Jeff McClendon

I don’t like the sound of either choice……No sensitivity control, recovery speed control or iron bias on the SMF?? Those sound like entry level detectors to me. No thanks.

Same for me. I am ignoring your hypothetical situation since at the moment I don’t have to make that kind of choice since the latest and greatest give me both all wrapped up into one detector. Before the Equinox models were released back in 2018, I would have and did make that choice, picking the XP Deus original version with the HF elliptical coil over an Etrac after being very disappointed with the other available SMFs from Minelab and Whites. Thank heaven that the Equinox saved my detecting hobby a few months later.

I used the Impact several years ago. It was an excellent detector no doubt. I mostly detect in moderate to high iron mineralization and the Impact suffered from the same symptoms as all other single/ selectable single frequency detectors which are loss of target ID accuracy and loss of depth along with inconsistent ground balancing and ground noise chatter. So actually using that big coil you mentioned would have made things worse not better. The Legend may not have the biggest coil compared to the Impact, but in dirt around here it will detect deeper, detect targets with more accurate target IDs, ground balance much better and be less noisy from ground conditions due to its excellent simultaneous multi frequency tech compared to the Impact. Plus, the Legend has five selectable single frequencies to help fight EMI and a ton of other great features. I would pick the Legend every time over the Impact, without another thought.

Nokta have bent over backwards to accommodate the Legend users that have reported depth loss and excessive chatter recently. They have even offered to have owners send their Legends directly to Istanbul for testing after previously requesting that owners make videos of the depth loss they are experiencing and the "chatter" that they are experiencing. So far, I have not seen any videos that have been posted recently on one of the Facebook Legend forums that definitively show any problems whatsoever. All I am seeing are poorly setup Legends with no hope of hitting the targets scenarios chosen. Or the Legends shown are actually detecting the targets but the results are being misinterpreted due to weird settings. There continue to also be videos of chatter which are just examples of EMI. Hopefully this gets straightened out.

One thing I rarely see an influencer video demonstration show or even read very much about is how important it is to really get these hot DD coils centered over the target before making a full judgement about the accuracy of the target IDs when using many of the latest detectors especially the SMFs. I know that Steve has mentioned it in several posts in the past even way back in relation to the Whites V3i (I could be wrong) and so have others. I have complained about the instability of the Nox 700/900 compared to the 600/800 and there were plenty of non Equinox 600/800 users and new users that complained about the 600/800 too. Getting the coil centered over the target with the high gain Manticore, Equinox models, Legend and Deus 2 is super important. For shallower targets it can be less important if the user is using good coil control. I use the onboard pinpoint function a lot on tougher targets and make sure that I am taking the final target ID with the most sensitive part of the coil directly (hopefully) over the target. Maybe these infuencers don't mention it because they don't want to tell the truth, don't know how to handle the situation since they just got the detector, don't consider it important or who knows. Most of what I see are target ID air tests with perfect IDs and tones. Depending on soil conditions, partial masking and depth, orientation, target makeup, target condition and several other factors, those perfect IDs can be drastically different depending on where the target is in relation to the undersurface of the coil. Nokta actually did a really good write-up about the Legend's target ID situation in the Target ID section of their manual. It is almost an apology!!!! What they failed to do was to give suggestions about how to improve the target IDs when detecting. The trend is for faster VLF detectors that can ID accurately and deeper, detect well on a wide range of ground/beach conditions, detect a wide range of targets with different conductivities and a wide range of target sizes. They also need to be SMFs for the most part, lightweight, wireless audio capable, easy to collapse and pack up and waterproof. Today's simultaneous multi frequency operation tech can result in some amazing results. Those simultaneous multi frequencies can also detect and give corresponding target IDs for say a US zinc penny and its copper coating or what's left of it, its corroding and oxidizing zinc interior and it malformed condition with bumps, chips and holes included and they can do this all on one swing of the coil. They can also audibly detect the threads on a screw or bolt, etc. Really amazing and really accurately honest information for an experienced detector user. For a beginner-OMG.

