XP Deus 2 And 9in. Coil ~100 Hours Of Use Impressions

[Calmark]

In the past 7-8 weeks I've owned the Deus 2, I've been out with it a lot.  That's about to end as California is in a drought.  Summer is nearly here, and the ground is now already quite dry and becoming hard to dig in, so I won't be out much until the rains return.  I've primarily used it to search for coins and jewelry in parks and fields, but also looked for gold nuggets here in California for 7-8 hours (and unfortunately didn't find any).  I started with the January V0.6 version and switched to the V0.7 in late April.  I updated to V0.71 as soon as it was out to correct the only issue I've ever had which was with the pinpoint mode in V0.7. 

Overall, I've been very happy with the machine and its performance.  I've especially enjoyed the light weight and super ergonomics and have never felt tired from swinging this unit.  Its been a pleasure to use since the beginning and I really enjoy the various audio options.  The sounds of the pitch tones and full tones just sound so good to my ears!  Coming from the Equinox 800, I didn't find the transition to another mulitfrequency machine difficult, it was just a matter of learning the new menu system on the XP. I mostly used the stock programs and over time learned to tweak settings a bit to work best in my conditions. I think somebody new to the Deus platform would be able to use stock programs to start and get great performance right away and then gradually learn what the various settings do to further optimize.

One of the most unique and useful features of the Deus 2 for me has been is its mineralization level graph. I've known all along I hunt in very difficult soil conditions, but the Deus 2 confirmed this with hard data.  Where I hunt, the mineralization graph is generally 3/4 to full bars, so high to severely mineralized.  I've used this information to help me set my reactivity level in the different programs I've used.  The higher the mineralization, the higher I set the reactivity level.  The factory preset levels of 2.5 to 3 generally work ok in 3/4 bar soil, and I had to use reactivity 4 in one site with full bars while looking for coins.  I generally get a max of 4-5 inches of solid ID numbers on a coin in my soil and less as the mineralization bar increases to near full.  Signal clarity and strength start to really get lost past 2 inches.  One helpful setting has been audio response.  I have had good success raising this up to a "6" to hear faint deeper or smaller targets better and was glad to see signals didn't seem to become more distorted like I at first feared.  This is something for those of you in difficult soil to consider trying, despite the drawback of losing potential audio information about how deep and weak a coin signal might be.  This setting for me has been a "mini game-changer" as it allows me to hear things I'd otherwise miss.

I've been happy with the 9 inch coil on the Deus 2.  I think its a great all-around coil size. Nice depth, but still small enough to limit targets under the coil at one time.  I hunt in thick trash often and the size works well for pinpointing targets without the need to engage pinpoint mode very often. This is one of the top pluses of the Deus 2 for me.  I know where targets are located with a simple "X" sweep and this saves lots of time.  This is a big deal when the goal is to retrieve more targets in the time spent hunting.

The machine itself also separates and IDs items very well.  I can often tell where 2 targets are when right next to each other by carefully swinging around and mentally taking note of each target location based on the sounds or ID#.   The separation abilities of the Deus 2 are quite good and from what I see, XP deserves the reputation it has for making machines that excel in trash or iron-infested sites.  Non-ferrous signals really stand out on this machine.  This saves a lot of time locating things precisely and also helps find desirable targets from among the trash.  Like all machines though, you still have to put in your time digging junk to get the good stuff!

I probably won't use this machine for nugget hunting in the future since I have a Minelab GPX6000 which is much better suited for the job.  It cuts through severely mineralized soil far better, but I do intend to keep using the Deus 2 as my primary coin and jewelry hunting machine. I hope to someday take it to the beach and do some diamond ring  and other jewelry hunting, though I do live quite far from any beaches with a lot of activity.  While I don't often search specifically for relics, I also hope to use the Deus 2 in the future at some old ghost towns or mining locations and am confident its a great machine for a place like that. 

If I were to only have 1 metal detector(a crazy idea, I know!)  , I think the Deus 2 would be in the running for my only choice. It can do a lot very, very well such as hunt for jewelry and coins in parks, be used at the beach or when diving, and even if somebody wanted to take it nugget hunting.  It can do all of those things quite well, even though other machines may be better in certain areas or situations.  But, since I primarily detect natural gold nuggets, in this case I'd pick a Minelab GPX pulse-induction model.  If I could also have a vlf companion, I'd get the Deus 2.  I know newer and possibly better models to compete with the Deus 2 will be out in the next year or two, but I'd still be happy with the Deus 2 once they are out, since I think it will be very tough to beat the light weight and ergonomics of it, and it should stay very competitive in separating and ID abilities for quite a few years to come.       

   

 

[BeachHunter]

Good review Mark. Thanks!

[ColonelDan]

Great review!  👍

[F350Platinum]

Sorry about your drought. We had a short one here and it was getting hard to dig. Now the farms are all planted. 

Great and thoughtful review. I've been switching back and forth with my other detector and have to say I do find the Deus to be more accurate, I don't find targets off center, and IDs are much tighter. It's light, fast and interoperable.

I still can't say I prefer it to my other detector but it's growing on me.

I especially like your assessment that it will last as a competitor. 👍

[palzynski]

Excellent review thanks ! 

[D&P-OR]

Excellent review---thanks for posting it.

[CPT_GhostLight]

Great assements and insights on the D2. I don't have as much time on mine yet, but I'm finding similar performance but more depth so my soil may be a little milder than I thought in many places. The Deus II is definitely a very unique machine and solid performer for my needs so far and it's an absolute joy to swing all day!

[Calmark]

The Deus 2 does have a lot of positives going for it.  Even though $1600 is a lot to spend, and I'm in the minority being fortunate I can afford to buy a second multifrequency machine I don't "need", I don't regret the purchase one bit.  I've definitely had an enjoyable time outdoors with mine, despite challenging dirt and digging mountains of aluminum and other trash.  

One other thing I appreciate about XP is the frequent updates they put out.  The Deus 2 is very good all around right now with V0.71. 

In all the ways I've used the D2 so far, I do think the weakest area of the D2 is small nugget sensitivity.  A smaller coil would help a lot in this area, but I suspect XP isn't likely to offer one.  This keeps the ORX and D1 both relevant in the XP lineup as more focused gold prospecting machines.  

I look forward to future updates and hopefully some nice improvements.  With luck we may even get some new factory programs or even some other performance surprises.  Maybe if we are all good we will even get a 10x5 coil for Christmas?  

 

[F350Platinum]

28 minutes ago, Calmark said:

Maybe if we are all good we will even get a 10x5 coil for Christmas?  

 

I'm being good... 🤣

[mudwhale]

Nice read Sir! 👍