Jeff McClendon

So when the bone phones are selected as the audio output choice on the display, all subsequent program choices whether beach programs or turf programs will automatically switch to square audio? I thought that the only program that was square audio only was Diving.

Are you using the bone phones with Square tone audio? They may not work well with PWM audio. Also try lowering the Reactivity a bit to lengthen the square tones along with increasing Audio Response. Try the on the bones right in front of your ears.

Thank you for doing this test. Personally, I will gladly accept 6 to 7” of accurate target ID using Deus ll. Deus l and the ORX no matter what program or frequency usually lose target ID accuracy on coin sized low and mid conductors at 3” or even less where I detect. Most coin sized targets of any conductivity deeper than 7” to 8” here are undetectable with a Deus l or ORX using any sized coil except in Gold Field. Did you happen to check the mineralization meter when ground balancing? Also, what was your sensitivity? thanks, Jeff

Thank Erik. That looked like hard work. Also, your beach appears to have plenty of black sand areas so I am not surprised if you continue to see similar results between the Equinox and Deus ll. thanks, Jeff

I also have hunted in North Georgia red clay a lot with Deus 1 and the Equinox. Deus 1 mineralization bar is usually 1/3 to 1/2 full with ground balance of 86 to 88. Equinox ground balances there between 20 and 40.

I have had my Deus 1 and Equinox 800 on various moderately to highly Fe304 mineralized ground where magnetite is visible on the surface and ranges in size from tiny particles to ping pong ball sized. These sites completely fill up the Deus 1 mineralization meter and my Equinox 800 ground balances between +1 and -3. Deus 1 ground balances in the low 90s at the same sites.

On Deus 1, the Gold Field mode was by far the most sensitive on smaller gold than any other program. I am going to assume that it will also be the same on Deus 2. However, when gold prospecting it is great to have a secondary discrimination program to investigate iffy targets with. The first 4 modes included on Deus 2 look like very good candidates for that task where you can use the notch feature if needed, have multiple tone audio choices, the ability to customize those tones and have actual iron discrimination if needed. Listening to a threshold tone and 1 tone VCO audio for hours and hours going off on hot rocks and iron can definitely cause audio fatigue. So I would also be interested in how General, Sensitive, Sensitive FT or Fast do compared to Gold Field on Deus 2 for ground handling and sensitivity to smaller gold nuggets in the .05 gram to 1 gram range. Thanks Andy for doing your testing and for being willing to share your thoughts and impressions with us.

There are several Youtube pontificators (I am not referring to Calabash by the way, he actually knows what he is talking about and won't say something that he hasn't substantiated through testing at least in his area) who sit in a chair in their YouTube home office and tell us all about what's up with a manufacturer or specific detector and base their opinions on opinions not facts. Some like the Vegas person above are just click bait artists, period. I don't blindly believe anything that guy says and I gain very little of anything from watching his videos.

I don’t think the bone phones need the audio cable adapter. If you wanted to use different 1/4” or 1/8” plug wired headphones or earbuds and you wanted to plug them into the remote control, you would need the audio adapter cable.

Like I said earlier, I like the X-Terra 705. However, as soon as I was able to use the Equinox 600 and 705 at the same time on wild, in the ground targets here in Colorado, it was abundantly clear which one was the better detector. It took about 5 minutes…….that was back in early 2018. I detect a lot and I am a member of a detecting club with over 100 members. No one is using an X-Terra 705 here anymore. So your local dealer would be very happy to sell you a used X-Terra 705 with the 18.75 kHz coil and 7.5 kHz coil for $525 and no warranty. You would have a single frequency detector that has two selectable single frequencies when you change coils. Or you could spend $649, have a 3 year warranty and have a brand new Equinox 600 that has four different multi frequency weighted programs…Park1-Field1, Park2-Field2, Beach 1 and Beach 2 with simultaneous multi frequencies ranging from around 5 kHz to 40 kHz along with selectable single frequencies of 4, 5, 10 and 15 kHz that can be used in the Park and Field modes instead of multi frequencies. You don’t need to change coils…….you just press a button. The Equinox models are all-terrain detectors and were intended to replace the X-Terra models, with a much more versatile and feature rich model line which the Equinox 600 and 800 did very well. So basically as far as frequencies, you have 4 different multi frequency detectors built into the Equinox 600 and 8 different single frequency detectors instead of 2 different detectors frequency wise, with the X-Terra 705 along with a very good prospecting mode.

You asked the question.......I could not hear anything coming from Deus ll. That doesn't mean anything other than, it can't be heard underwater which is not unusual and you need those bone phones pronto. It sucks that the audio adapter cable (if one needs it) and bone phones aren't included as an option so you don't have to order multiple times.

