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My primary-use Garrett Apex sports the excellent 5X8 DD 'Ripper' coil that is ideal for most of the places I like to hunt, in town or rural and remote. On my 2nd Apex I keep the really functional 8½X11 DD 'Raider' coil mounted for working plowed fields, similar range-land, or wide-open / sparse-target parks and similar places. I ordered my 3rd Apex just to keep the smallest search coil mounted where it needs to fit in and around and between dense brush, rocks, building rubble, etc., etc. For now I am going to mount the new NEL 5" 'Sharp' DD coil because that is the smaller coil currently available for the Apex. I've been hoping for them to offer their functional 4½" Concentric coil, if it is designable for the Apex. It can be worked on the single-frequency models and i am hoping it can be made to work on the Apex. I like smaller 4½ to 5" coils to get in and around really tight cover, especially Relic Hunting older sites. Plus I would like it to be a Concentric coil deign for the Apex in that smaller-size. I have used DD coils as well since 1971, and while I have DD coils now for my three Apex, and on my V-540 and Simplex +, I have Concentric coils o my XLT, F5 and two favorite Tesoro models. There's a time and a place where both coil types have some advantages, so I'll keep hoping. I'm curious how many Garrett users currently make use of the 4½" Concentric coil on which models, and do any of you have a desire for one for the Apex? Monte

This is a Garrett forum for people who like Garrett detectors, so they can learn about how to get the best out of them. If you want to compare brands, or just state your negative opinion of Garrett or it's products, please use the appropriate forums, like the Advice & Comparisons Forum. Thanks.

