abenson

Yes the lower shaft is different. I haven't heard about lower shafts being available yet.

With all the attention on the Manticore I'm not seeing much about the Equinox 900. I received mine about 2 weeks ago, got it out played with it a bit and then had my wife wrap it up for Christmas. After opening it on Christmas day I haven't put it down. I've done multi tests and taken it on quite a few hunts, probably have spent about 50 or so hours with it in the field. So the big question, is the Equinox 900 $1099 worth upgrading to even if you already have the 800 $899? Or if you have never owned the Equinox 800 is the 900 worth the extra money if you got one? Lets start with the obvious improvements (we hope) the 900 has that the 800 either lacks or was fixed. Balance and weight, Red backlight and keypad backlight, 11" coil ears have been strengthened, flashlight added, vibration feature added, waterproof 10 ft Equinox 800 16 ft Equinox 900, leakage issues fixed, hand grip more comfortable on the 900, arm cuff improved, carbon fiber telescopic shaft, headphone upgrade, 3 more units of sensitivity added, VDI scale expanded, depth tone added. Now for the implied (or maybe not) improvements. Better EMI handling, better target separation and better depth. Some of these added features or performance upgrades may not matter to everyone. But I wanted to discuss a few in greater detail. Minor things like vibration, flashlight or backlight display may never be used by some. Others may use those features a lot. In either case it's nice to have options. Balance, weight & hand grip-The Equinox 900 is a bit lighter than the 800 but the real advantage is the improved balance the 900 has over the 800. I've noticed the improved balance of the 900 the minute I picked it up. One can easily swing the 900 all day long and it doesn't feel nose heavy with the 11" coil like the 800 did. The new handle also keeps your hand from riding up and rubbing the control box which was very annoying. Red backlight, backlight display & flashlight-All improvements made for night hunters. Some have already voiced their opinions on the red backlight, I for one like it. I don't hunt at night much but when I do it will be nice to have the red backlight so my eyes can adjust better. It will also be nice to be able to see the keypad in the dark when adjustments have to be made. The flashlight can be used to see finds in the dark or help you stay on the trail. 11" coil ears strengthened-I personally never had any problems with any of the coil ears on any of my Equinox coils breaking. But know others have. The coil ears on the 11" that comes with the 900 have been beefed up considerably, the 6" coil ears have remained the same. Vibration feature-This is something I have never used and probably won't. But for those that are hard of hearing or water hunt I can certainly see the benefits. Waterproof to 16'-This will be a great improvement for the water hunters, an extra 6' over the Equinox 800. I'm also sure they fixed the water leakage issues of the 800 in the process. Carbon Fiber Telescopic shaft & arm cuff-One of my favorite improvements over the 800. Light weight and compact, folding down small enough to fit in a backpack. Also really like the new arm cuff and how easy it is to adjust. I will admit I have had a few issues with the shaft twisting while I hunt. However, I think this issue can be solved with the proper adjustments to the cam locks and screws. I haven't gone to any great lengths to fix the issue yet so it may not be an issue at all with the proper adjustments. Headphones upgraded-Big improvement here IMO. I never liked the sound quality of the 800 headphones. I also had lots of issues with the audio be sluggish and choppy with the 800 headphones. So I bought my own and used the WM08 module instead. The headphones supplied with the 900 don't have the greatest sound quality, but they are way better than what the 800 came with. So far they have pared right up with the 900 when I turn them on and I don't notice any lagging or choppy audio for them. 3 more units of sensitivity-(28 vs 25)They added it but can you use it? So far I haven't been able to go past 25 on the 900. I will expand a bit more on this later. VDI scale expanded-negative -19 to 99, going to take me some time to learn. Is there really any benefit? I guess that depends on your thought process. I won't go into much about it other than to say it's different and will take me and others some time to relearn all the VDI's for different objects. Depth tone added-I have yet to try this feature in the field. Looks like it could have some great results depending on the application. I think it will help in determining both depth and target size. One thing I didn't mention was pinpoint function. It seems to me Minelab has fixed it. I didn't notice the pinpoint being excessively loud one time I used it and the next time very quiet. Something else I noticed which I don't believe the 800 had (could be wrong) is the pinpoint function progressively narrows down the target response with each pass to help you pinpoint more accurately. So now let me talk about the implied improvements. What I mean by this is that Minelab has either said it was improved or we assume based on the features added that improvement should be better. Example-Minelab states the Equinox 900 has better separation than the Equinox 800 or we assume since the sensitivity level was increased we will get better depth. EMI-I personally haven't seen any improvement in EMI with the 900 vs the 800. I've tested this at my house where EMI is pretty bad and at a park that gives all my machines fits. EMI handling seems to be about the same for both of those areas. Other people may be seeing something different but I personally see no improvements. Depth-You would think with greater sensitivity levels that greater depth could be achieved on the 900 vs the 800. However, I think this going to be determined by a few things. One is EMI the other is ground mineralization/salt. At the beach I feel like the 900 is a bit deeper on coin and ring sized targets over the 800. I have a video that some of you may have watched comparing the 2. On most of the targets the 900 appears to be a bit more sure of itself on those edge of detection targets over the 800. I was not able to run the sensitivity any higher on the 900 than the 800, so there may be something else at work internally. On small gold I have not seen any difference in depth between the 2 at the area I was hunting, mineralization bar on the Dues 2 is 60% full. With 6" coils on both I tested 2 sizes of gold nuggets .11 gram and .32 gram. I buried the .32 at different depth down to 3.5 inches which both detectors ID'd as iron. At 3" both detectors saw the target and had ID's I would dig. I did not try the nugget at 3.25 inches and that may have been what was needed to determine a winner. The .11 gram nuggets was ID'd as iron at 1.5" by both and at 1" both gave an ID I would dig. I know Jeff McClendon got better results with his testing, but you have to remember we are hunting 2 different area where mineralization is going to vary. Target separation-Testing this in a controlled environment, I would give a slight edge to the Equinox 900. In the wild I haven't found any targets that either would not see. So this is up for debate and I would imagine the margin is so small that a person wouldn't even know the difference. Since getting the Equinox 900 I have taken it to the beach, a park and gold nugget hunting in AZ. I have really enjoyed using the new machine. Now the big question. Is the Equinox 900 worth upgrading to over the Equinox 800? IMO yes it is. Even if there are no improvements in performance over the 800 you still get all of the added features I listed above and you can use all the Equinox coils you already have. Below are some pictures of things I have found with the Equinox 900 so far. I have a few videos up and will be doing more on my YouTube channel Relics & Rings if you are interested in watching them. Anyone else that has the Equinox 900 I would like to hear your comments as well. Thanks

