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Reasons To Hold Onto Equinox 800 In Light Of Deus 2


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9 hours ago, phrunt said:

So, Deus users, love for you to change my mind, but right now I'm an Equinox person and I think you'll have a hard time changing that.

Why would I bother wasting my breath.  [Ugh -that came across with more attitude than intended as I read it again but will leave it in and own it] . You've made it clear that wireless coils are a non starter and frankly Deus II is not out there to sway existing Equinox users (unless they are water hunters looking for an arguably more robust water platform - which you have stated is not a thing for you). It's out there to provide another option for those considering moving up to a higher end SMF option (not necessarily better than Equinox but def better than Apex/Vanquish in terms of features and ergonomics but at a significant high price point hurdle) and like the configuration versatility of the Deus platform (don't need to use the control module, instant coil swaps, great iron discrimination performance, ultra light and ultra portable).  No, Simon, Deus II is not targeted for you (or most who already own an Equinox), so a hard pass in your case makes sense.   Deus users understand why this is an exciting development and those who have yet to take the plunge into higher end SMF now have an option besides Equinox and CTX.  It is certainly not priced to entice people to switch to Equinox and is only a “bargain” in the context of comparing it to the existing Deus I pricing, which frankly seems inflated at this point.

I am not expecting Deus II to necessarily eclipse my Equinox in terms of performance.  I am hoping it is on par with Equinox or close and maybe it brings something to the table to challenge the performance of the Tarsacci in hot dirt which for me is the gold standard for reliably differentiating non-ferrous from ferrous targets at depth (>5 inches) in extremely mineralized soil.  Other than that I like how Deus enables me to interrogate targets, it's performance in iron polluted sites, it's weight which allows me to swing it all day, and it's ability to be easily packed into and out of remote sites.  The multi may help in hot soil and will definitely boost salt beach performance.

The lack of a small elliptical coil option for now will ensure I keep my Equinox and the excellent Coiltek 10x5 in reach for the time being.  I really only see Equinox water hunters and perhaps those who are looking for a more ergonomic, light detecting alternative to Equinox "jumping ship", no reason for Equinox users to jump purely on performance.  I also think Deus II and Equinox make a formidable complimentary pair of detectors covering practically all the bases except in situations where a PI is clearly superior.

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Thanks Chase, I completely understand it being the detector of choice for many, depending on where and how you use the detector, for me it doesn't seem so far to bring much to the table.  I find my Equinox light as a feather and one of the lightest if not the lightest detector I use although I can't really tell the difference between most of the VLF's when it comes to weight, much the same really and never once found it's weight to be an issue swinging it 5 near full days a week in my park hunts with the 15x12" on so the weight talk really falls on deaf ears but I'm not saying I don't understand those that want or need lighter, it just doesn't matter to me right now.   I guess I swing heavy detectors a lot so when you go to using a VLF after that anything is a joy 🙂

The Deus 2 and even the 1 fill the gap where the Equinox lags, and make a formidable team I've no doubt and I'd like to end up convinced by user reports that I need one and it would benefit me, it's not that I don't want one, it's just I don't think I need one, but happy to be corrected on that and would like to be.

If I was a water hunter or someone that spent time finding goodies amongst dense trash then I'd be seriously considering it right now. My reasons for keeping the Equinox like the question starting this thread off are many, and most of all it's because it's near perfect for what I use it for.  Stable Target ID's on coins at depth in my soils, and the hots on gold with more gold settings than all the gold prospecting VLF's including my favourite weapons of recovery speed adjustment and notching,   simplicity of use and the list goes on.

I'm terribly happy they've brought it out for competition reasons as I don't like one dominant force and for another choice in the market, but perhaps my primary reason is more a selfish one in hoping it makes Minelab release the 1000 a bit sooner than expected 🙂

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2 hours ago, phrunt said:

I often get very excited about new releases and in my head I put them well above where they really are, then when I get them and start using them I am brought back down to earth.... With the Equinox even though I'd done all the reading and expected so much from it, it delivered... 

