Jeff McClendon

I have no issues with either detector in this comparison. I still look forward to owning a Deus 2. However, potential buyers should know what to expect especially if they will be detecting in really bad dirt. For me personally, if Deus 2 with a 9" coil can give me 6 or 7" of good target IDs and tones in this dirt, I will be ecstatic. Equinox does about the same but like Palzynski reminds us on this forum, the Deus and Deus 2 are a lot more comfortable to pack and to swing. At my age that definitely matters. So does Deus trashy iron handling.

If you still just have the Goldmonster.....you don't need to worry about the threshold part. Just ground balance often and until the Goldmonster quiets down. If you are using the X 705 in prospect mode, then you should listen for a slight threshold volume increase as the coil approaches the ground. Otherwise ground balancing the X 705 in its disc. mode is easy.

Alright, no snickering. This is a serious comparison. For those that have never used a Simplex, it is pretty impressive. Deus 2.....I have never used one. Paystreak Superfreak sometimes makes some weird videos. I do weird stuff too like metal detecting at 30 degrees F in 4 inches of snow.... This video is no nonsense and very accurate from my experience. This is a test on three US coins at 6" in disturbed freshly dug high magnetite and volcanic particulate dirt. For those of you who are fortunate to hunt in mild soil....now you are getting a good idea of how bad it can get just in someones back yard. My backyard dirt looks almost exactly like Paystreak's. Detects about as bad too. By the way, the Equinox does not like highly iron mineralized freshly disturbed ground either.

Who on here besides Cal_Cobra has actually seen and used a Legend?????? I don’t think Cal Cobra has a Deus or Deus 2.

I am not good at French but google translation confirms Sandheron's translation. En reduisant is similar to English reducing. My German is better than my French. I am pretty sure the German manual is also wrong since it uses the word hoehere instead of words like senken, absenken or tiefere in the same sentence.

Saltwater beach hunting with the Equinox in the surf, wash, or wet sand I rarely use the pinpoint function or pay much attention to the depth meter. The audio tells me enough to dig or not. Gold prospecting....again, I rarely use the depth meter or pinpoint function. Freshwater beach hunting or any kind of turf hunting for coins and jewelry and even relics, I am constantly using the pinpoint feature and the depth meter and any other form of target locator and target diagnostic feature available.

That is a tough decision. If you send it back unopened the dealer may turn right around a charge a restocking fee...... Anyway, the video linked above is another example of what learning a new detector is like (similar to Gigmaster's videos) and of someone having either: a lot of audacity/guts/lack of self-awareness , could care less what one thinks of them while they learn, or an example of someone that welcomes any help they can get during the process. I have a test garden that can quickly tell me if a detector will work in my area. That is the first place I will test Deus 2 and I will know if it is an improvement over Deus 1/ORX and can get the job done on the soil around here in about 5 minutes. Saltwater beach hunting is a hole different story with Deus 2......brand new programs and settings and no body is an expert yet. I would need several hours on several different location before I could make a definitive decision. Savannah Harps hunts a couple of hundred miles south of Calabash. There isn't much black iron sand on his beaches either. There is some gray mud and sedimentary rocks from marsh lands that discolors the sand.

Steve described the difficulty of detecting broken jewelry and open hoops earrings very well Savannah Harps is an experienced Deus 1, Orx and Equinox user/beach hunter and YouTube videographer with a good reputation (Comments ON) and 3.7K subscribers. That being said, he is still learning Deus 2 and its brand new beach programs. Looking at his settings that he described and one could easily see on the Equinox when he showed the actual video segments depicting his finding of those two targets, he was hunting in 2 tone Beach 2 with nothing rejected and sensitivity above 20. Both targets were found in wet sand/shallow surf. The broken ring responded with solid audio and target ID of 3 and the open hoop responded with solid audio and target ID of 1. Depth was approximately 1/2 of a full scoop so less than 4". Target IDs of 1 to 3 on the Equinox corresponds to a target ID in the upper 20s to upper 30s on a Deus. Like the Equinox, those are borderline ferrous/non-ferrous targets on a good day and well within the window where any kind of ground/salt/iron filtering can have an effect on target response. He was keeping his iron volume level on Deus 2 at 1 which is the minimum volume level and set iron tone pitch at a very low 100 Hz (for a noisy beach) with tone break at 9.5, I think he also stated that his second tone bin tone was also set at 100 Hz with low volume and with tone break at 10, bottle cap rejection on 4, salt sensitivity from 7 to 9. Basically he was running Deus 2 Beach Sensitive which is default 3 tones with the 2 lowest tones set at 100 Hz with very low volume levels for a noisy beach and discrimination set at 10. 3rd tone should have sounded high on anything above 10 in theory. Anyway, I don't think some of his settings for his custom program built on Deus 2 Beach Sensitive were helping him with those two very borderline targets very much.

