Is The Axiom Our New King???????

[Steve Herschbach]

I agree - Norvic's words are gold. 

I have to admit though I cringe when people want to decide what detector is "best' or crown one as king. Which is genuinely the best? A GPZ 7000 or a GPX 6000? It honestly just depends on the circumstances. What is best, hammer or a screwdriver? Reality is we have different tools for different things, and you can buy similar tools at different prices that can get the job done just as well. When I look at all these detectors, I just see tools for different tasks and budgets, and I think the Axiom is just another tool. It will be the right tool for some, and no doubt others will stick with other tools they already have and prefer.

The whole idea of anyone deciding what is best also brings with it the idea that what the other person owns is not the best. Some take their detectors personally. You may as well insult their wife as insult their detector. It gets nuts sometimes. Honestly truly 100% nuts. We all have different needs and budgets, and as an industry hound for most of my life, the most important thing to me has been to foster options and alternatives wherever they may be.

I am happy that we have another option now in the form of the Axiom, but I am no more a Garrett fan than I am a Minelab fan. Next up I'd love to see options from Nokta and Fisher. Will they be best? Will they be the new king? I don't know about that. I simply put my faith in competition being a good thing, one that both keeps companies honest, but also helps make each company be better. We do not need a one company monopoly in anything, and that is what matters most to me about Axiom. The fact we have another choice, and that Garrett has not given up on offering those choices, like them or not.

This is how it works in retail, the place I made my living, selling metal detectors for decades. It's about about value, and perception of value. This is what we have now in the U.S. -

Minelab GPZ 7000 $8499

Minelab GPX 6000 $5999

Minelab GPX 5000 $3999

Garrett Axiom $3995

Minelab SDC 2300 $3399

Garrett ATX $2379

Now, on this forum one gets the impression that price does not matter, because we are all made of money. Just figure out what is the best, and buy it. Simple, right? I can assure you at the retail counter it is just the opposite. Price Matters A Lot! People are not made of money, and many of these detectors are simply out of reach for many people. And to those who say is not worth owning anything other than a GPX 6000 or GPZ 7000, I ask why is it then that Minelab insults us all by selling the GPX 5000 and SDC 2300? Are these detectors no good? Should they be pulled from the market?

In retail and as a manufacturer you have to service different budgets and price points. And guess what sells the most? I promise you it is not the highest priced models except in the rarest of cases. I used to sell about 500 VLF detectors a year, and it was not the $2500 models running out the door, but the $700 - $800 models. People are looking for value, and value is often perceived as being more in the mid range.

So you walk in the door of a dealer today and we are going to talk about what you want, and what you can afford. My very first question to people often was "how much are you looking to spend today?" If the answer was $3000 then you can bet I'd not be jumping right in to sell them a GPZ 7000. If they say $4000, I am going to start talking about the GPX 5000 and the Axiom. I might also talk about the GPX 6000, but at $2000 more that's a real leap. So GPX 5000 or Axiom, what's it going to be? Can I have your credit card? Thanks, have a nice day.

That is how it works. That is reality. Not some forum elite deciding what is best, and every detector buyer in the world simply falling in line with what we think. The price and value structure plays out differently in Australia and Africa, but the game remains the same. Looking at reality, I'd say Garret has a decent chance of doing pretty well in the U.S., especially because the Axiom also hits the relic and beach segments, and the U.S. is the number one market for those types of detectors. Due to the heavy headwinds of current exchange rates and import duties, the Axiom will have a much harder go in Australia, though I was surprised to find out how many Garrett fans there were there on my visit. It's not 100% Minelab country like I thought. And Africa? Who the heck knows? Not me.

You ask me which I'd get, an Axiom or a GPX 5000, it's no brainer for me. I think the 5000 still has an edge in large coils and how it handles them via the harness and bungee system. The Axiom is not set up for super large coils, so if I was looking to find 6 ounce nuggets at depth I might think about the 5000. But otherwise, no. Just no. The Axiom is just so much better in so many ways.

Axiom vs 6000? I think the 6000 has the edge, but it's a small one. There are a ton of factors that play into this one, hot rock prevalence, ferrous trash quantity, etc. Yet in a straight up head to head match under most conditions I'd not bet against the 6000. I'm telling you right now it's a close thing, but if I had a gun to my head and a million dollar price to be won by how many nuggets I'm going to find this week, I'd still be inclined to grab the 6000. If you also ask me if a GPX 6000 is worth a $2000 premium over the Axiom, I with all honestly simply don't know the answer to that because it depends on the person and the budget. For people to whom $2000 means nothing, well sure. But for a lot of people, that's a ton of money, a deal breaker. If you want to have an interesting intelligent debate in the U.S. it will be about how much better than an Axiom is a GPX 6000 really, and is that difference worth $2000? The answer will be.... wait for it.... yes for some, and no for others.

And 7000? Well, that's just a whole different deal. I ditched my 7000 for the 6000 and never regretted it. I still think the 6000 does better on the bulk of the gold available in most places. But for the serious hard core prospectors seeking sheer weight in gold, I would still tell them to get a GPZ 7000. If you are trying to pay the bills, it's depth on 1/2 gram plus that normally matters, not what does best on 1/4 gram nuggets, and the 7000 is king of the hill for seeking large nuggets at depth. Though honestly there are plenty of GP Extreme - GPX 5000 owners running large coils that will dispute even that!

