What Would You Be Willing To Pay For The Deus 2?

[Jeff McClendon]

1 hour ago, lemarquez said:

Thank you for sharing your thoughts on the Deus 1 and your agreement with the previous comment. I can understand your perspective on the pricing of the detector and how XP may charge a premium for their software development and implementation.

It is indeed great that companies like Minelab and Garrett are offering entry-level priced detectors with simultaneous multi-frequency technology, and Minelab's Equinox 600 seems to be a good detector at a reasonable price. However, I can also see how the limited coin modes of the ORX could be a hurdle for some users.

I agree with you that XP should address the five weaknesses you mentioned in order to justify a higher price for the Deus ll. It's good to hear that the first three issues have been addressed, and the success of the last two will depend on the quality of the simultaneous multi-frequency technology developed for the Deus ll. 

I agree that if XP can successfully address these weaknesses, they have the right to charge a higher price for the Deus ll, and many current Deus l owners and potential customers may be willing to buy one, especially if there are more affordable options available. Thank you for your insightful comment!

XP absolutely successfully addressed the five weaknesses I mentioned. It still has a few oddities like I wish they had changed the charging system more and I wish it didn't require an external antenna wire for submerged use. It also has some documented software issues that hopefully will all be addressed in the next software update.

Otherwise, the $1100 US I paid for mine which was a brick and mortar demo unit has been totally worth and it has almost paid for itself in finds. It is still just as good as it previously was if not slightly better in older site man-made iron trash and for ergonomics. Now however, it is SO much better for saltwater beaches and SO much better for modern North American aluminum and steel trashed areas. IDs accuracy is near the top of the list now instead of near the bottom in the dirt I hunt in. If XP improves gold prospecting performance it will be my new favorite detector for total versatility in almost any ground and water conditions.

[phrunt]

It also has the arm cuff stand that doesn't reach the ground like the Deus 1 doesn't it? That's gotta be one of the biggest screw ups of a detectors design I've seen as it's so obviously a problem.

[Jeff McClendon]

Just now, phrunt said:

It also has the arm cuff stand that doesn't reach the ground like the Deus 1 doesn't it? That's gotta be one of the biggest screw ups of a detectors design I've seen as it's so obviously a problem.

If they just added about an inch to the feet on the arm cuff the problem would be solved using the 9" and 11" coils.

I bought two of the 3D printed add-ons. Both broke within 10 hours of use. 

I made one from scratch out of PVC pipe (it doesn't look like Ridge Runner's...sorry Chuck) and it has held up fine for six months, no problem. Looks a bit gnarly but I don't really care.

[phrunt]

9 hours ago, Jeff McClendon said:

If they just added about an inch to the feet on the arm cuff the problem would be solved using the 9" and 11" coils.

I bought two of the 3D printed add-ons. Both broke within 10 hours of use. 

I made one from scratch out of PVC pipe (it doesn't look like Ridge Runner's...sorry Chuck) and it has held up fine for six months, no problem. Looks a bit gnarly but I don't really care.

I need to get around to doing that for my Deus as the thing is a pain so I just lay it on it's side, I want to give it a fair chance as a prospecting machine, I don't like it as a coin machine in my conditions, that I'm confident of.  I wouldn't mind trying a Deus 2 out, but I just can't justify buying another detector as lately I'm more disappointed than I am impressed.  The Equinox and GPZ were the last times I was truly very impressed by a detector.   I hope to try a Deus 2 rather than buy a Deus 2 🙂 I hope to stumble into someone with one at some point, however unlikely that is around here.  Oddly even in the NZ Facebook groups the Deus 2 hasn't taken off, a couple of guys bought one but you don't hear much out of them as to how they're doing with it, one a beach hunter seems to be pretty happy with it.  

If it was cheaper I'd jump on it, but the pricing of these machines is getting ever so hard to justify when detectors from Turkey are so cheap for such good detectors.

 

[Digalicious]

8 hours ago, phrunt said:

  

If it was cheaper I'd jump on it, but the pricing of these machines is getting ever so hard to justify 

 

I'm 53 now, and in my younger years, my income was significantly higher than average. My main hobbies were metal detecting, Astronomy (not astrology!!!), computers, and generally anything electronic. The amount of money I wasted on buying the latest and greatest of those things, still makes me cringe to this day. In around my mid 30's my income increased even further, but thankfully, some wisdom increased as well. Since then, I came to the conclusion that best value for my money in any product was in the "mid price" range. The cheapest products may or may not work well, but regardless, they often didn't last long either. The most expensive products may work slightly better than the mid priced products, but it typically in no way justified such an enormous price increase, nor did it guarantee product quality.