That was a very good video. I like that way of using undisturbed ground. I doubt I would like digging a hole that big in semi-frozen ground however. He did a very good job of being unbiased during the testing and of letting the detectors be the center of attention. The smallest target was around 1 gram with the heaviest 16 grams (I think). Deep HC was very effective and impressive on all of those targets. The settings posted were very incomplete and were not default settings. Also, Iron volume seemed to be off during depth testing and on during separation testing. Audio Response seemed to be cranked up above 5 which is default on Deep HC....maybe I am wrong on that. Also seemed to be using Square audio. Whatever mode the Equinox was in..........the list only said All Metal so it could have been Park 1, Park 2, Field 1, Field 2 Beach 1 or Beach 2........definitely not Gold modes so who knows. Recovery speed 3 is fine for depth testing if the tester slowed down their swing a lot. Recovery speed 3 is lousy for separation testing. So is auto tracking ground balance which I assume is what ground balance=auto meant in their settings list. Not for one moment suggesting that the Equinox even with manual ground balance and recovery speed 8 would match the Deus 2 in iron target vs silver coin separation testing......not going to happen EVER. So, note to self if I ever video a test like this........clearly state what all the settings are, actually show them on the screen along with target IDs and also if one detector is in tracking, they both should be in tracking. If one detector has iron volume on at 20 of 25 they both should have at least iron volume on at an easily audible level, if one detector is running a program with a maximum of 24 to 40 kHz and one is running a program with a maximum of 14 kHz on 1 gram to 16 gram weighted targets, which would you expect to do much better on that sized targets in mild ground? This is another deficiency that Minelab needs to address with the Equinox.....a lower weighted deep mid to high conductor coin/relic mode like Deep HC for milder ground conditions. The tester seemed to be very unfamiliar with the Equinox (using borrowed settings and swinging way too fast). Probably hasn't had much time on Deus 2 for obvious reasons. Not saying this test was not valid. I am saying that Deus 2 in Deep HC is very, very good in those ground conditions with whatever settings the tester was using that were not listed.

I believe the question about can manual ground balance function be added in the FMF modes has already been sent to XP and answered. The answer was no with no explanation given. XP are considering ground notch for Relic and Gold Field however.

El Nino77 is correct. Lots more features and adjustments when using the Mi-6 paired to a Deus 1, Deus 2 and the ORX. As a standalone the Mi-4 and Mi-6 are comparable to the Garrett AT Pro Pointers and the Fisher/Teknetics F-Pulse and Tek-Point. I have never used a TRX so I don't have a clue. The only drawback (some might consider this a good thing) is just like every mode change on the ORX, Deus 1 and it appears Deus 2, there is a roughly 2 second (sometimes more) delay when turning on the pinpointer and waiting for Deus or ORX to complete audio change over from detect to pinpointer mode. The same happens when the pinpointer is turned off. There is a 2 second or so delay until the detector goes back into detection mode. Where this is not so great is if you are trying to locate a target in the hole or spoil pile with the Mi-6, you can't find it and you decide to switch back into detect mode to relocate the target with the coil. There is some wasted time like I described before. So basically, you can't detect with the Mi-6 paired to the Deus or ORX and with the coil being used at the same time since they share the same singe audio output......hope that makes sense. For competition hunting, I would not recommend it or at least unpair it for competitions or if you don't have any time to waste.

The WS6 support accessory works very well. I have it for my Deus 1 WS4. The WS6 display for target IDs is almost twice as big and the one of the WS4 so it should be really easy to see. That neoprene adaptor is readily available and is well made and inexpensive.

