Jeff McClendon

If you are new to detecting, of the two you mentioned, I would pick the Vanquish 540. The 540 is a very easy to use, easy to listen to, easy to be successful with detector for a beginner. If you are new to detecting, of the two you mentioned, I would not pick the Garrett AT Max. The AT Max is a handful for even the most experienced detector users. As Phrunt said, the Legend is a Vanquish 540 with a lot more excellent features, its fully waterproof, comes with a 3 year warranty and is proven to work really well for a wide range of users with a wide range of experience.

I could not disagree more.

If you live on an island with saltwater and plan on using either of these detectors in the water........I would not pick either one especially if you really think you can fix water damaged detectors...good luck with that. Saltwater and salt in general takes a huge toll on detectors. I would go with a Nokta Legend or Equinox 600 or 700. Deus 2 if you can afford it. The warranties provided with those detectors are very important.

A used, out of warranty AT Max. A new, 3 year warranty Vanquish 540. A beginner level detector with Bluetooth wireless audio that consumes AA batteries left and right-Vanquish 540 An expert level detector with proprietary wireless audio that also consumes AA batteries-AT Max A simultaneous multi frequency detector that can handle saltwater beaches and moderate iron mineralization very well with little loss of tone or target ID accuracy until targets are at the depth of detection-Vanquish 540. A 13.6 kHz single frequency detector that does just OK at best at saltwater beaches and in moderate iron mineralization that will not have very accurate tone and target ID accuracy on targets that are very deep/at the edge of detection. Depending on the coil being used and ground conditions, the AT Max may be able to hit targets a little deeper than the Vanquish 540. Hitting them is one thing. The Vanquish 540 if it can hit the target may identify it better. Vanquish 540 control box is not waterproof. Coils are waterproof. AT Max is fully waterproof. Vanquish has internal, preset ground balance, a nice iron bias high/low feature, iron audio volume adjustment, very good 2 digit notching, universal controls, nice red backlight and a nice collapsible shaft system and is lightweight enough that it can fit many different sized users. AT Max has ground grab ground balancing, an excellent all metal mode, loud iron audio with no iron audio volume adjustment, good 5 digit notching, backlight, is specifically labeled for english speaking users and for US coins, and it has Garrett's sturdy shaft system. It's a big boy detector.

Aukey B80s work really well when you can find them. They are out of stock "old tech" so if you plan on using detectors with APTX Low Latency for awhile, get them while you can. Someone on Mercari from Pennsylvania appears to have several for sale at a great price. His add does not say B80 but I dug a little deeper into his add photos and the specs are correct. There is a slightly used pair on eBay right now for a great price too. https://www.ebay.com/p/12040445991 These work with the Minelab Equinox 600, Equinox 800, Vanquish 540, GPX6000 and Nokta Legend without needing a transmitter. I have three pairs on the Aukey B80s. Mine are not for sale. 🙂

Post production X-Terra Pro versus pre production Simplex Ultra by Sid, using deep mid to high conductor targets in slightly mineralized ground. Same targets, same time testing. I wish he had setup up both detectors in 2 tones. Other than that, an honest test.

Most of those targets were found with the Equinox 800. I air tested for the target IDs in order to make the charts. Those were just the gold targets that I had available and their target IDs. I did not include canslaw and foil or broken/cracked pull tabs. I just included normal, frequently occurring trash. The charts are not meant to be perfect or complete. They just show tendencies like the big clump of targets between 10 and 17 in the Nox 800 photo.

Take a look at the photos from this link. Maybe that will help understand what dogodog is talking about.

I have shown these photos before on this site. Targets are on or just below their target IDs. Equinox 800 low/mid conductor target IDs for some common USA coin, trash and jewelry targets: Equinox 900 low/mid conductor target IDs for some common USA coin, trash and jewelry targets:

Great answer and one that I agree with too. Also...... Being a die hard Nox 800 user it has been hard for me to really get into the 900 I own. Deus 2 and the Legend were an easy transition from my 800. That is how different the 900 is from the 800. Most of the difference for me has been the expanded target ID range and what seems like some target ID instability. I will get use to it eventually. No doubt, the 900 is quite the detector. Some other 800 owners may be finding the 900 to be oddly difficult to deal with too.

ditto

Chase Goldman, is your private message mailbox full?

Every detector that I own has some form of automatic ground balance tracking where no button press is technically necessary. However, very few of the places where I detect are good candidates for automatic ground balance tracking so I rarely use that feature. Instead I sometimes end up ground balancing a dozen times or more during a hunt. I sometimes even have to ground balance after every detected target due to how hot the ground is. So, having the ability to avoid doing a forefinger or thumb (often with thick gloves on) button press ground grab without having to press a button or multiple buttons in the case of one particular detector I own, is an extremely attractive feature for where I often use a detector and is directly related to an increase in performance. My sentiments about automatic recovery speed tracking are similar to those about automatic ground balance tracking. Mineralization conquers all, and recovery speed, just like ground balance can be adversely influenced by ground mineralization. I have yet to see a high end VLF or Pulse Induction detector that can actually keep up software wise with many of the places I hunt if I let the detector try to do things like track ground balance automatically.