Well if anyone is hot to get one, call around to some dealers as I found one that could ship today if I wanted to pull the trigger. Cabelas is also showing them in stock again. Myself I can wait. I don't see anything but confusing reports with regards to the Manticore.

Not trying to high jack your post Jeff. But thought I would add some thoughts about a park hunt I did recently. The park I visited gives both the D2 and 800 fits and it was no different with the 900, if anything the 800 ran the best of all 3. Which leads me to believe the sensitivity levels of the 800 vs 900 have no correlation. To run at a level that was manageable, the 800 did well at 20, the 900 more like 18. Parts of the park I could run the 900 up to 23 but most of the time at 20 or below. I haven't found anywhere yet I could run the 900 at 28. The new VDI is taking me a while to get used to. Way different than the 800 and doesn't correlate to D2 either. I dug quite a bit of aluminum trying to dig some nickels. The Buffalo and War nickel threw me for a loop as they were stacked on top of each other and read 45 initially. First one out of the hole was the Buffalo and that really confused me until I checked the hole and had a 54 still in there which turned out to be the war nickel. Best find was probably the bracelet made of two silver spoons. Sorry for the bad photo, the sun was low in the horizon. Also found a silver necklace but returned it to a couple of girls that asked me to look for it while I was there. Really liking the ergonomics of the 900, the upgrades they have done are worth the money IMO.

Great write up Jeff. I'm seeing similar results with my 900. Really liking it and will add some thoughs after I use it a little more.

Depends on which video you watch. I've seen anything from low 20's to low 80's in various videos. All I'm saying is if you are chasing primarily silver you should be able to setup a pattern that will significantly cut down on digging iron. If you've ever used an eTrac you'll know what I'm talking about. When I stuck to coin patterns on the eTrac I dug very little iron. Once I started trying to get creative with unmasking I started digging more iron. But in any case the Manticore is no relic hunting machine from what I've seen. Way too much iron being dug.