Simon,

You've hit the nail mostly on the head as they say.  New is not always better.

My first 'beach machine' was a used Explorer SE Pro.  I used it for a few years exclusively on the beach after my use of a GPX 5000.  It was a bit quirky in its sounds but you could look at a screen and have a 90% chance of knowing what you were digging.  It was pretty good on depth estimate also.

After I got married I bought a CTX 3030 and let my wife swing the SE Pro.  She found the best 18k chain with it years ago that either of us has ever found.  She dropped it into the low waves one time and over a few years it finally quit because it is not a water proof control box or battery case.

I've since bought an 800 and have done very well with it but I could still remember some things the SE Pro could do that were pretty good.  Over a year ago we bought a lightly used SE Pro and I had not used it until yesterday.

There really weren't many targets for my 800/15 but when I found them I tested the SE Pro/11 against it.  That old dog will still find bones!  It still handles some of the EMI better than any detector I've owned.

When my wife starts hunting again she will take her bungee and the SE Pro and out-find me again.

Mitchel

 

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Since I do not live near the ocean and don't do much around lakes, I will keep my 800 for that reason and because it was my grandfathers.

I am still learning to use it, and this year I have not had much time with it due to work, but when I know more about it look out at what I will be posting.

I may pick up another detector down the road, but if I don't have the time to use it why would i just let dust collect on it.

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20 hours ago, Veisal said:

And is it possible for minelab to offer a new upgrade of the minelab software Equinox 800 

It is very possible we could see something. It would be wise for any company with an updatable machine to hold some substantive features for a time like this, to renew excitement for your own platform and tamp down excitement for another. I don’t think that all new features necessarily need to be held over for an Equinox 1000 or whatever it ends up being called. What will sell the high end variant are frills, graphics and innovations the current equinox models couldn’t accommodate anyway. I wouldn’t expect them to drop anything right this moment, but after Nokta Makro drops whatever they are bringing to the table. Maybe they don’t think like me and nothing will happen until the next model, but it would seem like it couldn’t hurt as a PR move. These attempts to outdo their feature sets were I’m sure entirely predictable and I’d have something waiting for it. 
 

It will also be interesting to see how Minelab handles attempts to replicate their technology and how close these companies can get without crossing the line into patent infringement. As we’ve seen in the past, they’ve started legal proceedings over less. 
 

By spring of the coming year I’m sure I’ll give an XP product another try, I’m just not sure which one yet. It would take hearing incredible, exceptional things about Deus II for me to go the way of purchasing it brand new, hot off the shelf. It would absolutely have to preserve or improve on Deus 1 capability AND match equinox in multi. Short of that I will purchase a gently used Deus 1 or ORX and see what evolves with Deus II over time. If Deus 1 is any indication we will see many updates and revisions of software and features in the coming years. Time also presents more opportunities to score better deals.

Nokta Makro’s SMF I’m sure will fall more into the category of something you can buy on impulse and not get beat up too bad for it. It too would still have to bring something different to the table. I’m not looking for a cheaper equinox or an equinox with 5 more kHz or more closely spaced single frequencies. It will take more than that. Even equinox had to bring new things or I wouldn’t have bothered with it in addition to my other SMF machines. It did. It brought fast multifrequency, greater sensitivity to low conductors, and in some cases better ground handling than what I had.

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On 11/3/2021 at 8:26 PM, Chase Goldman said:

Deus II is not out there to sway existing Equinox users

I have to disagree with that. Business is about market share, and Equinox took XP market share. Deus 2 is clearly a response to that, targeting Equinox ergo and water intrusion issues while bring multi to the table. Selling to the party faithful is nice, but competition is about competing with competitors! XP will probably bring some Equinox owners that abandoned the original Deus back into the fold. For the new buyer wanting “the best” there will be a perception that Deus 2 is just that, simply based on the higher price. People do think like that. And despite a few weirdos like me, it’s very obvious the vast majority consider wireless coils to be a good thing, as evidenced by XP pounding on that in their marketing. It’s their exclusive “edge.” The Deus 2, whether or not it matches or exceeds Equinox performance, exudes technological superiority. And I’m not betting against the performance aspect.