TESTING THE GARRETT APEX ------------------------------- I have followed for the Apex exactly the same procedure already used for the other detectors that I have tested in the past : a) static depth tests , b) field tests . For info I live in the North of France, the soil is low to moderated mineralized there . The iron trash varies from medium to very high. I have used the Apex inland only ( no beach detecting ) During this test, I will compare the Apex with the Vanquish and Deus/Orx that I know very well and which are in the same price category ( Apex 600e ,Vanquish 540 pp 550e, XP Deus Lite/Orx 650e ).. The Deus/Orx are a reference over here. And the Vanquish is a very good machine . So all what needed for a realistic comparison .. 1) First impressions : ---------------------- The Apex is very well built , I like the thin control box which is much more compact than the Vanquish control box. The lithium battery is a plus. The shaft has a little outdated design I would have preferred a telescopic shaft like the Vanquish , but it is easy to mount and seems robust. The Apex weights 1,17kg without the coil cover , 1,23kg with the cc , so more than what indicated in the manual ( 1,13kg ). The Apex 6X 11 coil weights 400grams without the cc , it is a little heavy compared to the Vanquish V10 coil which weights only 360grams. The Apex coil shape is a little unusual , long and narrow , almost rectangular , but this has the advantage to provide an important ground coverage par sweep compared to circular or even elliptical shapes. The Apex is easy to use . The manual is short , only 25 pages this is a good thing. The wireless headphones are very well build, they have no noticeable latency. and they worked well during the test. I just noticed a few drops out but nothing dramatic 2) Static depth tests : ----------------------- 2 depth tests have been done , one using a big copper 10grams coin at 28cm ( 11 inches ) depth , the other using a small 3grams bronze coin at 15cm ( 6 inches ) depth. See pics below. I have always used the MF mode during this test. As I expected the Apex does not hit the big 10grams copper coin at 11 inches , so the Apex does not go as deep as for example a Vanquish plus the V12 coil. This is due to the small width (6inches ) of the Apex coil and it is quite logical. However the Apex hits the small 3 grams coin at 6inches , the same result as the Vanquish and Deus so a good result. I noticed at this moment that the Apex audio signals on targets ( coins for example ) are quite sharp. Actually I found them too sharp , as if there was a little iron in all the coins that I was testing. The Apex audio is a little unusual and I would have preferred softer signals actually .. So conclusion of this part the depth tests are ok , the Apex audio is a little surprising with these sharp signals on targets , but probably just a matter of a few hours detecting to get used to it .. 3) Field tests : ---------------- I have tested the Apex at 3 different locations, where I always go when testing new detectors : - a plowed field which has been occupied by a camp hospital during the 1st WW. So quite a lot of iron trash ,plus aluminium fragments , etc .. and interesting things like buttons, buckles , etc .. - a wood near a small town containing medieval artefacts among a very high density of iron trash - others fields near a big town Total detecting time : 8 hours 3.1) plowed field : ------------------- I went 3 times in this field with the Apex. During the 1st outing everything went ok . Actually I do not like the Apex audio ,I find it not enough accurate compared to the Vanquish/Deus and too sharp on targets as I said above . And the Vanquish VDIs are much more accurate that the Apex VDIs .. Then I started to have serious troubles with the Apex .. 😬 During the next outings done in this field there I have been constantly bothered by FALSE SIGNALS. The Apex was randomly beeping while no target under the coil. There are power lines quite close to the field but I have never had such pbs pb here with other detectors Equinox , Vanquish and Deus. During the 3rd outing in this field I have even decided to leave the area after 15 minutes because it was impossible to detect due to the erratic signals. 3.2) wood : ----------- The outing in this wood has been more positive.I had very few false signals there and the Apex did a good job in this area infested by little ferrous. I even found a nice medieval buckle missed by the other detectors. I have appreciated the 11X6 coil which has very good separation abilities . As I said I am not a fan of the Apex audio but it worked ... at least in this area. 🙂 btw it has rained during all the outing , so difficult conditions , and I had no pb with the high hygrometry , a good thing 3.3) other plowed fields : -------------------------- During this outing we tried 2 fields In the first field I had the same pb as above , false signals again .. There was a gsm antenna not far , perhaps this could explain the pb . But not justify it , because other detectors work very well here .. It went better in the second field where I found 2 coins. My friend found 3 coins with his Deus . So quite a good result for the Apex here.. One more thing I do not like with the Apex , the backlight activation. To activate it the menu button must be pressed 6 times, then the + button 1 time ,. Total 7 times ... Same thing for desactivating it.... On the Vanquish 540 you just have to press one time the dedicated button it is far simpler , I usually just need the backlight a few seconds to check the VDI , so the Apex backlight is almost unusable for me ... The Apex should have a dedicated backlight button .. CONCLUSION --------------- At the moment I have decided to stop the Apex tests because of this important 'false signal" issue . This is not normal that the Apex cannot be used at places where other detectors work perfectly well. 😒 I have never experienced a pb like this actually. I do not know where it comes from, EMI or others ... I have informed my dealer about this pb and he will contact Garrett. I hope I will have news on this soon.. and a solution to fix that pb , so that I can restart the tests. btw I have tried all the settings to get rid of the "false signals" issue , reducing the sensitivity , ground balancing , changing the channel , etc ... With no results up to now ... I think that the pb is more related to the Apex electronics/software or coil design ... Future will tell

So having used and test the Garrett Ace Apex for a bit now. I've come up with some things I do and don't like about the machine. If anyone is on the fence about buying one this might help you make up your mind. I think Garrett is heading in the right direction with all the modern features they have included on the Apex. Here's what I really like about the Garrett Ace Apex. 1. Wireless headphones 2. Backlight display 3. Rechargeable battery 4. Easy to navigate menu 5. Easy to read display 6. Great sleek look 7. Light weight 8. Ground balance capabilities 9. Weatherproof design 10. Adjustable frequencies What I don’t like and why, yea I know you can’t have everything you want with a $425 machine. 1. Lack of accessory coils-IMO the 6” x 11” Viper coil is too big for trashy sites and not big enough for clean sites. 2. Iron audio-IMO the iron audio on the Apex is pretty much worthless. It’s too loud even on 1 and the machine can’t reset fast enough and drowns out good signals close to iron when iron audio is used. 3. Notch discrimination-notching out 5 segments at a time is too many. With the Apex already struggling at depth and in iron, you need to be able to notch out one number at a time so you don’t lose targets in iron or make them even more jumpy when the target is deep. 4. Lack of adjustable tones-5 tones on this machine doesn’t work well, especially in iron trash. The iron tone and the very low conductor tones are too close in sound. Yea you can hear the difference but since this machine pulls down target ID so bad in iron, a 2 tone option or even a 3 tone would be much better so there is a distinct separation of the audio. 5. Lack of usable search modes-Really all you get with the Apex is set discrimination patterns, not search modes. When you change modes you simply notch out different segments you may not want to dig. Depth and separation remain the same, many other machines on the market both more and less expensive change the recovery and depth in relation to the mode you choose. For those of you that have the Apex or even if you don't, I would be interested in what your thoughts are on the Apex.