In specific regard to metal detectors. Well, my current favorites given my desire for "value for my money", are the Vanquish line, and the Legend. In regards to the OPs question, I might buy a D2 if it was priced similar to the Legend, but then again, I probably wouldn't because there are a few things about the D2 that really annoy me, along with the ludicrous cost of their coils. The only way I would spend money on another detector, is if it's a true imaging detector, or it can differentiate between aluminum and gold (which can't be done with an induction balance detector).

17 hours ago, Jeff McClendon said:

If they just added about an inch to the feet on the arm cuff the problem would be solved using the 9" and 11" coils.

I bought two of the 3D printed add-ons. Both broke within 10 hours of use. 

I made one from scratch out of PVC pipe (it doesn't look like Ridge Runner's...sorry Chuck) and it has held up fine for six months, no problem. Looks a bit gnarly but I don't really care.

 

I don't think that looks gnarly at all.

[Chase Goldman]

Gentle moderator reminder this is the XP Deus II Forum.  This ancient thread (started before D2 was even released) is finally starting to veer off topic with discussions of other brands and increasing brand bashing.  If you want to do that, you are welcome to do so in the Detector Advice and Comparisons Forum.  Not trying to suppress pros and cons discussions and honest critiques, but with terminology like “ludicrous” and “biggest screw ups”, being thrown around by folks who don’t appear to own the detector in question, it’s getting a little over the top and a tad annoying (even if there are elements of truth behind those comments )
 

And yes, I know I’m a biased mod in this instance, but also equal opportunity.  Steve and I have made similar comments in other brand forums. 

[Rattlehead]

I’m of a slightly different mindset. I love this hobby and spend waaay too much of my free time detecting (according to my wife), so if a new detector comes out that possibly offers some features I want, or even a very slight edge in performance, I’ll buy it and at least give it a try. If I end up not liking it as much as I’d hoped, I just sell it and cut my loses. I don’t mind paying the higher price as long as it’s within my budget. You only live once.

IMHO, it’s not much different than getting a new phone, computer or car. The ones we already have likely work just fine, but these are things we use all the time, so if you really want a new one and you can afford it, why not?

As for the Deus 2, that was a no-brainer for me. The Deus was already the lightest, most ergonomic (IMHO) detector on the market. Make it SMF with a good ID? Yep, I’m in!

[Digalicious]

1 hour ago, Chase Goldman said:

Gentle moderator reminder this is the XP Deus II Forum.  This ancient thread (started before D2 was even released) is finally starting to veer off topic with discussions of other brands and increasing brand bashing.  If you want to do that, you are welcome to do so in the Detector Advice and Comparisons Forum.  Not trying to suppress pros and cons discussions and honest critiques, but with terminology like “ludicrous” and “biggest screw ups”, being thrown around by folks who don’t appear to own the detector in question, it’s getting a little over the top and a tad annoying (even if there are elements of truth behind those comments )
 

And yes, I know I’m a biased mod in this instance, but also equal opportunity.  Steve and I have made similar comments in other brand forums. 

The OP's question was titled "What are you willing to pay for a D2". Does it not logically follow that the replies to such would include not just the reasoning behind what one would pay for a D2, but preferably give examples of that reasoning? As such, if those reasons include what they don't like about the D2, that's not bashing.

With that said, I think it's completely accurate for me to label the price of the D2's coils as "ludicrous", and for Phrunt to call the D2's stand a "screw up". If I was being even more blunt, I would label both as a "WTF??" 😁

[Jeff McClendon]

The Deus, ORX and Deus 2 armrest originally was on the XP Advantage (I think). Why XP hasn’t simply changed that 18 year old mold is a mystery. 
 

The XP Deus, ORX and Deus 2 coils are coil and detector all in one package. There is a lot of stuff in those coils that is not in “normal” coils. 

[Digalicious]

16 minutes ago, Jeff McClendon said:

 

The XP Deus, ORX and Deus 2 coils are coil and detector all in one package. There is a lot of stuff in those coils that is not in “normal” coils. 

Agreed, but that's only true to a point. There is also a huge aspect of, "They paid a lot of money for this detector, so they'll pay pretty much any price we set for the coils".

A good example of that, is another metal detecting company that I won't mention, charging significantly different prices for the same coils, based on the purchase price of the detector.