This thread is about staying with Equinox (and I am!), but I think the Deus 2 is a brilliant competitive move, and Equinox sales are all but assured to take a hit, and some Equinox owners to jump ship.

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I’m an equinox owner and not jumping ship, but will keep my nox and get a deus II with the 9” coil.  I think the two will cover all the bases for me:  depth, ergonomics, waterproofness, and most importantly, hopefully one will do better than the other in certain hunting conditions.  I keep hearing over and over how the original deus is better than the nox in lots of iron.  Hopefully the deus II will be even better.  When I need pure depth my nox with 11” coil will probably go deeper than the 9” deus II.  If I go water hunting, deus for sure.  Coinshooting for clad, probably the nox.  Hiking out into the woods, deus.  And I’m sure there’s more reasons.  
 

If I had to sell my nox to fund the new deus that would be another story. I would probably go with what I’m familiar with and keep the nox.  But, I’ve been saving up for a while now expecting something new to come up.  So why not have both?   plus I’m looking forward to learning a new detector.  

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Weirdo alert!!🤓

  I like wired coils!! But we will see what next year brings! In the meantime, I've got more than enough equipment to keep me busy!! What i really need is more time to use it! Who's selling time in a bottle next year??🤣👍👍

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I like wired coils too !!

It is really a pleasure to read the discussions, the opinions on the Deus I & II, the performances of the Equinox vs Deus on the forum because in France (I am French) as soon as you have doubts or opinions on the French forums on the Deus I & II it is limit to end on a "flaming pyre", we are a heretic ...

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16 hours ago, Steve Herschbach said:

For the new buyer wanting “the best” there will be a perception that Deus 2 is just that, simply based on the higher price. People do think like that.

They certainly do. They might look at the CTX at $2,500 if they are young and strong and wanting color display, but it’s weight and lack of portability is readily apparent even in photos. There’s also the factor in the next paragraph and CTX is now almost 10 years old. People begin to call it “old technology.” But wanting the best is exactly why an experienced user knows they should hold on to their equinox for the moment. I want the best version of “fast multifrequency,” and on the chance that XP has not been able to capture what Minelab has done, I’m not going to make any hasty moves to part with my equinox and jump ship. It could very well be that XPs attempts to replicate Multi-IQ fall short as have everyone’s attempts to replicate what XP has done in iron infested sites. If this were to be the case, it would defeat the purpose in the Deus 2 platform for me. That being to have a Deus 1 and eat the Equinox too. I want to pack as much capability in one machine as is possible as my space to store multiple units is limited. 
 

16 hours ago, Steve Herschbach said:

The Deus 2, whether or not it matches or exceeds Equinox performance, exudes technological superiority.

Definitely does. I have to say, the XP lineup are the sleekest, most modern looking detectors on the market for many reasons. This is one advantage of a wireless coil too in a world where everything is wireless. The lack of cord helps give XP a more modernistic appeal. When I showed the Deus 2 to my wife, who is only somewhat acquainted with my personal detectors, she echoed this sentiment. 

 

16 hours ago, Steve Herschbach said:

And despite a few weirdos like me, it’s very obvious the vast majority consider wireless coils to be a good thing,

I’m a weirdo too, but with me it’s more about being lazy. I don’t want yet one more thing to charge and keep charged. This becomes all the more annoying the more coils that are collected, not to mention expensive, as each new coil is also another metal detector. I also know that wireless is not the best and most convenient solution for water hunters, which I am. I do for the most part, and first/foremost consider wireless coils to be a futuristic novelty and marketing gimmick that works. For me, it’s why I’ve stayed away so long, however. It’s the performance in iron of the XP platforms that has me looking again. 

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