There has been some experimenting by a YouTuber using Deus 2, the Manticore and even the Legend using a lot of notching lately in an attempt to get these detectors to pass small coin next to a down the barrel of a nail type situation. I think someone even linked the original Bird Dog test video on this site. It was hailed as a major breakthrough and since Deus 2 really did well with these settings sitting on styrofoam and any off the ground surface even using a big nail and a half dime obviously, Deus 2 is hailed as the best detector on the planet again. I was contacted to do some Deus 2 Bird Dog testing. Yeah it did exactly what it was reputed to do as long as I did the testing on a non-mineralized surface. As soon as I transferred the test to even a container of moderately iron mineralized dirt........unbelievable iron falsing and next to no depth. I have always tried to do Monte's (rest in peace Monte) nail board test with the paper or foam test board that Monte sent me resting on target free ground or on a container of mineralized dirt. I rarely hunt on dirt that isn't mineralized. I am not sure I would know what to do in a situation like that with these latest detectors. I guess I could actually use 4 kHz for the first time. I like YouTube for a lot of things. Yes, I do sometimes let myself get attracted to metal detectors that do well in tests. But my favorite and most educational YouTube metal detecting videos to watch are in the ground testing head to head or just a good hunt video done by guys like Gary B, Andy B, Nenad, Bill S., Rob A, and others that are master hunters and don't have any reason to push one detector over another. Some of Gary Blackwell's pre XP videos where he reviews a hole bunch of different detectors are really fun. He never says anything resembling "This is the best detector in the world" or just the opposite etc. I have to commend Calabash Digger for changing his hole approach and his development of a generally neutral tone in his videos of the big three SMF VLFs. Deus 2 is obviously his favorite because it suits his hunting styles the best. But he seems to have made up with Nokta and Minelab......I wonder if that was a financial decision? The Manticore, Deus 2, Legend and Equinox 800 models are fantastic detectors. The more I use them the more I like them no matter what any this vs that YouTube detector influencer says.

Finding good gold, saving money on the heating bill and having a great time in some nice weather. Lots to be thankful for here in Denver and points north too for guys like John!!!! Great gold.

Have you scoured this area of the internet yet? I am a new Axiom owner so I am still scouring that Essential Information area myself. I used a GPX 4800 and 5000 for relic hunting. They did okay. So far the Axiom and its Iron Check feature used with its DD coils has worked well on small nail sized to larger, shallower iron targets but where I have used it was on moderate to highly iron mineralized ground. I have no idea how it will work at saltwater beaches, alkaline soil conditions or on less iron mineralized sites. My biggest hurdle is just getting used to the type of DD coils that the Axiom has and how different size and type of targets respond using them. The huge plus with the Axiom compared to the GPX 4000 to 5000 models is I don't need a harness, bungie, hipstick, guide arm or a bionic arm to swing the Axiom even using the 13X11" coils. Ergonomics are fantastic.

For me, Deus 2 with the stock shaft system and the 9" coil feels very balanced and lightweight. The same setup with the 11" or 13X11" coil is still lightweight but it is not well balanced. The Equinox 600/800 with stock shaft system, big hand grip that is too vertical and 11" coil was very unbalanced for me. The Equinox 700/900 with stock shaft system, updated hand grip size and angle and 11" coil felt very balanced and nice to swing. The Manticore with everything stock feels lightweight, balanced and very nice to swing. The original Legend with 11" coil felt heavy but balanced. The new updated Legend shaft system, updated arm cuff and LG30 coil feels much lighter than the original and nicely balanced, very similar to the Nox 700/900/Manticore at least to me.