Not in my area. All of the modes will not ground balance and I get ground noise responses as the coil approaches the ground, leaves the ground, at the end of swings or if the coil is not parallel to the ground during swings. The ground noise is only audible with the entire iron range target Ids accepted......as in with the horseshoe button engaged. Manually rejecting -9, -8 and -7 stops the audible feedback from the ground.

The WS6 does not have any kind of headphone jack built into it. There is the Clip Jack Adaptor that clips onto the back of the WS6 and provides a 1/8" plug for use with wired headphones. I have also used that adaptor with a 1/8 to 1/4 adaptor for headphones with 1/4" plugs. The Bone Phones have a waterproofed screw on pinned connector. Right now, it will only attach to the back of the bigger Remote Control at the waterproof pinned port. XP is showing an RC Jack Adaptor for 1/4" to RC waterproof port in the manual but they are not showing a Bone Phone adaptor that goes from the waterproof screw on pinned connector to an 1/4 or 1/8" male plug that could be used to plug into the Clip Jack Adaptor and WS6........... If you are thinking of using the Bone Phones on land, maybe an aftermarket manufacturer will make an adaptor for Bone Phones to WS6/Clip Jack. Otherwise, I would reverse things if you want to use them out of the water by putting the WS6 on the stem and connect the Bone Phones to the RC and put it in your pocket. You would need the WS6 Support (also in the manual on the accessories page) to attach the WS6 to the shaft. If you are thinking about using the setup you described in the water, you would have to find someway to get the coil's transmitted signal to the WS6 in your pocket. It has a wireless receiver and so does the main RC. However, as far as I know, the main RC does not have a transmitter. So the WS6 receives its signal directly from the coil. Hope all of that makes sense

This variation in the ground balance between modes was noticed early on after the Vanquish was released. The inability of Vanquish to handle iron mineralized ground and the resulting positive and negative audio when moving the coil in any way other than perfectly level over the ground was reported directly to Minelab USA and Minelab Headquarters. We were told that our detectors were functioning correctly which means they know about this behavior and it is simply part of owning an entry level detector. To "fix" this problem is not worth it. I just notch out the lowest iron numbers and don't use the horseshoe button except to check for a possible ferrous target when I am detecting ground that is outside the fixed ground balance range of the Vanquish.

Are you in the USA? Oh I forgot you are in Washington state. If so what type of targets are you hunting and where like in trashy parks, playgrounds, open fields or yards? First, really try to keep things as simple as possible. The Equinox is super sensitive to any target in the ground within range of the coil. Park 1 Multi, with sensitivity around 15 to 18 with everything else default is the best place to start since every tiny piece of aluminum foil won't be heard so easily. Otherwise the Equinox can be overwhelming due to the amount of possible targets it can hit. Just try to concentrate on targets that have clean 2 way hits and solid numbers that don't vary too much like 12/13, 20/21, 24/25, 26 to 28 and 29 to 31. Those numbers are for hunting standard USA clad coins. Learn how to ground balance, noise cancel and use the pinpoint function. They are all your friends and so is the depth meter which is calibrated for coin sized targets with one wedge equalling around 2" depending on soil conditions. Hunt in places that have less aluminum trash like school playgrounds or bark, gravel or sand play areas where there aren't too many pull tabs (11 to 18), small and large aluminum screw caps (18/19--22/23) or steel crown bottle caps (can have wildly varying target IDs or 11 to 13, depending on condition, if they are covered with foil or depending on depth). Check CJC's post today about mistakes made using the Equinox. It is really good information.

So, those of us that have responded are Vanquish owners. We are willing to help you but now you don't seem to want any help. Your Vanquish should still be under warranty if there is an internal problem. Also, you wouldn't want to sell a possibly defective detector. So........ If you are willing, just describe the problem as best you can. No matter what do a factory reset if you haven't done one already. Hold the power button down for around 7 seconds until you see FP on the screen, then release the power button and let your 540 start up. Try to do this away from any major sources of EMI.