I put the Apex on eBay a few days to see if it would sell at $340 plus $20 shipping (that's $65 less than the going price new). Got a lot of questions about how I liked it and why I was selling it. Also got a bunch of low ball offers at $250-$300. I assume from this the Apex isn't going to be a hot seller used. When I sold my Vanquish 540 pro package it was gone at $425 plus $20 shipping in a matter of hours. So if I have to give the Apex away I guess I'll keep it and see what additional coils/updates come out in the future. From the 20 hours or so I have on the Apex I really can't see myself using it for anything but urban clad coin hunting. If they bring out a smaller coil it might do OK in a ghost town.

People keep saying the Apex cannot be updated over the internet. Can anyone provide a quote from Steve Moore or Brent Weaver saying that it is not updateable?

I got my first chance to take the Apex out for a test drive in a local park. I chose U.S. Coins mode because the area I was hunting is home to a Carnival with Rides and Game Booths every year. I must say, it ran fairly quiet until it hit a target. I will most likely use Zero in the future as the “Pre-set” modes may have more discrimination than I’m used to. Or I could “Accept” some of the blocked-out segments to create a “Custom” Program. Overall impressions: Simple, nice and light weight, well balanced, easy to adjust settings plus the Wireless Audio that you can hear your Pin Pointer through! However, I watched a You Tube video of a hunt at a Boy Scout Camp. The videographer mentioned that the Depth Gauge seemed to be “off”. I experienced the same issue. One target read 4” when it was right under the surface. This happened more than once. My 1.5 hours netted me some Clad coins, a Cinemark Token, a Fleur-de-lis snap or button cover and three strange washers. I only found one other piece of “junk” which appears to be cast Aluminum. Comparing it to the Minelab Equinox Series would be a bit unfair. While they share similarities like Simultaneous MF, GB, Noise Cancel (Frequency Shift) and Preset Programs including Beach Mode, that’s where it ends. The Nox has way more Features and Adjustments putting in a completely different league altogether! The APEX is simply an entry level Multi-Frequency Metal Detector for those starting out or an upgrade for the many Ace Enthusiasts. I’ve mostly worked with the White’s TRX which reads off the tip. It will take some time getting used to the 360 degrees of the Garrett and Nokta Pin Pointers. My only real concern other than the Depth issue is what problems, if any, may occur due to them being put together so quickly to fill the many preorders and back orders.

Hitting a NEW PERMISSION, fields surrounding a Manor House with the Nokta Makro Simplex, Minelab Vanquish and Garrett Apex

Video of the Apex on Monte's Nail Board Test.This is Monte's official Nail Board Test he sent me Years ago.I think for the large size of the stock coil and DD its quite Good!!Test done with factory tone break.Zero Disc.Multi Freq and some other solo freq's at one point for a comparison. Keith

This is a video that Garrett has done in response to some of the user videos made about the new Apex. It’s possible this was posted before and I missed it... been busy lately! “Iron targets can “mask” or change the Target ID of adjacent good treasure targets. Two examples of target masking are presented, along with a demonstration of successfully scanning coins mixed into a row of nails. Although the presence of iron can change a target’s ID, this video shows how easy the Garrett Apex can pick out the treasures in such trashy detecting environments.”

