Someone Convince Me The Nox 800 Is The Machine To Buy!!!

[dogodog]

I'm having a bout of lack of confidence in my MK. My second 11'' coil today started to act just like my old one. (CRAP)... Short story - Went over an area and hit a high 90's number and broken signal.  My buddy with the 800 went over it and dug two silver quarters a 1929 and a 1942. So here's my question to all, Do I get a Nox 800???? I mostly coin and relic hunt, with a beach maybe twice a year. So I want the good the bad and the ugly. honest and true answers on performance, warranty and coil choices. I'm not a big fan of the tones, but I might be able to forgive that for a more stable running machine. Not looking for overly complicated either. I keep hearing that there is a BIG learning curve? Can you run in factory settings and still be happy? or do you have to be a mathematician to learn it? I do not want to carry 50 index cards with setting numbers!!!  SO all that own and run one please let me know your thoughts good or bad. Just looking for help before pissing away another $1200+ God help me, I'm running out of excuses for my wife, so you members better give me some good answers.

[RobNC]

I can understand the lack of confidence in a certain detector. Most of us go through that, myself a lot. This often happens no matter what kind of detector you run. I was unable to try the Multi Kruzer I bought because it had issues out of the box unfortunately.

I will speak on what I feel comfortable about concerning the Equinox 800. The Equinox 800 has far more settings than the Equinox 600. The 800 allows you to change the tone pitch and break points, the 600 does not. My hunting is mainly on school yards, old home sites, and fields. No beach hunting. The Equinox like most detectors will struggle on iron littered or trashy sites. You will get a lot of audio fatigue. This is not just with the Equinox but any detector in these conditions.

I can only speak on the stock 11" coil. It's the only coil I have. I did try an Equinox 600 before the 800 and also bought the 6" coil. In my use the smaller coil did not help in that particular site.  The factory presets are really good. I run a slightly modified version of Park 1 for most of my hunting.  The only things I modified had to do with audio tone pitch and break points. Did some volume level adjustments too.  Many may call me stubborn but after trying all the software updates I am back to version 1.75 and like it best.

The wireless headphones that come with the EQ800 are not to my liking either. The audio is not sharp and defined enough for me. I use the wireless module and a pair of Grey Ghost headphones. It is annoying to fight the cable but the audio clarity is worth it.

The Equinox is not a magic detector. It has its limitations like any other. Reported leakage of the control pod, wobble int he shaft, broken coil ears, battery problems, and a lot of people complain about build quality in general along with it being unbalanced. I like my Equinox, but it is not the end-all detector. We are still waiting on that one.

Warranty-Minelab is generally good about warranty replacements. Some have reported it taking a while in certain cases which is more than likely due to part shortages.

Bottom Line-when that Kruzer showed you a 90 ID you should have dug it. The same thing will happen with the Equinox or any other detector. Don't be too hard on yourself.

[Joe D.]

    How about considering a Vanquish 440 or 540! Good depth and lD! And won't break the bank! And its multi-frequency! See Phrunt's posts on how much he loves it's operation! And there are several others here!

Good luck!!👍👍

[Steve Herschbach]

Most people need little more than the presets and the sensitivity control to do well with an Equinox. The presets are some of the best ever designed, and people get into trouble getting too far from the presets initially. The Equinox is actually very easy, but people do have a way of making it harder than need be. Resist the urge.

I'm a big Equinox fan, but if you do not need waterproof I agree with Joe that the Vanquish is also worth consideration. 

[dogodog]

Thanks Rob, I thank you for your honesty. I like the MK a lot with the smaller coils, but this 11 is killing me for stability.

[Sven1]

If you can't gel with a particular detector and or in your case a particular coil. No sense keeping it.

The best thing you can do for yourself is look at another brand model. If your not happy with what your using,

you won't feel like grabbing that detector when going out for a hunt.

 

A lot of people like the Nox 600 and 800, borrow your friends for a day, if he'll let you.................

 

 

[RobNC]

48 minutes ago, dogodog said:

Thanks Rob, I thank you for your honesty. I like the MK a lot with the smaller coils, but this 11 is killing me for stability.

I totally get it. You've lost confidence in it. That has happened to me many times.  Like SVen1 said, if the detector is killing your interest in metal detecting it's GOTTA GO!!

Other mentioned the Vanquish, from reports and tests it appears the Vanquish may even have more accurate target ID than the Equinox in some cases. It's a heck of a deal for a lot of detector too. Whichever direction you go I wish you the best with it and hope what you choose finds you many great things.

Can you please report back to us when you get a different detector and take it out? I would enjoy hearing your comparisons and results.

Best Regards,

Rob

[cudamark]

I think the Equinox is the best all around machine on the market today. Does it have it's drawbacks, sure, as do most other machines( I.E. your MK). The pros on this machine are many. The cons are few......those being what has been mentioned about the weak coil ears, and a significant, but, relatively small percentage of water leak problems. I haven't heard of any battery problems at all, and the shaft wobble was a bit overblown IMO, but, has been pretty much resolved. You can get the aftermarket carbon fiber shafts if you're really hating the stock one. The Nox can be as simple or complex as you want to make it. The stock programs are excellent, as is, for most type of detecting. For difficult conditions, the 800 it very adjustable. The 600 less so, but, still has some basic tweaks you can make. I personally like the stock wireless headphones very much, except for the tiny and hard to see in the daylight, blue and red lights. I find it works great in iron infested areas compared to most machines I've used. The Deus is a bit better, but, I don't know of another machine that is. I didn't find the learning curve to be much at all, but, I have used lots of machines over the last 50 years, so, maybe someone with less experience might need more time than I did to feel comfortable. The only other cons I can think of at the moment is the slight imbalance with the bigger coils, and the compressed I.D.  scale, and even that isn't something I fret over. Would I like it to have the Etrac/CTX ferrous/conductive numbers? Sure. 

[Chase Goldman]

My only knocks against the Vanquish if you are considering it as an alternative to the Equinox is fixed ground balance and lack of a single frequency mode, both of which as an experienced detectorist that hunts in a variety of situations, makes the Vanquish too limiting.  If those are non-issues for you, the Vanquish is a good introductory multi machine.

As far as Equinox complexity is concerned, I had a lot more trouble acclimating to the Simplex than I did acclimating to the Equinox FWIW.  The Equinox was very intuitive and the defaults are spot on, requiring minimal tweaking.

[Valens Legacy]

5 hours ago, dogodog said:

Can you run in factory settings and still be happy?

I have only been using the factory settings since using my grandfathers 800.

Once I get more used to the unit I MAY try to play with the settings to see what else I can do with it.

However I think that it is a really great machine as even I, a person who has never use a detector before, can swing the unit and find some really great items. Also you can find some that really stink, but with great results inside.

Should you be able to buy one of the 800's I would say go for it, because you will be very happy with it.