Detector Sales

[longbow62]

Someone in another thread mentioned the Manticore and 900 being used to slow down the amount of XP Deus IIs flying off the shelves. I'm not a dealer and maybe I'm bias, and don't keep up with all detectors, but has the D2 or Legend been flying off the shelves? I know a guy that bought both the Legend and the D2. A couple of more friends have the D2. I traded a detector for a Legend, but it has seen very little use. The guys I mention are really hard core and tend to have many detectors to begin with. I see more talk about the D2 than the Legend, but overall at least in my view neither of those detectors have had a major impact on the detecting scene. From what I have seen it's not like everyone and their brother felt they had to run out and buy one. The Legend is affordable. The D2 has a better reputation as state of the art, and is possibly the best over all detector out there at the moment. So am I wrong? Have either of these flown off the shelves? Have either made the impact they were supposed to make? I'm sure Minelab has had both the updated 700-900 and Manticore in the works for quite awhile. I guess they could have pushed them out to regain market share, but it would seem to me they are both normal roll outs that have been in the works for some time now.    

[F350Platinum]

On 12/16/2022 at 1:28 PM, longbow62 said:

Someone in another thread mentioned the Manticore and 900 being used to slow down the amount of XP Deus IIs flying off the shelves. I'm not a dealer and maybe I'm bias, and don't keep up with all detectors, but has the D2 or Legend been flying off the shelves? I know a guy that bought both the Legend and the D2. A couple of more friends have the D2. I traded a detector for a Legend, but it has seen very little use. The guys I mention are really hard core and tend to have many detectors to begin with. I see more talk about the D2 than the Legend, but overall at least in my view neither of those detectors have had a major impact on the detecting scene. From what I have seen it's not like everyone and their brother felt they had to run out and buy one. The Legend is affordable. The D2 has a better reputation as state of the art, and is possibly the best over all detector out there at the moment. So am I wrong? Have either of these flown off the shelves? Have either made the impact they were supposed to make? I'm sure Minelab has had both the updated 700-900 and Manticore in the works for quite awhile. I guess they could have pushed them out to regain market share, but it would seem to me they are both normal roll outs that have been in the works for some time now.    

Good question, Longbow. 🙂

As I recall the D2 flew off the shelves initially. Just about everywhere I went last year I saw someone with a D2 (including myself) from Virginia Beach to Savannah. I ended up in the second wave and then waited a long time for their largest coil that came out recently. I was on a wait list for it since August.

In VA the D1 was relic king for a long time, on the beach the 800.

I have an Equinox 600, and may someday upgrade to the 900, that would make sense to me because I already have coils for it. Shame that like XP Minelab is not yet offering a "light" version, in essence just shaft and control unit. I'm hoping that will happen, but I'm not holding my breath.

I dropped ~$1500 on the D2, the M-core is $1600. I had to get the MI-6 so that added $150, other stuff cost me the rest. I'm over $2000 in it now with extra coils. 🤔

I guess any of the "top 3" would do you well if you're not happy with the Legend, but you write that you haven't used it much. Why?

If I had to choose again right now I would probably go with the Equinox 900 simply because it is the best value, and as stated I already have the 10x5 which I would probably use it exclusively with. I've been thinking about getting the 15 for the 600, but weight is an issue.

Weight and waterproofing is what made my mind up about the D2. It is still arguably the lightest detector out there and will be for a long time. For an older guy like me that is the big difference. It's a bit finicky, the learning curve is long, but it's the most versatile of all, I can safely say that. I'm still working on getting my "second" D2, the WS6 Master together. Next week I'll have it. I can literally stuff it in a backpack and have 2 detectors on a hunt.

Do keep in mind that the M-core did not replace the Equinox, and being what it is (much more proprietary) you will have to drop a lot more on it in the future. It's not going to give you any major depth advantage. Headphones, coils... 😵 In the long run it will cost you as much as the D2, and you'll only have one detector.

I would say get out there with the Legend, and if you are dissatisfied with it go for the 900. Let them shake the bugs out first tho. If weight is a problem get the D2. If you're not out there you'll never know.

[Chase Goldman]

Great advice.  Nothing to add.

[Jeff McClendon]

Deus 2 is a fine metal detector but it is still in Beta version software basically so there are some quirks and a couple of glaring WTHs that may be fixed in the first official software version. It is on a different planet from Deus 1 and that is a really good thing. It is definitely faster than the Nox 600/800 and somewhat faster than the Legend. It is not as deep as those two in my dirt and tends to lose target ID accuracy more quickly also on deeper targets but compared to Deus 1, it is heavenly.........

The Equinox 600/800 is also a fine detector but with many faults that Minelab did not fix. Instead they released the 700/900 which seems to have addressed them.

Nokta's Legend detects very similarly to the Equinox 800 but without all of its flaws. It too is still using Beta version software basically. It has many additional features that make it a better choice for most people that can't or don't want to afford a Nox 800 that will likely leak or a Nox 900 that costs almost twice as much. On paper it has more features than the Nox 600 and 700 for equal or less money. New coils are about to be released for the Legend too.

Those of us that have a Deus 2, Legend, Equinox 800 and are about to get a 900 will get a better picture in a few months about how these all really pan out.

Why you aren't using the Legend you traded with Woody for is beyond me. In my opinion, if you have the latest 1.09 software installed, it is simply better than the Nox 800 for tone quality and tone options since it has Pitch tones, (added to the Nox 700/900 by Minelab) better discrimination patterns, larger target ID range, better SMF choices, it is slightly better at target separation and recovery speed using Pitch tones, is just as deep in my dirt, has better ergonomics and build quality.........use the damn thing and find out for yourself.

As for what is flying off the shelf.....my local dealership is shuttered so I can only go by what the large club (80+ members) in the Denver area is using which by far is the Equinox 800/600 followed by a handful of Legends, a handful of Deus 2s, and the rest are still using single frequency detectors with Deus 1 being the most popular for folks that want the best target separation at iron trashed ghost town type relic sites and don't need raw depth. 

[longbow62]

I've yet to see the D2 hit anything the 800 couldn't in the wild. This is on land in my dirt. No water or beach hunting. That's not a few either, but hundreds of compared targets over about the last 10 months. A couple of places with very mild ground the 800 from what I can tell was deeper. That's 11" vs. 9" so the 800 should be deeper. From what I've noticed at least with the guy I hunt with the most is he definitely digs more falsing iron than I do, and when compared the 800 seems to be better at telling me what is iron. It could be I just know the 800 better than he knows the D2. I have 4 years on the the 800 to his 10 months on the D2. The D2 is definitely better in EMI situations though. I've seen the EMI so bad it shuts me down, but it didn't seem to bother the D2 as bad. At least he could still hunt.

 I put the Legend up for sale, but the price on them has dropped since I posted it so I've had no interested buyers. I'm sure I'll end up keeping and eventually using it more as time goes on. It has the newest firmware version on it. I put the 6" coil on it and hunted some places polluted with 100 year old iron and modern trash. It did okay. I don't dislike it in any way, and I go as far to say it has to be the most bang for the buck out there right now. I just have not been very enthused with learning the Legend for some reason. I guess having a Manticore on pre-order has not helped in that regard.