinely improves sensitivity in conditions where lower frequencies fall short.

Reactivity extended to 7 levels (0–6). This is the setting that separates signals in iron-contaminated soil.

At level 6, the ICON X recovers between signals fast enough to separate adjacent targets that would appear as a single smeared tone on a less capable machine.

At level 0 — below what the standard ICON can access — the detector runs slower and deeper in open, clean ground.

Two additional levels of granularity across the full range is not a small thing on a difficult site.

Six factory programs and six user slots.

Double the pre-loaded programs means more scenarios covered from the box.

For detectorists who hunt a range of permissions — farmland, beach, parks, inland pasture, known medieval ground — being able to save six distinct setups and load them in the field is practically useful.

0.5-point discrimination resolution in the ferrous zone.

This is where experienced detectorists spend a lot of time.

The lower end of the target ID scale — the boundary between ferrous and non-ferrous — is where most missed finds sit.

Finer resolution in that zone means more accurate decisions at the dig / no dig boundary.

Enhanced audio curve with 6 settings.

The ICON X's audio system is built for detectorists who have developed the ear to read subtle variation in tone and duration.

The additional granularity in the audio response opens up a layer of target information that the standard ICON's three settings do not fully expose.

Carbon Lite stem. Stiffer and lighter than the standard Lite stem.

Over eight hours in a field, the difference is real.

Four Packages Available — Which One to Choose?

Crawfords offers all four configurations:

• ICON RC Only — £435
  Remote control, 11" ICON FMF coil, S-Telescopic Lite stem.
• ICON Full Package — £519
  Everything above, plus WSA ST wireless stereo headphones.
• ICON X RC Only — £519
  Remote control, 11" ICON FMF coil, S-Telescopic Carbon Lite stem.
• ICON X Full Package — £599
  The complete ICON X setup with WSA ST wireless headphones.

The XP Ecosystem — This Is the Detail That Changes Everything

Any detector can detect.

What makes the ICON range genuinely interesting — and what the headline price does not immediately communicate — is where it sits within the wider XP ecosystem.

Coil compatibility. The ICON uses the same FMF coil connection as the Deus II.

Every coil in the Deus II FMF range — the 22.5cm (9"), the 28cm (11"), the 34x28cm (13x11") and the DELLFMFHP elliptical — works on your ICON.

Buy a coil today for your ICON, and it works on a Deus II tomorrow if you decide to upgrade.

Wireless headphone compatibility. The ICON is compatible with the full range of XP wireless headphones from the Deus II ecosystem.

MI-6 pinpointer integration. The XP MI-6 communicates wirelessly with the ICON for fast, precise target recovery without a cable between them.

XP Go Terrain app. GPS find logging and route recording via smartphone.

Software updates. Via USB and internet.

Your ICON can be updated when XP releases new firmware — a commitment to the product beyond the point of sale that most competitors at this price point do not offer.

How Does the ICON Compare to the Deus II?

This is the question many people will ask, and it deserves a direct answer.

The Deus II starts at £799 for the headphone-only version and £1,129 for the RC version.

It offers more programs, more frequency options, more audio refinement, and the WS6 headphone experience at the top of the range.

For serious detecting on challenging, heavily hunted ground, the Deus II remains the better machine.

But the ICON and Deus II are not competing for the same buyer.

The ICON is for the detectorist who wants to experience proper XP performance — FMF technology, wireless architecture, ecosystem access — without committing to the Deus II's price point.

It is for the experienced detectorist who wants a lightweight, capable second machine.

It is for the partner, the teenager, the person who wants to try the hobby seriously before making a larger investment.

If you are ready for the Deus II, buy the Deus II.

If you want an XP machine but the Deus II is beyond your current budget — or if you want to bring someone else into the hobby with something genuinely capable — the ICON range is the most interesting option on the market at this price.

Built to Last — The Warranty and Longtime® Certification

Every XP ICON and ICON X comes with a 5-year parts and labour warranty as standard.

An optional extension of a further 5 years is available, giving a total potential warranty period of 10 years from purchase.

The ICON range also carries XP's Longtime® certification — a formal recognition of the product's design for durability, repairability and long-term manufacturer support.

In an era where electronics are disposable by default, this certification means something.

The ICON is designed to be repaired, not replaced.

Batteries and accessories carry a 2-year warranty.

 

 

Who Should Buy the XP ICON?

The ICON is for you if:

• You are new to metal detecting and want your first serious machine
• You want proven FMF technology without the complexity of a full-featured machine
• You want a lightweight backup detector
• You are buying as a gift for someone getting started in the hobby
• You are an experienced detectorist who wants simplicity and speed on casual outings

The ICON X is for you if:

• You have some detecting experience and know what settings you use
• You hunt iron-contaminated sites where fine reactivity control makes a difference
• You want access to 28 kHz for fine jewellery or small hammered coin hunting
• You like having multiple saved program configurations
• You want the most capable package in the ICON range

Where to Buy — and What to Expect from Crawfords

The XP ICON and XP ICON X are available now from Crawfords Metal Detectors, your authorised UK XP dealer.

All four packages are available at our store and website:

• XP ICON — RC Package — £435
• XP ICON — Full Package with WSA ST Headphones — £519
• XP ICON X — RC Package — £519
• XP ICON X — Full Package with WSA ST Headphones — £599

As an authorised dealer, every purchase from Crawfords comes with the full 5-year XP warranty, genuine UK support, and the knowledge that you are buying from a team that uses, understands and stands behind the products they sell.

If you have a question about which package is right for your situation — terrain, experience level, budget, what you are hoping to find — our team are available by phone and online.

We would rather you leave with the right machine than the most expensive one.

XP ICON and XP ICON X — now available at Crawfords Metal Detectors.

Engineered in France. Ready for everywhere else.