If you want to see the Apex in the action in the field here is a video I did over the weekend. Didn't compare it to anything in this video just got out and hunted with it.

I am an extremely new user and just received the apex as my first detector.....did I make a poor decision?

I said I was done with the videos about the Apex but I had to do one more that does show some improvement on the in-line nail coin test. I have no problem admitting that sometimes there's a better way to do things, I would like to see Garrett succeed just as much the next guy, so anything that shows improved performance is welcome. If you're only interested in those results skip to 2:46 in the video. FYI Monte Berry posted somewhat of a review on metaldetectingforum.com that pretty much matches what I've been saying about the Apex. He's also the one who suggested using iron audio off for the best results. Monte does pretty thorough tests and misses very little. You can see his comments here Apex comments The rest of the video addresses some of the comments made on Facebook about my previous videos. The only link I posted to the video was on this forum but someone posted it to an Apex users group and let the fun begin. You'd think I killed their favorite dog. It is what is. So i'm sure someone will find this video and post it there as well, not going to be me though. If people watch it at least they will know where I'm coming from.

OK new comparison and probably the last one for me. Doing this one because Monte made a comment on another forum about the Apex needing to have iron audio off in order for it to perform better on the nail board test. I thought I would throw the F19 into this video since it's in the price range of the Apex. IMO the Apex is just another choice in the $250-450 price range and it's going to come down to the features and performance you want as to which metal detector you chose. Like Steve, I feel like it's closest competition is the Vanquish 540 at $369 and to me the Apex isn't worth the extra money. Funny I should say that because I don't have the Vanquish anymore.

Garrett Ace Apex Review Part 2 Part 2 is the Apex depth test and comparison. Let me say right up front that my soil is 4-5 bars on the F75, so not mild ground. So, you’ll probably get different results if you have really hot ground or mild ground. The multi frequency feature of the Apex is what most interests me. I want to see how it compares against the Equinox (for target ID and depth) and other single frequency machines with similar sized coils. I’ve got a test garden in my yard of buried items, some in polluted holes. They are quarters buried at 2, 4, *6 & 8 inches. Dimes buried at 2, 4 & *6 inches. Nickels buried at 2, 4, 6 & 8 inches. Small pewter button (is a close representation of a $1 gold coin) buried at 2, 4 & 6 inches. *indicates polluted hole. In the above test, I’m not only looking at whether or not a machine can detect the item but how accurate the ID is at each depth. The Apex was tested against the following metal detector and coil combinations: Minelab Equinox 800 (park 1) 6” coil (closest size for comparison), XP Deus 9” HF coil (deep mode), Fisher F19 5 x 10 coil, Nokta Makro Simplex (field mode) 5 x 10 coil & Makro Racer 2 (deep mode) 7 x 11 coil. I’ll try to make this short-Equinox with 6” coils sees all targets, and accurately ID’s the 2, 4 & 6 inch targets it will also accurately ID the 8” nickel. Nokta Makro simplex accurately ID’s the 2 inch targets, hits the 4” but ID is off, can also see the 6” targets except the dime and small pewter. Fisher F19 can accurately ID 2 & 4 inch targets. XP Deus can accurately ID the 2 & 4 inch targets can also ID the 6” quarter and nickel. Makro Racer 2 can accurately ID 2 & 4 inch targets. Garrett Apex can accurately ID all 2” targets but after that it can hit all targets but ID is for the most part all over the place. I only did a video on the Simplex and the Apex. Would just take way too long to video every detector. You can find the link to the video at the end of this post. Also, in my yard I have an IHP buried at 3” with 2 nails on the surface 3” out from center. A 5” coil can get between the two nails but regardless of the metal detector/coil used I’ve yet to find one that can hit the IHP (even with a 5” coil). The nails always win, might be my mineralized dirt. But, in any case the Apex can’t hit it either. The only other metal detector I wish I had access to is the Minelab Vanquish 540. But I know that unit well enough to know that performance in iron would be about the same as the Apex. However, the Vanquish I feel would have a clear depth advantage. Overall I feel like the Apex (as far as depth goes) fits nicely in the price range it falls in with other similar detectors. It looks good, feels good, has wireless headphones and a rechargeable battery. Performance would best suit it for open park areas and wet sand on the beach. In a trashy environment the Apex seriously lacks performance and I personally feel like I would be walking over too much in a ghost town or trashy relic site or any trashy site to justify using it. Here’s the video If you want to see the Nokta Makro Simplex and Garrett Apex being compared on a separation and depth test.