One of the English language Quest YouTube videos done by a Quest representative goes a little deeper into the Gyro feature which has three sub menus that offer features that separately can each be either turned ON or OFF. 1. Auto Power Save powers down SOME of the detectors features when the detector is ON but is not in motion. As soon as the detector is moved, all of the features are instantly back ON and the V80 is ready to start detecting again. So it is an optional power saving feature which doesn’t fully shut down the detector. 2. Pump To G B is just a ground balancing shortcut that is activated by vertically pumping the coil. No button press is necessary if this feature is turned ON. 3. Auto ID Stability automatically stabilizes target IDs shown on the display by compensating for variations in swing speed and variations in the angle of the coil to the target. I am not about to speculate, criticize or throw Quest under the bus for adding these features to their V80 especially since I have not used one. Nobody has since as far as I know there are no production units in the hands of YouTube content creators who have posted V80 videos. As far as an automatic recovery speed feature somehow related to swing speed……I am still a person that considers recovery speed to be a setting that determines how fast or slow a detector reacts to a target. How fast the coil is being swung is another matter entirely since a really fast swing will probably not cover as much ground during a left to right swing as a medium or slower swing. A really fast swing may also not be as accurate as far as keeping the coil parallel to the ground compared to a somewhat slower swing.

Having owned the Nokta Gold Kruzer and the Nokta Legend, the Gold Kruzer’s prospecting “Gen” mode just did not have punch or enough adjustable features to compete with the Legend’s Goldfield mode…..no single digit notching, no recovery speed adjustments, iron bias adjustments, single frequency choices and most of all, no simultaneous multi frequency operation to help with ground handling on hotter ground. Also, I did not witness any advantage in using its all metal Gen mode compared to its multi tone discrimination modes as far as overall sensitivity. I can run my Legend hotter and right on the edge of instability due to its excellent SMF tech on hotter ground. I am not dissing the Gold Kruzer. For me, I just prefer more features and versatility from a gold prospecting detector. I guess I am spoiled by the latest SMF do it all really well detectors like the Manticore, Equinox models and Legend.

My knees hurt too!!!!! But I still try to average 40 to 50 targets an hour when I am in a really trashed area like that with good coin and ring potential. I don't spend too much time interrogating targets. Once I am fairly certain about the target’s low/medium/high conductivity and depth and maybe even its identity, I'm digging.

Just a few thoughts since you asked. My speaker is probably not one of the newer ones. It sounds scratchy sometimes. Might want to make sure your wireless headphones are fully charged and the operating controls are on the right ear. Pitch (P) 2 tones sounds a little scratchy to me since it is VCO audio. The other tone options for Park, Field and Beach don't sound scratchy to me unless a target is giving a mixed ferrous/non ferrous tone with some of the iron target IDs rejected or if the target has a lot of varied surfaces like a steel screw, bolt, nut, aluminum screw cap, crumpled aluminum foil, etc. Goldfield's VCO one tone audio also can sound a bit scratchy. I have played in a lot of symphony orchestras and had to sit right in front of the trumpets and trombones along with being a longtime marksman with and without hearing protection so my hearing is extremely subjective too.

I you happen to be a happy Apex, ORX or Legend owner, just know that I am not dissing or promoting any of these detectors. I am just showing one example of a type of detector behavior that may or may not apply to you or a potential new owner or a current user that hasn't experienced this I have cycled through too many VLF detectors to keep track of anymore, looking for the ones that behave like the Legend in this video. Those detectors that do detect similar to the Legend on this type of ground and on coin sized targets work really well for me where I detect. You may experience something completely different.

I sold my previous Garrett 24K and a couple of other detectors this past summer since I needed some money fast for home plumbing repairs. I really missed my 24K!!!! Thankfully Rick (Mi) sold his to Walt (wltdwiz) who sold it to me. Very happy to own a 24K again. I also hope Nel or Garrett are able to produce more coils for the 24K in the future. Thanks for adding Garrett's version to the Detector Database Steve.

Anyone that wants to start detecting should buy a detector that they can afford with room leftover for a decent pinpointer/digging tools depending on what environment they are searching and which targets they are hoping to find. Luckily, there are a ton of great options today, whether that detector is an older model or a new one. Some very basic detectors work really well and are priced really well too. Some others aren't priced as well for what they can do and the Apex to me is one of those. It's priced on the upper borderline between beginner and advanced detectors. Which is it???? Current Garrett 24K owner and Garrett Carrot owner and previous Apex owner (2 of them)

My assessment of the Apex is not about its detecting abilities by itself. It is its detecting abilities combined with its USA price and the price of its competition. Minelab Vanquish 340 $200 Nokta Simplex $249 to $339 Minelab X-Terra Pro $269 Garrett Ace 300 $270 Minelab Vanquish 440 $290 Minelab Vanquish 540 $380 Garrett Apex $429 to $499 Nokta Legend $499 XP Deus 1 Lite $549 XP ORX $599 Minelab Equinox 600 $599 If the Apex was priced at $300 US, my thoughts about it would be completely different.

I already made a very thorough gold ring chart before I sold all of my scrap gold rings when gold topped $1900 per ounce US. In thick aluminum trash of all sizes with Deus 2 aluminum target IDs from the mid 30s to high 90s and coin popping only, no shovel digging, I have to pick my poison carefully and hunt areas repeatedly, concentrating on different groups of potential gold ring target IDs. Digging everything is absolutely not an option here.

An update. The Apex used in the test video was completely checked out by Garrett after this video was made and received a clean bill of health. That includes the Viper and Ripper coils. I did manage to sell it on Ebay for my friend. As far as I know, he is no longer detecting. Taking into account the more difficult soil conditions here, I wonder if his experience would have been different and if he would still be detecting if he had purchased a used Equinox 600, new Vanquish or new Legend with the $492 US he spent on the Apex with Z Lynk headphones?

What are your settings for Park and Goldfield? Was this an air test or in the ground test? Was the tiny gold jewelry target damaged, open hoop or what?

Thanks. Those settings and hunt strategy are just one way to try to make some headway in a very heavily modern trashed area. They work for me if I want to find some coins and sometimes I get lucky with a ring or two.