I use it for determining if a target is a medium depth or less coin sized non-ferrous or deep aluminum can sized non-ferrous. Sometimes the depth meter will read shallow for a deep aluminum can sized non-ferrous target but also shallow for a non-ferrous US coin in the surface to 4" or so range. Often the audio response is very similar. Raising the coil is a quick way to determine if it is a smaller coin sized non-ferrous target......signal response ceases fairly quickly as the coil is raised while swinging over it or the signal response continues even with the coil 6" to a foot of the ground if it is really big aluminum.

i have read the manual a couple of times....well skimmed it would be more accurate so maybe I missed this. Does the ground balance setting achieved in one mode carry over to another mode? So, could one manually ground balance Deus Mono at 40 kHz where it is a little positive and then switch to Gold Field or Relic mode and retain that positive setting. I know that does not work on the Equinox but it has manual ground balance so a redundant point.

Clive, those are definitely all very valid "mistakes" that the Equinox will bite one back for making. I would only add the old maxim of raising the coil while swinging over a potential dig or not dig target it if there is confusion about a target being coin sized or much bigger. I am sure there may be more that people with tons of experience can add. Great topic!!!!!!

I look at all of the changes that XP made when comparing Deus 1 and Deus 2 and the biggest change for sure are the extraordinary fresh, and salt beach and underwater features and abilities that were added to Deus 2. Just creating a detector that could compete in the saltwater market automatically meant creating a viable form of simultaneous multi frequency operation that would not hamper the already outstanding target separation, recovery speed, iron handling capabilities and ergonomics of Deus 1. So far it appears that Deus 2 as a saltwater beach, saltwater diving and general diving detector will be formidable and also a godsend to hardcore beach detectorists and divers that want or need outstanding performance and outstanding ergonomics. I probably spend around 10% of my yearly detecting with a coil and/or control box submerged or in danger of being submerged. That probably does not warrant buying a Deus 2. However, the ergonomics certainly do and so does the improved depth, target ID accuracy and ground handling possibilities for inland hunting of coins and jewelry. As a relic hunter, I will always choose to own a Deus for handling areas with lots of iron trash on or near the surface and Deus 2 does appear to be the equal or slightly better than Deus 1 in that scenario too from the testing I have seen so far. As a gold prospecting detector with the 9” coil……….don’t know yet.

XP have given the user some valuable adjustments like salt Sens, magnetic ground, audio response, and a few others while not including manual ground balance for all modes. They may know something that we don’t as users and also may be trying to avoid what they may see as an easy way for a user to complain. Minelab automated many things on the Equinox that I sometimes wish I had some control over and gave manual adjustments for others…….. Just speculating so ignore this comment all you want. Maybe XPs FMF and Minelab’s Multi IQ deal with ground handling very differently similar to how differently Deus/Orx and the Equinox deal with ferrous targets.

Thank you for making that very informative video. It is always good to know what Deus 2 is capable of. I use Deus 1 and ORX in Gold Field often for gold nugget hunting. I know this was a "Relic" video but to me, like strick said, that was a big, thick piece of foil and would be an easy target to detect (maybe no ID however) in your soil conditions even for Deus 1 or the ORX in Gold Field. You could probably cut that piece of foil into four I/4 sized pieces and your Deus 2 and maybe even Deus 1 would still detect that sized foil at that depth in your soil. 1/3 or 1/2 sized pieces would be easy. Deus 2 Relic mode would probably hit that sized target too. The Goldfield and Relic modes are very powerful and accurate from the testing I have seen so far….. thank you again.

Yes that is also what Minelab does in the manual. However, there is always the exception and Minelab acknowledges that too with this little blurb in the Equinox manual: "The Detect Mode descriptions in the following section are for typical detecting locations. Some Detect Modes will be useful in locations not represented by the Mode name, icon, or description." That is definitely a CYA, exceptions to every rule example. Replace the word targets for the word locations in that sentence and that would also be valid. I have been known to run the Gold modes on saltwater beaches...........ugly on the ears, but effective. This is why when someone proclaims a detector to be the greatest in the world.......you just never really know the answer.

That is amazing also. Target size matters too. So does coil size like your 15X12" versus an 11". The test by Carter was on deep coin sized objects He did not mention whether he was able to get Beach 1 to run quietly enough to use it in his deep nickel test. As he demonstrated, on that beach a detector running at higher frequency weighting and without reduced transmit power was much more effective on those targets.