Good video, watched it yesterday. But I mean really, if a person has to listen for subtle audio differences and delay. What is the point of having target trace? This may be why there have been so few units released, to see how many people complain about its performance in iron. If your just going to hunt for silver coins there probably isn't an issue. Because from what I've seen most of the iron targets that are getting painted as good fall in the lower conductor range. So you would set the machine up similar to a CTX or eTrac with disc patterns that target silver.

That's a really bah hum bug of a deal. Hope they get it replaced soon.

Sounds like there's going to be a bit of a learning curve.

I too am saving the Nox 900 for Christmas morning unwrapping. Snow on the ground here so no sense in trying to do anything with it. Will be in AZ week between Christmas and New Yeara and will probably try it nugget hunting. That is if I can put down the 6000 long enough. The one thing that really has me wondering with 900 is if the expanded negative number range will help with hot rocks. There is a fine line between hot rocks and deeper small gold on the 800, so I'm hoping that expanded range will offer some improvements.

Got my 900 yesterday and put it together. Yes the old Equinox coils will work with the 900. they just don't thread on the one side, you push the bolt all the way through like on the 800. Having a nice range of coils available now is one reason I decided to get the 900. Who knows how long we will have to wait for other size coils for the Manticore. Probably won't even turn the 900 on until after Christmas as I'm really just too busy to drive 3.5 hours to get out of the snow around here.

Yea I run F2 0 as well, 50 tones, usually park 1 recovery 4, sensitivity as high as I can get it which is usually 25. I have also gotten to the point that I dig very little iron. But that wasn't the case when I first got it. I hated the Equinox and finally forced myself to learn it. The Manticore is going to be no different, spend a good 100 hours or so and those so called false signals will eventually make sense. Manticore still won't be my first choice in heavy iron though. But like I said use what works for you.

Heavy iron has never been a Minelab strong point. Yea you can hunt it to some extent. But you have to move slow and spend extra time with each target. Get a Deus 2 if you spend most of your time in trashy iron sites. I almost never hunt trashy ghost towns with my Equinox. The Equinox is reserved for the relics sites I hunt in plowed fields where targets can be anywhere from surface to 12" deep. In that scenario I feel like the Equinox has a slight edge even when there are a lot of targets. The Equinox audio just sounds better IMO. But every man to himself, use the right tool for the job and the one that works for you.

Yea it's his way or the highway. At first I thought there might be an issue in iron but after watching a few of his videos in the iron patch I don't think there's anything wrong with the Manticore. He doesn't interrogate the target enough or recognize what the Manticore is telling him. Many people have made comments about things he should try and he simply refuses to try most of them. Having used Minelabs since the Sovereign days, I'm well aware of the nail problem they have and after enough hours on a machine you start to get the clues that a target is iron. The Manticore is going to have a learning curve just like every other metal detector, you can't be an expert over night on it. The Equinox literally took me 200 or so hours of using it for me to finally feel totally comfortable with it in iron. Hopefully it doesn't take that long on the Manticore.

From what I have seen in the videos and when comparing the manual between the 900 and the Manticore there are a few things that stand out about the Manticore. Target trace is one of them, But do you really need it? I can see it being real useful for coin hunters. As a relic and gold nugget hunter I real see no need for it as I'm digging odd shaped and lead targets quite a bit and those probably are going to show up all over the screen. For beach hunting it's debatable and could be useful. Iron limits are the other thing, although very similar to iron bias it is a lot more adjustable. However, at this time I see it being a lot more confusing to people that helpful. Obviously, getting to know how and where to set iron limits will come with time on the detector and it could be a steep learning curve for those that want to adventure outside the stock settings. As far as depth and separation abilities of the 2, IMO there is very little difference. I doubt the Manticore is 2" deeper than the 900. Probably more like 1/2" difference if that, when they are both set up right. Separation abilities are going to be similar from what I have seen. It's all going to be about setting the machine up in the right mode for the target conductivity range. I don't think I've seen it confirmed or denied anywhere (could be wrong) but I'm betting the 900 is running multi IQ+ just like the Manticore. EMI is the big question but appears the 900 and the Manticore handle it better than the 800 from what I have seen. When you push noise cancel on them they actually mitigate it. On the Equinox 800 it never seemed to help much. But I will have a 900 tomorrow and my park near by has terrible EMI the 800 and D2 have always had an issue in. So if I get some time tomorrow I may head over to that park with the 800 and 900 and see how they handle the EMI. In a lot of the videos I have watched when the 900 and Manticore are being compared is that the Manticore seems to be a little more sure about those deep or closely spaced targets. The signal sounds brighter and more solid compared to the 900. But overall I think the 2 are very close in performance, it just comes down to whether or not the $500 is worth that slight advantage. At one point I'll have both and will probably cut it down to one or the other once I have used them for awhile.