Minelab Equinox 600 is still $649 on some dealer's sites. I think the price will go up soon to $699. Equinox 600 eats the F19/Gold Bug Pro/Teknetics G2+/Time Ranger Pro's breakfast, lunch and dinner 24/7/365 days a year. It also out performs the Vanquish models and the Garrett APEX. Its only competition in the USA is the Equinox 800, Deus 2 (not readily available yet) and the Nokta Makro Legend (not released for sale yet). If the Equinox 600 is not included on some of the "Best Metal Detector" online sites that you may have visited........those sites must be way out of date. Pay no attention to that drivel. You did the right thing coming here. Just to be clear, I own a Vanquish, I own the Equinox 800, I owned the Equinox 600, I owned two F19s and a G2+, and I owned all of the X-Terra models along with the AT Gold and AT Pro. I like them all so anything I said above is from experience using these detectors in moderate to high iron mineralization like we often have to deal with in the Western USA. What folks back East have for ground conditions is a different story entirely. This is important since you are from the Pacific Northwest/Washington.

Sorry, it took me at least an hour to stop crying. I couldn’t see my computer screen and I was afraid my big tears would short out my keyboard. I’m okay now…………

Would the 10X6" elliptical coil that Coiltek made specifically for the SDC2300 work on a GPX 5000????

Welcome to the forum. You are probably correct as far as updating the software and firmware. You would not have the User Profile for customizing a program since that requires a button push. That button is not included on the Equinox 600.

XP priced the full Deus 1 at a premium price from day 1 of its release. Until Deus 2 is readily available, Deus 1 is the premium relic hunter for shallower relics on the planet and for its light weight. From what I have seen Deus 2 for a while anyway, will be the premium relic hunter on the planet even on deeper targets and for wet saltwater beach and for fresh and saltwater diving. To me that is worth an extra $400 over the price of Deus 1. As for the rest of the possible detecting scenarios on the planet.........I don't see Deus 2 as being $500 better than an Equinox 800 or $900 better than an Equinox 600 or Legend unless the light weight of Deus 2 is a necessity for some which I totally understand. However it is possible to substantially lighten the weight of an Equinox 600 for way less than $900.

The Vanquish has something built in which Minelab called "Beach Advantage". It is in the Vanquish brochures. Minelab has not seen fit to explain what it is............... Chase always laughs or scowls at me when I mention it but I am just the messenger.

Lke I said a couple of posts earlier, Beach 1 and Beach 2 have both been analyzed. Beach 1 has a lower frequency below 10 kHz and a higher frequency somewhere between 20 and 24 kHz. Beach 2 has a lower frequency below 10 kHz and a higher frequency around 14 kHz. Sensitivity to smaller targets of all conductivities is much better using Beach 1 compared to Beach 2. You can test that yourself on 1 gram or smaller targets, especially lower conductors.

Equinox Beach 2 runs lower frequencies than Beach 1. That is a proven fact. No debate. So your saying Beach 1 is more stable in submerged saltwater than Beach 2 is very puzzling unless there is an EMI source near where you are diving that is effecting Beach 2.

8"X6" Nugget Finder "Sadie" mono, 8" Detech Mono and I believe Coiltek still makes an 8" round mono.

If a Deus 2 is able to run Beach Sensitive (maximum 40 kHz) on any given beach and an Equinox runs Beach 1 (maximum 20 to 24 kHz) there is no contest if one is trying to detect micro jewelry like a .5 gram 10K gold earring back buried at 3". The Equinox might hit it but Deus 2 running Beach Sensitive in that scenario is going to win every time. If Deus 2 can't run Beach Sensitive due to instability and has to run Beach (maximum of 24 kHz) the results will be closer. Its not magic, its just physics.

I think you are mis-reading the manuals of both detectors. Equinox Beach modes are multi frequency only and have been shown to both run a low frequency (below 10 kHz) and a higher frequency around 20 kHz for Beach 1 and around 14 kHz for Beach 2. the 5, 10 and 15, 20 and 40 kHz selectable single frequencies don't apply to them. Deus 2 in it Beach modes is running at least two frequencies like the Equinox and has a lower one (below 10 kHz) and each modes higher frequency is printed in the manual which says, Diving has a maximum of 14 kHz, Beach has a maximum of 24 kHz and Beach Sensitive has a maximum of 40 kHz. If you can run Deus 2 Beach submerged (maximum of 24 kHz) you should have a big advantage on a wide range of target sizes and conductivities compared to Equinox which has to run Beach 2 submerged (maximum of 14kHz, probably). Throw in Salt Sens and submerged the Deus 2 Diving on paper equals or beats the Equinox Beach 2 and if you can run Deus 2 24 kHz Beach submerged, its no contest plus your Deus 2 can go to 66 feet, has bone conduction headphones (which should really help you with your hearing loss) and Deus 2 hasn't leaked so far. For a saltwater diver like you, Deus 2 hands down is the way to go.

