Deus 2 Legend Equinox 800 Wild Target Testing

[Steve Herschbach]

On 7/6/2022 at 2:00 PM, cudamark said:

Nice report! I wouldn't mind seeing what each of them can do on the real deep and/or iffy targets. I don't want to paint any of them as second rate either, but, in some areas (especially ones that have been hammered over the years) finding good items on the fringe of detection is important. Finding a machine that does the best at that can be a game changer. Naturally, site conditions will vary and one or more of them might be better under condition A, and another might be better under condition B. With enough feedback from various soil/sand conditions, we can make an intelligent choice in detector, coil, and settings for our hunting sites and conditions. Thanks, well done.👍

Given the nature of the internet and the differences between user conditions i.e. ground conditions, desired targets, etc, I think that the only way to get a true read on this versus that is to test the detectors yourself on your ground, with your targets. I’m talking about these extreme fringe and “iffy” targets you mention. They are the ones most likely to change with local conditions. What is fringe in my ground is almost certainly going to be different than what is fringe in your ground.

It's either test yourself, or just decide who you want to believe on the internet. You will find a person somewhere that will make whatever claim your want to believe, and somebody else who will say the opposite. Both could be correct due to differences on what they are doing and how they are doing it. So pick one. But at end of day you will never know for sure unless you do it yourself.

I think that's a hard truth a lot of people would prefer not to hear. It's far easier to let others invest time and money so we can get easy answers, but me, I have learned easy answers are rarely the best ones. Some detectors are far enough apart that we can all agree. Garrett Apex for instance. I think it is pretty well agreed by all it can't compete with any of these three detectors. The difference is pretty obvious. These three (Nox, D2, Legend) are so close it's really splitting hairs.

It's not like you have to buy all three to do this. Any of us really into this know people who have one or the other or all, and so I was able to lay hands on both a D2 and a Legend without having to buy them.

I think the Equinox has a clear edge on the smallest non-ferrous targets over the Deus 2, but I also will say that the difference is small, and it takes a knowledgeable operator to really see it. For most people they would be "close enough," and only a nugget hunter obsessing over that fine extra edge you are talking about would care very much about it. I've seen indications the story may be just the opposite on silver coins with Deus 2 vs Equinox in the worst possible ground, with the D2 holding target id better at full depth, though actual detectable depth appears near identical with both machines. But I've not really sorted that out to my satisfaction yet. We are talking ground so loaded with magnetite most users will never see ground like it. Would it be there in milder ground? I don't know, and truth be told it's not a real priority for me to sort it all out right now. Since I have both I'm covered either way, and will figure it out with time. I've bigger fish to fry at the moment. 

Legend looks like a sweetie, but it is just too much like another Equinox to get my interest. I've got three Equinox already, I don't need another made by somebody else. The D2 is at least radically different than my Nox, so that alone makes it interesting for me.

[Erik Oostra]

On 7/7/2022 at 7:00 AM, cudamark said:

I wouldn't mind seeing what each of them can do on the real deep and/or iffy targets. I don't want to paint any of them as second rate either, but, in some areas (especially ones that have been hammered over the years) finding good items on the fringe of detection is important.

In my experience so far I've found that both the Equinox and Deus II lock onto the targets I'm after with 'solid' signals.. By this I mean that regardless of depth the target ID settles quickly on one number and tone, there's little jumping between them.. The target ID on crap like bottle tops and pull tabs nearly always jumps about whilst gold or silver rings (of any size) tend to quickly settle on one number and tone.. This has been the case with nearly every ring I've dug, I can usually tell it isn't crap because the hit is more 'solid' than an iffy signal.. This is highly subjective of course, but it's how I've learned to read both detectors..

I'm even starting to figure out aluminium foil signals from those of gold rings, even though they nearly always fall within the same range.. If you swing your coil over the target from all directions (do a little dance around it) you can eventually work out what it is.. Here my famous 'solid signal' theory often falls on its arse with the foil giving off a more solid signal than the ring.. As you can tell, it's not an exact science yet.. I'll still dig for curiosity's sake or just to be sure I'm not leaving a ring behind..    

Also, after a while you get a feel of what is crap and what is good just by looking at the land around you.. On a tropical beach this might not sound very relevant but I've found that working out the best tides, surf conditions, current strength or even erosion patterns can help decide the best places to hunt.. These observations are often contrary to the famous 'towel or bikini lines' where all the gold jewellery is supposed to be.. That's not to say that I don't hunt these lines, the bikini line is always a favourite..😁