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A Detector Choice, XP DEUS Versus Nokta Impact, Advice Please


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Hi Steve & All

Im UK based and detect for coins, relics, well just about anything really, I may even have found some info of a river that may produce gold,

Im not sure how many of you guys can help, Im in the market for a new detector and I have been pondering the XP Deus for some time but have held fire on my purchase because of the release of the Nokta Impact, I am always on this site looking at the reviews etc and wanted to hear any experiences of the Nokta Impact, I know its early days yet and reviews are thin on the ground, but experts like yourselves will have an initial feeling about new gear and instantly know if you like it or not,

in the UK the Deus will be around £300-£350 more expencive than the Impact, so my question is to those who may have both, Which do you prefer, why, which would be your go to machine, does the Impact compare to the Deus, which do you think maybe the best all rounder, is the Deus worth the extra $

Any help is greatfully received, Thanks in Advance, Shanan

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Hello Shanan, welcome to the forum,

The short answer is it really is too soon to say for sure. I have an XP DEUS and the Nokta Impact but due to weather and other commitments have been short on time this spring. I simply have not had the time yet to get the hours on the machines, and this has been compounded by my waiting for XP to get the new high frequency coils onto the market. Having one on hand will save me time in not having to do extra field trips late to find out what I can accomplish with the new coil on my possession.

I can offer you a personal impression however. In my opinion I can do well with any top end VLF detector. The tech is pretty well sorted out and max depth was attained a long time ago, although discrimination and the ability to pull good targets out of dense trash continues to improve. That being the case, for me it is mostly about how the detector "feels". Weight and balance, audio, layout of display and control options, etc.

It is not strictly about weight. The F75 at 3.5 lbs has the best feel on my arm of any detector I have used. The balance makes a big difference, and the DEUS although lighter feels nose heavy by comparison. Weight does matter though and the Impact at 4.26 lbs with batteries on my postal scales is almost twice as heavy as the DEUS at 2.15 lbs (9" coil, control box affixed to rod). This alone might make the difference for some people.

Both the DEUS and Impact have wireless headphone options. The DEUS coil and controls both must be charged to use. The Impact should also be used with rechargeable batteries but uses four drop in AA batteries. This gives the Impact a slight edge in my opinion because if the batteries go dead, you can just drop in a backup set and get on with business. The DEUS coil can be run in a pinch from a USB style portable power pack but it is just not as simple as the Impact in this regard.

A big factor in my opinion is about whether you like accessory coils or not. With the DEUS each coil is an actual metal detector, and so they cost about $500 each and XP is likely to be the sole supplier. I am not a fan of overpriced accessory coils, and no number of people pointing out Minelab also has lots of overpriced coils will make me change my mind about that. I think standard and smaller size coils should be under $200 and with only large VLF coils should the price sneak above $200. Even Minelab makes X-Terra coils that fit that rule.

Bottom line is the Impact out the starting gate already has four coil options at excellent prices, both smaller and larger than what you can get for the DEUS. The 4" x 7.5" DD coil in particular gives the Impact an edge in the thickest trash conditions. Other Nokta and Impact models have seen superb support from NEL and other aftermarket suppliers and I will be surprised if this does not prove to be the case with the Impact.

For some people I think it simply boils down to the DEUS being the lighter, more compact detector and very well proven. The Impact offers more value, especially once you take accessory coils into account, but it is a very new design with thin dealer support. I don't really think you can go wrong with either detector, but honestly they are kind of night and day physically when you set them side by side.

That's about all I can offer on the subject at the moment. For me personally a lot of it will come down to that new elliptical HF coil option and how the DEUS sorts out as a possible prospecting detector option. If you take the high frequency coil option out of the picture I would have to say I personally lean a bit more to the Impact way of doing things. The DEUS is a marvel but I guess I am just old fashioned. Drop in batteries and inexpensive "dumb" coils work fine for me. I put very high value on the Impact having both smaller and larger coils than can be had for the DEUS. That's just me though and only a fool would not recognize how popular the DEUS is and how well it works for a whole lot of people. There is something to be said for a solid track record versus something brand new and unproven.

nokta-impact-vs-teknetics-g2-vs-xp-deus.jpg

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Guest Tnsharpshooter

Shanan,

I have run the Deus a lot,,,not so much with version 4 update,,by my hours are accumulating  pretty quick.

I also have an Impact detector I have been using/ testing.

I am not going to tell you to buy one or the other,,but will tell you the strengths and weaknesses of each one.

First Deus,,,seems to like higher mineral soil better than Impact,,,so if you have milder soil this would be more a non player.

Target ID at depth,,,this is Deus' biggest weakness,,,coins, etc below approx 7" mark can be identified with junk targets-- all having 90s ID and sound the same tone wise.

So hunting sites with modern trash,,Impact here does provide ID on deeper targets (more accurate),,but when targets get even deeper Impact can do like Deus does.

Even toggling to deep mode on an already found target with Impact detector,,sometimes even a better more accurate ID of deeper target can be gotten.

As far as using the non normalization feature both of these detectors have,,,Impact has edge here since its freq span is slslightly more than Deus.

Now the newer coils for Deus,,the ones that run higher freqs than the current coils,,have not been released.

So the 7x11" stock coil on Impact,,,can have some advantage around bigger iron vs Deus with either the 11" or 9" diameter coils.

And also the smallest coil on Impact,,as well as the medium sized  coil (I don't have btw),,,using both of these will give Impact some advatantage over Deus as well when it comes to separation and unmasking in and around ferrous materials.

But even the Deus can have some advantage here over Impact even though it's coils are wider in distance.

So far,,the bottom line is,,,I can take either of these detectors and hunt behind the other one and possibly make some finds.

It would depend on the detecting scenario.

I could not possibly due to my use and experience with both of these detectors,,,necessarily declare a site dead of finds (nonferrous),,by running either and using all possible coils.

I would feel more comfortable calling a site dead if I could hunt a site real hard multiple times,,using both of these detectors ,,,along with all the coils that are available for them.

Probably not much help to you,,,but this is the gospel coming from me based solely on my use of both detectors.

 

 

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