[brogansown]

Steve is pretty much spot on.  As our nugget hunting grounds are depleted or shrinking by ownership changes we are forced to buy an expensive detector just to stay in the game.  Unlike parks, yards and beaches, our gold hunting grounds are not being replenished.  I'm pleased with the GPX 6000, aided by a Gold Bug 2 and hope for a few more years of "just getting out into the hills."

[Norvic]

Many Thanks Steve and GC, if you ask my grandson what`s King he`ll tell you the 6K, can you see a 11year old newbie swinging anything but a VLF, 6K or Axiom for 6 hours, 3 days in a row and enjoy it. If I could only afford one PI detector it`d be a toss up between the 6K and the Axiom, the 6K simple light easy to use, GeoSense auto that bangs on subgrammers at depth, the Axiom lighter, more complicated with multiple control settings to play with, a screen that shows the current GB settings with lightning fast couple of short pumps manual GBing and sensitivity control that goes to an insane max for us that like Steves Insane Settings or a very capable min for newbies with a rock solid adjustable threshold.

Brogansown, that is this old codgers aim also, a few more years of "getting out into the hills". Life is good.

[Steve Herschbach]

1 hour ago, Norvic said:

sensitivity control that goes to an insane max for us that like Steves Insane Settings or a very capable min for newbies with a rock solid adjustable threshold.

Yeah, people have me to blame if they don't like things pushed beyond the limits. I have to admit that running the Axiom quiet has been looking more appealing to me over time, as running hot and noisy is very tiring, and I'm not sure it's worth it for more than a limited time. A case can be made that good targets get lost in the noise, or missed due to fatigue, and it's a pretty good case for sure. But when I'm on a small area where I've just pulled 20 bits, having the ability to really jack it up is very welcome.

[Norvic]

3 minutes ago, Steve Herschbach said:

Yeah, people have me to blame if they don't like things pushed beyond the limits. I have to admit that running the Axiom quiet has been looking more appealing to me over time, as running hot and noisy is very tiring, and I'm not sure it's worth it for more than a limited time. A case can be made that good targets get lost in the noise, or missed due to fatigue, and it's a pretty good case for sure. But when I'm on a small area where I've just pulled 20 bits, having the ability to really jack it up is very welcome.

Having the option to go with insane settings or dialing right back for a quiet no drama time is the go. I do imagine that there will be times Garrett wish they didn`t give the consumer that option but I wish to thank Garrett for that option. Thus I suspect the knockers can blame many more than just you Steve, as long as we don`t grow fat and lazy on the popcorn.🤪

[Gerry in Idaho]

On 12/15/2022 at 7:09 PM, Norvic said:

Wow, the Axioms no underperforming slouch, it`s a performer right up there and not just at the heels of the 6K, in time I suspect those settings, the manual GB option, speed options,  no coil chip etc will make it this old codgers King, now to work it hard and get over that Placebo effect. I`m excited............😁

I have not been on DP in a while as I was out of country testing another new detector. I return and now trying to get caught up with detector sales for Christmas.  A little bird left me a message to check DP and I was impressed, happy and feel relieved all at the same time.

I get branded "he's a dealer and of course he is going to talk it up", by so many people.  Those who know me and my staff best also understand and I have said a 1000X, I'm a happy go lucky, don't give a shit what brand or model detector I am using, kind of guy.  But, I do want to be most certain when I am in the field, that I'm using what I consider the best detector (tool) for the task. 

To see you "Norvic", a well known and educated Aussie Prospector step out of your comfort zone and try something different and at the same time agree with what Steve H and I have been sharing and talking all year on PI's and the capabilities of the Garrett Axiom, is so refreshing.  Buddy, you don't know how relieving it is to hear your comments.  That title you made is not salesmanship at all and I appauld you 100%.  Sure there is debate and I'm not saying the Axiom is KING, but that dadgum detector is a true performer, true high end PI option and at a great value.  What we've said all along, it also has features and capabilities my GPX-6000 or the GPZ-7000 does not.  In no way has any of us said it beats any of the others, but the facts are that will hold it's own and at the price point we get it in the USA, shows that Garrett has arrived.

Glad to see others starting to post their expereinces and thoughts on another high end option for us crazy gold hunters.

Thank you Norvic for making my day and Steve H for pushing the Hyper Mode.  Options are what we like.

[Norvic]

59 minutes ago, Gerry in Idaho said:

Thank you Norvic for making my day and Steve H for pushing the Hyper Mode.  Options are what we like.

Ah no no the thanks is to Steve and you Gerry and of course Garrett for listening to you folks, I like that Hyper Mode big time although have only gone to 10 briefly on a number of occasions, just to push, much more comfy using on 4 until I`ve got me wings. Heh I`ve put not a lot of hours behind it as yet but it`s challenging my 6Ks King title and because I`m not running DP as Steve is or a detector dealer as you are, it is easy for me to dub a detector a King when I believe it is so. In time DP will hear from a lot more of us downunderites as I`m sure the Axiom will prove itself not just in its homeland but in MLs.

[Gold Ryder]

Keep using them. Ill come along behind with my 6000 and clean up.🤣🤣

[Steve Herschbach]

1 hour ago, Gold Ryder said:

Keep using them. Ill come along behind with my 6000 and clean up.🤣🤣

No doubt your superior detector and skills put everyone to shame.

[Norvic]

Ah ha Gold Ryder you know something about the Axioms ability? Fill us in mate so we all know the go.