I want to start by saying that I really hate posting reviews like this when I'm disappointed in the results. Makes me feel like the bad guy or that maybe, just maybe I had the metal detectors setup wrong. Anyway here is a quick review. Garrett Ace Apex Review Part 1 Got a Garrett Ace Apex delivered today, work is slow right now so I got right to testing it out. I’m going to post my review in 2 parts. Part 1 will be about the separation abilities of the Apex. Part 2 will be about the depth capabilities of the Apex. First wanted to say, I’m pretty impressed with the build quality and ergonomics of the Apex. I won’t bore you with the overview of the machine. I’m sure there are others that will give or have given a full run down of the physical qualities of the detector. In my mind (and I might be wrong) the question most educated (meaning they already own a metal detector) perspective buyers will have is how does the Apex compare to the Minelab Equinox and Minelab Vanquish. Minelab pretty much has the multi-frequency thing figured out, so how will the new Apex compare in multi-frequency. Historically multi-frequency machines haven’t been known for their lightning speed separation abilities. So not only will I compare the Minelab Equinox but I’m also going to through in some other popular detectors. There are 2 tests I like to do that will give me a pretty good idea of how a metal detector performs in iron. The end to end nail test with coins in between and Monte’s nail board (I used my own rusty square nails, not an official board you can buy from him). On the nail board (your results may vary, I think mine is tougher) I tested XP Deus 9” HF coil (sonar), Minelab Equinox 6” (park1), Fisher F19 5 x 10 coil, Nokta Makro Simplex 5 x 10 coil (park 2) & Makro Racer 2 7 x 11 (3 tones) against the Apex (zero mode MF). Results are as follows: XP Deus 7/8 hits, Minelab Equinox 5/8, Fisher F19 6/8, Nokta Makro Simplex 8/8 Makro Racer 2 7/8, Garrett Apex 4/8. If you remember my test of the Minelab Vanquish I was not impressed with either the v12 or v8 coil in this test. The end to end nail test has nails end to end with a penny, dime and nickel in between the nails with a space of about 1.5 inches. I like this test vs the coin between 2 perpendicular nails as most metal detectors can hit a coin between 2 perpendicular nails without a problem. Not a real good test IMO. Results from end to end nail test are as follows: XP Deus 9” passes even with a fast sweep speed, Minelab Equinox 6” coil struggles 11” coil has no problem, Fisher F19 5 x 10 passes even with a fast sweep speed, Makro racer 2 7 x 11 passes but sweep speed needs to be slow, Nokta Makro Simplex 5 x 10 passes but sweep speed needs to be slow, Garrett Apex will not hit any of the coins in any mode at any frequency. If you remember my test of the Minelab Vanquish with both the v12 and v8 coils neither coil could hit any of the coins either. The thing that’s interesting about the above tests is that some of the detectors excel at one test but not the other test and visa versa. For example the Nokta Makro detectors excel at the nail board test but kind of struggle with the end to end test. This is the very reason I like doing both tests it show performance in multiple scenarios. When I’ve taken the above knowledge into the field and compared one detector to another the performance results for the most part mirror the results I got doing the above tests. I read about people all the time saying I took this new machine to a place I’ve pounded in the past with this other detector(s) and I found this awesome coin/relic. This new metal detector is the best on the market. Well that all fine and dandy but if you didn’t compare the two prior to digging the target how do you know one’s better than the other. Maybe you just missed that patch of ground or you approached the target from a different direction, or, or, or. You get my point. But if you get a target and run another detector over the area and get no response, or better response, etc. then you can say, yes this is a better detector. Otherwise there are no facts to back your claim. I’ll probably do a video of the above results when I have more time. In the end I’m not impressed with the Apex compared to other machines in it’s price range. Slightly worse separation performance than the Vanquish 540. The Apex has a lot going for it, wireless, rechargeable batteries, light weight, looks good and weatherproof. But honestly, I’ll take a Simplex over the Apex. Hopefully the Apex can redeem itself in the depth test like the Vanquish did.

