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Which Metal Detector Is The Best? | Minelab Equinox 800/900, Manticore, XP Deus Ii, Nokta Legend?


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The video is from Loren Lemcke. I appreciate his logic and objectivity. If you don't want to watch the video, Loren explains bias and poor scientific methodology when it comes to many of these detector comparison videos and tests. He also concludes that when it comes to raw performance, all the detectors listed are about the same. He bases it on physics, reverse engineering, and a lot of "in the wild" target comparisons with these detectors.

 

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I guess the more fundamental short answer to that question is, "That question doesn't make sense".

The sad part is, so many make a decision based on those contrived comparisons. For example, look at the comments in those ridiculous tests. They are filled with comments like, "Now I know what detector to buy", or "I'm going to sell my (whatever) detector and buy that other detector" 😕

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27 minutes ago, GB_Amateur said:

 

He didn't show any data, but I'm not buying it.  He's not here to defend himself so maybe this is a cheap shot.  Think about it yourself.  Two different detectors by two different manufacturers and 1000 perfect matches with no misses.

 

In the video he states that he doesn't have any data to show, because despite him doing the videos, he couldn't find a target in which one detector could hit a target and the others couldn't. He also said there were a few targets in which one or the other detectors did have trouble with tones and ID, but could still hit the target.

Back in the day, my go to detectors were the Silver uMax and 1266X. After a long absence from detecting, I picked up a Legend, Vanquish 540, a Simplex, and a second hand uMax. I was expecting the 540 and Legend to go deeper than the Simplex, and especially go much deeper than the old school uMax. But in my in ground depth tests, there wasn't any dramatic depth difference between all of them. Then again, that was for sheer depth in very mild ground. I suspect the SMF detectors would run circles around those old school detectors in mid to highly mineralized ground.

Anyway, was he exaggerating a bit about 0 out of 1000? Maybe, but that kind of "nit picking", takes away from his main points 🙂

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1 hour ago, GB_Amateur said:

I was going to refrain from posting, but lying in bed last night (where I do my best thinking 😄) I got annoyed.  Admittedly I'm a nitpicker, especially with videos.

I only watched the first 1/3 of the video but he kept talking about his 1000 in-the-field finds 500 for which he started with the Eqx and then checked with the Deus 2 and 500 vice versa.  He emphasize out of those 1000 he never found a single target that one detector picked up and the other didn't.  0 out of 1000.

He didn't show any data, but I'm not buying it.  He's not here to defend himself so maybe this is a cheap shot.  Think about it yourself.  Two different detectors by two different manufacturers and 1000 perfect matches with no misses.

 

When I have done product work for Minelab and others that is what I do. It is actually difficult to find huge differences in the field and more often than not top tier detectors will all find the same targets. But differences do exist in the extremities, and I know I’d not have to dig 1000 targets to find those differences. Still, it gets pretty hair splitting at times and net result is the same. If anyone can’t do well with any of these latest SMF detectors they need to find a new hobby.

During Equinox late prototype testing…..

nokta-impact-xp-deus-teknetics-g2-minelab-equinox-with-weights.jpg

The secret when cross checking is don’t even bother with good targets. Hunt for the weakest iffiest targets, and only compare on those.

There are clear differences between the Equinox 800 and Deus 2 for instance. Took less than an hour for me to sort that out.

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I think Loren was generalizing a bit on the number of targets in his 1000 hit and 0 not hit statement. It could be more or less but the 0 not hit statement....I trust him on that.

I did a bit of a comparison recently between the Legend and Equinox 900 where I said the Equinox 900 found 16 US coin targets that I had missed with the Legend hunting the exact same area in thick modern trash during the same day's hunt and ground conditions. By missing, I mean that I did not get enough clear information to dig 14 of those 16 coins when the Legend was swung over them. I am fairly certain that the Legend "hit" those "missed" coins. Two of them I just flat missed myself due to poor swing overlap or not getting close enough to a tree trunk.

As far as his "Finally Answered" title statement, I agree with Digalicious that Loren gets exasperated by having to constantly address that question even on his small YouTube site. 

Most forums get a question like that daily concerning the newer SMF detectors.

His answer was basically that these detectors are close enough in performance that for general use a person can't go wrong with any of them.

He knows there are too many variables to list as far as what might make one of these detectors do a little better on a certain target than another. The same goes for which detector a person may just like more than another in a subjective way.

My choice of which detector I am going to use for a hunt each day between Deus 2, Legend and Equinox 900 basically comes down to what I'm hunting, where I'm hunting and how I'm feeling (lightweight Deus 2 or heavier Legend/Equinox). Sometimes I just grab one without even caring which one it is and go have fun.

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