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XP Deus 2 Or Legend....which Do I Keep?


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Jeff,

I'd keep both the Legend and Deus 2 and use them in areas they have positives over the other and not in areas they have shortcomings.  

For example, take the Legend nugget hunting or for micro jewelry hunting since its clearly hotter on smaller targets.  A smaller coil(s) for the Legend just accentuates this even further.  Its somewhat of a bummer the D2 isn't likely to get a smaller coil anytime soon...  

If the Deus 2 handles EMI better like mine does over my Equinox 800, use it in more urban settings where that gives an edge.  I use my Deus 2 more also because it has nicer ergonomics, even over a Micronox set up with carbon fiber telescopic rod and 10x5  Coiltek coil.  Your Legend has an 11in coil too, so if you want depth, then the Legend is the one to grab.

All that said, I just very recently sold my Equinox to a friend of mine to search for an old home site somewhere on his property.  I kept the D2 since its better on EMI when I coin and jewelry hunt.  ID# accuracy is nice, but looking for jewelry, I just dig things that sounds good or are in the range jewelry or coins are likely to be found.  My soil is extremely mineralized like yours and I typically get .5-1in less depth than you report.  Any of the multi-frequency machines out there seem to have ID that is good enough for good identification up to 4-5 inches at least.  

I know its tempting to cash out the D2 in my mind and use a Legend or Nox since they all have capabilities that are very close to each other.  I'd probably buy a Legend if I were to get another MF machine.  It has a lot of great qualities and recent additions in the newest software have made it very competitive to the others.  

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Anyone that can't do well with a Deus, or an Equinox, or a Legend, simply needs to learn more about metal detecting. Work more on your technique, find better locations, put in more hours. The operator and their location, will have far more to do with the results, than which one of these three machines anyone owns.

Lots of work there Jeff, thanks for posting!

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Thanks Calmark,

First, my Equinox 800's are not even part of my decision process. They aren't going anywhere except on hunts with me.

I look at it this way. I bought Deus 2 for the ergonomics, SMF tech for target ID accuracy (opposed to Deus 1), reports of great depth from some people, and most of all for a lightweight, easy to back pack gold prospecting detector that has SMF tech for better ground mineralization handling.

I am not diving to 60 feet and I am not a big fan of the antenna system for submerging the coil. I have used that system a lot with Deus 1 so the entire added benefits of its beach and water capabilities are not very important to me.

So far Deus 2 has delivered on the ergonomics and the excellent SMF tech for target ID accuracy which is way better than Deus 1. I can actually set US coin tone breaks and even very exacting notches with little worry of missing up or down averaged 2 to 3" targets like I would if I set notches on Deus 1.

However, so far Deus 2 has not delivered on great depth, dramatically better ground handling than Deus 1 and it fails miserably compared to Deus 1 as a gold prospecting detector.

I have not noticed any major differences in EMI handling between the Equinox, Legend or Deus 2 in my area.

The Legend has met or exceeded every expectation I had for it except that it is a bit heavy with the 11" coil. I bought it to keep me from using my out of warranty Equinox 800's submerged. I would rather pay $700 for a new detector that won't leak instead of paying $425 for a replacement Equinox 800 control pod that could leak next week.......Plus, Nokta has been doing everything humanly possible to update the Legend with bug fixes, performance improvements and incredible features.

I particularly wanted to see which detector...Deus 2 vs Legend had a clear advantage as far as target separation. There was no clear advantage. I have already seen in the field that the Legend with 11" coil is appreciably deeper than Deus 2 with 9" coil in the places I hunt. For me, both of those neutral to negative strikes against Deus 2 come mostly from inferior high iron mineralization ground handling.

That testing and my hundreds of hours using both detectors has made it clear to me which one fits my needs and my environment the best.

If XP can or will correct the gold prospecting shortcomings of the software programming I might consider looking at Deus 2 again down the road. If they release a smaller, more sensitive coil, I will definitely consider it. Right now.......bye, bye Deus 2.

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That would be tough to choose. They both performed well. I would give a slight edge to the Legend. You could also consider the weight difference. I think the 5x9.5 will push it over the edge to keep the Legend. A 5x9.5 is supposed be in the works. That coil is the reason I'm keeping my Legend. Also with Nokta/Makro keeping up on this detector is another reason to keep the Legend.

We may also have an update coming that would give the Legend even better separation. That is only a guess lol. No rumors on that.

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2 hours ago, Jeff McClendon said:

Thanks for reading if you actually did.

I did.  for me?  😁      

(BTW, I think I can beat you in post word count most of the time; not sure about this one though.)

Jeff, for your test setup it seems to be a close decision.  You'll get more $ for a used Deus 2 than a used Legend, but if you end up selling the 'keeper' later that difference may wash out.

One thing I wondered about is separation between non-ferrous good targets (e.g. coins) and iron (e.g. nails) which the Deus 2 (and Deus 1 for that matter) is claimed to be superior to all(?) competitors.  Is that not a concern in your hunting sites or have you already determined that in this application (including ground conditions) the difference in performance between the two is negligible?

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Chuck, in the older iron trashed sites I hunt in that are highly iron mineralized I have not noticed a dramatic difference. If I did hunt often in much lower iron mineralization I would also reconsider this choice. 

Despite what many are showing on some YouTube channels, the super fast recovery speed and target separation of Deus 2 are hampered by the iron mineralization out here more than people may think possible. I actually saw better separation with Deus 1.

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37 minutes ago, Deep Beeps said:

I have both the 9" and the 11" coils for the Deus 2 and Im sure the depths would have been improved on that front. I actually have hunted Denver City Parks this year for a few days and kept the 11" on the whole time. Used it in Sensi FT and just plucked coin after coin through the trash. Im sure I missed some interesting items bad had a blast. 

In my little testing with a small sub gram nugget the Deus just doesn't seem to work at all but then again I doubt I would be using it for nugget shooting.

There are definitely plenty of coins left in Denver parks. Most local hunters that I know were still using older Whites, single frequency Garretts and Deus 1s until recently so they missed a lot of the 3" and deeper coins. Denver parks get a ton of use too so fresh drops happen a lot.

As far as 9" to 11" making a big difference......I doubt it. It was just the opposite with 9" and 11" coils on Deus 1 and the ORX. Larger coil here for those detectors meant more trouble with ground masking.

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