It really is getting to the point of being ridiculous with the amount of new metal detectors available on the market in the last few years. The Nox 800 is an excellent machine, it has a few build issues but the performance is right up there with the best. I've paid my 800 off many times over with the stuff I've found with it. Really is no reason to replace it other than the warranty is up and that's why I will probably end up with the 900 shorty and eventually a Manticore which will probably be my last VLF purchase for a very long time as well. I thought about getting the Axiom but after giving it some real thought it's like why? I have the 6000, it does what I want for now, why get another expensive PI? I agree, time to learn what I've already got and get rid of the ones I can do without. I mean really if you have a Manticore do you need a Legend, Equinox 600, Equinox 800, Deus 2, etc.? Probably not unless you like setting up things laid out on boxes or your concrete pad in your back yard to see how this or that sounds like next to that or this with that detector and this detector and you get the point. I wish people would just show the basics of how a particular metal detector does on separation test, depth test, features of the detector and then do some live hunts and show what targets in the ground sound like. Maybe take the competitors detector or another model along and show what it sounds like on the same target. But the endless testing of stuff laid out in a back yard gets old real fast for me.

That's one of the perks being a dealer you get the first round of detectors distributed. Also gives them a chance to use it and get to know it so they can educate their customers. Nothing wrong with that IMO.

I think Minelab kind a screwed the whole timing of the Equinox 700 and 900 up. They should have released those a year ago. People would have upgraded to the 700 or 900 with their old Equinox out if warranty. Then released the Manticore and people would feel like they needed to upgrade to that. Why would anyone with an 800 go to a 900 rather than just go to the top and get a Manticore. Unless it's totally about price, that I could understand. Myself I plan on getting Manticore and will use the 800 as backup, I'll keep the D2 as well. But at this point in my life and the fact that good places to detect are becoming harder to find. It just doesn't make sense to own a bunch of machines. Really one good PI and VLF is all one needs anymore. Which brings me to the realization that I need to get rid of some of these older loaner units I have sitting around, while I can still get some money out of them. Garrett and Fisher better get off the pot and offer some decent machines. Only thing I've seen even worth looking at from either company in the last 12 years is the Garrett Axiom. The F75, T2 and AT series are seriously outdated at this point and Garrett's attempt at SMF with the Apex is almost a joke compared to what's now available from Minelab, XP and Nokta Makro.

Gold monster going multi IQ is my next guess.

My guess is they are re-releasing an improved version of a past model such as the eTrac or CTX. Neither of those 2 machines had updated models like the Explorer series or the Sovereign series of detectors. Both the eTrac and CTX are still considered top of the line detectors and simply need to be put in a new shell with modern features such as wireless headphones, internal rechargeable batteries and lose a few pounds. They would probably implement the newer IQ technology as well.

Excellent info Steve. Can't wait to get my hands on one. But that will have to wait until Spring as Winter has set in here. I do have one question about the Big timing. What size targets are we talking about when using this timing? Is it meant for targets mainly bigger than an ounce or targets much bigger and deeper? Might be a hard question to answer but any advice you can give would be appreciated as I suspect that's the timing I would want to run at a beach or relic hunting.

Nice write up and hunt Jeff! Congrats on the rings.

Nice bunch of gold thanks for posting.

Great Hunt! Nice looking ring!

I agree, I was just telling one of the guys I went with that I could drive 3 hours from my house and dig more stuff in a day than I dug all week. However, I can't find much Confederate stuff out west. Some of those Confederate bullets can fetch a few hundred bucks a piece.