Submitted by Detector Ben in eastern Nebraska. He is an independent user of his new Apex testing on deep targets and his own test bed/iron separation. Comparison with the Nox 800. (I wonder what his iron bias and iron volume settings were on the Nox 800) He actually answered this question on another forum. He had his iron bias on F2=4 and his iron volume was on its lowest setting (which is why we could not hear it on the video going over the square nail). Sometimes the Nox will give an iron tone on deep targets with no VDI. Thanks for the great video Ben!!!! I'm keeping my money in my wallet. Jeff

Missing the flap that covers the outside battery recharge port. I was at my dealer when it arrived. Looks to have been opened by someone prior to shipping. You can also see where it was torn off. He has four more coming so I will let you know if they also shared my fate.

In the last 24 hours, there have been some rumblings over on Friendly that a YouTube video was posted showing a pre-production model in moderate iron trash performing very poorly. That video has been taken down by someone.......... Enough people saw it to comment and a couple of them know what they are talking about usually. I did not have a chance to see the video so I can't comment. There have been a couple of recent vids by Ohio Farm Hunter which really put me to sleep (not a bad thing) that showed a tester model which did not impress me. Jeff

Hi guys. Waz from australia here, Perth. Curious to see if the apex has a niche in our goldfields. I have purchased one and are waiting. I could see it of use on mullock heaps and scrapings for fine gold. Do you agree? What settings would you recommend for this type of detecting given mineralised ground, hot rocks etc. Hoping it will be an ok prospecting detector in this sense, along with treasure hunting and prospecting on salt lakes..cheers waz

Way to go Garrett.

While going over the new Garrett Apex features I noted a major difference between it and the Minelab Equinox, and to a lesser degree, the Minelab Vanquish. The Modes (Garrett) or Search Profiles (Minelab). On the Equinox each search profile does not only save settings, but has built in programming differences. Park 1 and Park 2, for instance, can be different even if they are set up with exactly the same settings. The two modes use different frequency mixes in Multi-IQ. Each search profile can be highly customized, and the end effect is one of having many different metal detectors in one. Two modes can make it seem like you are using two different detectors. The Vanquish does not have the same level of adjustments available, but again, there are built in programming differences between the modes as far as frequency mix, recovery speed, etc. There are genuine differences between the modes from an operational aspect, not just in what is being accepted or rejected. The Garrett Ace Apex is much simpler in that it really only has one operating mode - the one you are in. When you choose an operating frequency you have in effect chosen your operating mode. The Apex various saved operating modes are nothing more than saved discrimination patterns. With Equinox or even Vanquish the effect of switching modes if quite profound, like literally picking up another detector. With Apex you will be feeling much more like you have one mode that you set up, and then you have some discrimination patterns you can toggle between. The Apex really is very simple. Chose a frequency, set sensitivity, ground balance.... that is really all the performance options you have. The Relic, Jewelry, and Int Coins Modes in particular are redundant. The only difference between the three is Relic accepts 35 and above, Jewelry 40 and above, and Int Coins 45 and above. The Custom Mode actually starts out the same as the Int Coins mode, adding another layer of redundancy. I'm sure all I'd ever use are Zero and Custom. I would set custom for whatever items I want notched out, and then have the adjacent Zero mode to toggle into, since the Apex lacks a Horseshoe shortcut button to All Metal (Zero) Mode.

It’s official, they are rolling off the production line! 👍🏻