Welcome to this outstanding forum Mark! I enjoy your videos. good hunting. Jeff

Your main settings tools for trying to use Deus 2 FMF Goldfield on really hot ground are Sensitivity, Reactivity, Audio Response and Threshold besides doing a quick ground grab very often. Sometimes running Disc IAR on 1 can help a bit. That is similar to running normal Deus program disc at -5 or so instead of -6.4 and might take care of some of the ferrous ground noise. Running Sensitivity in the mid 80s to around 92 is the sweet spot at one really bad place I hunt. Over 92, sensitivity seems to go into overdrive for me anyway and coil bump noise starts up. Reactivity between 2 and 3 works well here in lots of small magnetite. When it gets to be pebble sized or bigger and is everywhere...............nothing will help that no matter what detector your are using. Keeping the audio response at 3 or below helps me. Running the threshold just high enough to smooth out the background noise also helps me so around 10 is when that starts to happen for my hearing. Keeping the coil a bit off the ground helps too in thick magnetite....maghemite/iron stone for you? I run the VCO audio in high square and Notch OFF If all else fails, try Deus 2 Mono on 40 to 45 kHz, Pitch tones (I like the high square tones personally) sensitivity 90 to start with, disc on -6.4, reactivity 2.5, Silencer 0, Notch OFF, audio response 3, threshold to suit and start from there. To some degree, you will hear everything using Deus 2 FMF Goldfield. Getting rid of unwanted coil bump sensitivity is a good thing if possible. None of this may help at all.....sorry!

It's hard to be relevant for some YouTubers. I appreciate all of Sharpshooters testing, but it's testing. Like you said it might work in real conditions and it also might introduce a lot of iron falsing in higher iron mineralization and in areas with lots of iron targets.

Deus 1 and the ORX had a Salt Mode for some of their programs. That Salt Mode is not included with Deus 2 Mono......maybe something we could ask for. I still agree with the conclusion that Deus 2 Mono Program 7 running as high a frequency as your conditions can stand but probably dry sand only, is more sensitive to smaller targets than Beach Sensitive. With the V2.0 software update, FMF Goldfield is now just as sensitive to small targets as the Mono program running a similar high single frequency. Goldfield is a least using simultaneous multi frequency FMF tech so it might run a little better than the Mono program on dry/damp sand with some adjustments. Beach Sensitive is still really good and the best option for wet sand/light surf from my limited experience.

It's discontinued. I sold that pair of Avantrees when I sold an Equinox 800 last spring. I used them with my Legend some too. Sorry I gave you wrong information. Personally, I think the Nokta Legend headphones are fantastic. They pair easily, have outstanding audio for my hearing and are the best noise cancelling stock metal detector headphones that I have used. Whether they will hold up, so far after nearly 20 months on one pair, yes. The only times that I don't use them are when it's too hot or when I need to hear my surroundings (as in threats from wildlife). I use Aukey EP-B80 BT earbuds for those times. These headphones seal out ambient sound so well that I have difficulty hearing the pinpointers that I use! The Avantree Audition Pros are excellent headphones too. Their noise cancelling is not as good as the stock Nokta Legend headphones. I have had issues with the headband deteriorating pretty fast on the three different Avantree models I've owned.

Supposedly $239 for the M8 in the USA. I am not interested in the M15 so I haven't checked the price yet, sorry.

My BAD. I forgot that I had an earlier version of the Avantrees. It looks almost just like the Audition Pros. It pairs just fine. The Audition Pro set will not. My apologies.

Some things to think about with the Vanquish models and the 540: No, they do not have automatic ground balancing or user ground balancing. They have a preset ground balance range that can internally shift in the background just a bit since they are always running in multi frequency. They do not do very well on high iron mineralized ground. They do okay on salt and moderate iron mineralization. The Vanquish models do not have particularly good target separation so if your hunt site has a lot of iron or modern trash these detectors are not very appropriate. Only the 540 has a high/low iron bias switch and even that is not going to help much in thick iron trash. The 440 and 340 have the equivalent of the 540's high iron bias only. All three models can only run in Multi frequency. There is no single frequency option for a high EMI area. These detectors are battery hogs. You will need lots of spare throw away AAs or good quality rechargeables. These models have outstanding depth and outstandingly accurate non-ferrous target IDs on stand alone targets. They are not very sensitive to sub 0.5 gram targets. The 540 has 5 tone operation. 5 tones might be a bit much for beginners. The 440 has 3 tone operation and is much easier for most newbies and infrequent users. The X-Terra Pro unfortunately only operates in 4 different selectable single frequencies. Its 15 kHz frequency is very close to the Lobo's operating frequency. X-Terra Pro has excellent audio, number of tones, recovery speed, and ground balance options. X-Terra Pro has internal rechargeable battery operation so no need for extra batteries. X-Terra Pro is very good at target separation but not as good as the Vanquish models for target ID accuracy on deeper targets.