Erik, I would like to see you test your theory that it is Salt Sens that is making the difference as far as sensitivity to jewelry targets like gold rings. At least on paper, Deus 2 Beach mode used submerged (not talking about Beach Sensitive) should already be more sensitive to small targets and lower conductors due to its much higher frequency weighting than Beach 2 on the Equinox for sure when used submerged. Equinox Beach 2 and Deus 2’s Diving mode again on paper are operating at very similar frequency weighting and should have similar results. If they don’t, then your Salt Sens theory may be for real. I would still be careful about cranking up Salt Sens to 9 on ring finder type dives for customers. That is why I added the caveat in the manual to my earlier post. Most gold rings should land in the 45 to 85 target ID range under normal conditions. If the ring is on edge, damaged or being partially masked by another target or black sand it may read much lower and closer to the 30 or lower target ID range where too high a setting of Salt Sens and the saltwater ground balance area could attenuate the signal and audio.

I don't have a Deus 2 yet and I live where there is a foot of snow not near a saltwater beach........I can only go by what I have seen in Calabash's and other's beach videos using Beach Sensitive which is published to have one FMF operating frequency near 40 kHz. So far on beaches with very little black sand, Beach Sensitive has been able to run fairly quietly in dry and wet sand even with overall sensitivity set at 95 of 99 and with it being used by fairly inexperienced beach hunters but very experienced Deus 1 users. Salt sensitivity has been set at around 7 to keep it stable. I have also mentioned that I have been able to run Equinox Park 1 and Park 2 effectively in the dry and slightly damp sand at the same beaches hunted by Calabash and History Teacher. Definitely can't run Park 1 and Park 2 in the wet sand there, however. I have said several times directly to John that I don't know how XP managed to do this. I still don't. I can only assume that the Salt Sensitivity settings really work well especially on the inherently more "unstable" higher frequency weighted beach modes like Beach and Beach Sensitive. There has been lots of talk about Beach Sensitive being very sensitive to micro gold jewelry. I have not seen any wild micro gold jewelry targets dug so far that an Equinox in Beach 1 won't hit if shallow. However, there is no doubt that Beach Sensitive is far more sensitive to small targets than Equinox Beach 1 as it should be.....40 kHz vs +/- 20 kHz. It is interesting or telling, that the current Deus 2 manual never mentions micro gold jewelry in its paragraphs on each Beach mode. It repeatedly mentions small and large target level of effectiveness with no specific conductivity referenced. Beach Sensitive is touted to be effective on both small and large targets. No mention is made for using Beach Sensitive submerged. The Diving and normal Beach programs do have references for use submerged. So Skullgolddiver, using Beach Sensitive for diving would mean you would have to really tweak the Salt Sensitivity setting and that might knock out some sensitivity to small gold jewelry, small platinum jewelry and small steel jewelry or smaller targets that are poorly oriented or damaged as referenced in this section of the manual on Salt Sensitivity where low conductors are actually mentioned: " When using higher levels of SALT SENS, low conductive targets that register around TID 30 may also be slightly attenuated, this setting will not effect higher conductive targets." Using higher levels of Bottle Cap Reject may also effect small non-ferrous low conductors. So, maybe XP have somehow bent the laws of physics or found a loophole..............or come to a workable compromise that allows the use of a frequency near 40 kHz at saltwater beaches. Hope you feel better soon John. Hugh, stop ribbing me about my Covid excuses. My sister and mother are both long Covid sufferers so I might really have a good excuse for my idiocy🤪

The Deus 1 and Deus 2 "depth" gauge is more of a target intensity gauge. At least there sort of is one on the main screen. On the ORX one has to go into the pinpoint function and see what the intensity of the target response was as in: filled-up pinpoint screen-near the surface, half full-4" or so, quarter full, etc......a real pain in the tush. Lots of people complain about a certain other Multi Freak's depth gauge.....they should use an ORX for a while.........afterwards they might give those little wedges on the Nox some respect. I really wonder how much more graphics can get crammed into that small Deus 2 screen. Same goes for the Legend.......just full of stuff which again makes me really appreciate the simplicity of the Nox display.