I currently own two Avantree Audition Pros. They pair up easily, so not sure what the problem is in your case.

What search mode and settings were you using? Equinox 800 and 900 Gold modes using multi with high sensitivity settings will respond to the human body and organic stuff like manure. The Gold modes will also detect just about any visible metallic detectable object including very small bits of magnetite sand and magnetite grains that are still in host rocks for instance. Frequent manual ground balancing may be needed instead of using tracking ground balance.

I have been able to pair Avantree and Aukey compatible BT wireless headphones and earbuds with my Legend with no issues using software versions 1.09 and 1.11. I do have to make sure that they are not first pairing to my phone when I am trying to pair them to my Legend and that I have cleared out the previous pairing memory in the Legend by holding down the pinpoint button until seeing FP while the Bluetooth settings icon is highlighted, setting the BT setting to 0 after the reset and then back to 1 before leaving the BT setting. I think you noted that you had covered those pairing steps in your post. Just making sure.

1. Did you notice the size of the other coils in the test. 2. The Coiltek Goldhawk 10X5” coil handles EMI much better than the stock 11” mono coil in my area. 3. The GPX already had sensitivity “dialed back” in relation to the other detectors even using the Coiltek Goldhawk 10X5”. 4. This testing was not about making one detector win the test. Running all of these detectors in a no EMI situation with their gains on maximum…….GPX 6000 wins. It was just a comparison of the three PIs I happened to have in my possession at the time that had similar sized coils. 5. I mostly did this test for me to help me make some detector ownership decisions. I just couldn’t afford to keep three PIs and I wanted to know what I could expect on those size targets. I decided to post it since the results were so close on some of the targets.

I know this topic was seemingly started by a water hunter. I am glad that XP improved the smaller nugget gold prospecting possibilities for Deus 2 with the improvements to FMF Goldfield in version 2.0. At the moment, using Goldfield with the available 9" coil, testing performance on sub 0.5 gram gold nuggets is about the same using FMF Goldfield and Deus 2 Mono setup similar to Goldfield but just using 45 kHz. That's a big improvement and lets the FMF multi frequency Goldfield program move ahead due to its much better simultaneous multi frequency iron mineralization handling. The available 9" coil acts more like the X35 Deus 1/ORX version coils than the HF 9" coil in my opinion however. To me it is noisier and less sensitive than it needs to be and could be improved. The 9" white HF round coil and the HF 9X5" coils were hyper sensitive in my opinion. Using an FMF 9X5" coil similar to the concentrated sensitivity of the HF elliptical coil on really hot ground coupled with really rough terrain should improve the situation even more. I don't see much of a use for a 9X5" coil for water hunters unless I was hunting a boulder strewn creek or small river bed or a really rocky saltwater shoreline and needed to get the smaller footprint of an elliptical coil into some tight spaces. At a wide open beach/surf area, I don't see the point of having one. Imagine how much easier to swing and just better a small 9X5" or so elliptical coil performs opposed to a 9" or 11" round coil in a place like this where I often hunt:

Yes but not 6” or smaller. That’s all I’m going to say.

Nokta sent you a properly working system control unit. You tested it with your coils and everything looks good, right? You put the same coils on your other two Legends and things are not good, right?. If the coils are good then your two Legend system control units are the issue. Put all three system control units in one box and ship them to Andy O’Neal at the Nokta USA Repair Center and let him figure it out. Make Nokta fix it instead of you trying to make videos. Let Andy make a video. I’ll send you the money for shipping. Your purchase prices for your Legends included a little money for 3 year warranty coverage. Make Nokta honor that warranty.