Garrett Axiom Vs Minelab SDC 2300

[Gold Catcher]

On 6/22/2023 at 7:47 PM, oneguy said:

This SP01....????  Know nothing about this gizmo, does it just enhance volume or does it actually increase sensitivity and hopefully more depth?  Outside of the ergonomics issues with the SDC the only thing "I" would like to see is a tad more depth with the SDC....

It's the SteelPhase SP01 audio enhancer build by Nenad in Au (Phasetechnical). Essentially, a filter and booster that enhances the target signal. You can find a lot of reviews and discussions about it here on older DP threads. It works especially well with the SDC, but I use it with the GPZ as well.

GC

 

[Steve Herschbach]

On 6/22/2023 at 7:09 PM, Aureous said:

Ive seen vids where other Axiom owners turn the coil USD to get a better response (Steve) but I see that as a minor detraction....annoying but tolerable.

That was using the signal centered 11” Focused Core DD, not the mono. I’m not flipping the coil for my health.

2300 is a great detector and anyone that has one and is happy with it has no need to trade it for the Axiom.

[Steve Herschbach]

On 6/20/2023 at 3:04 PM, Gold Catcher said:

Good performance of the Axiom. A few things though. First of all, he did not ground balance the sdc before going over the target. This can make a big difference, but perhaps it was already done before and we did not see it. Second, the 8 round stock is more sensitive than the Coiltek aftermarket coil. Third, no settings for the sdc were disclosed (was it really 4 or 5)? Third, coil moved to fast. Small targets can only be captured with very slow swing speed, the sdc misses often when this is done too fast. Fourth: the sdc should really be used with headset. Ok to use the built in speaker for filming, but this impacts performance as well. Also, for best performance the sdc should be used with the SP01. Assuming all settings are adjustes properly, the SP01 gets about 20-30% more performance out of the sdc. So, impressive performance of the Axiom without a doubt, but I venture to say that with all the above points met the experienced sdc operator should have had no problem hearing it at that depth. Even though the gold consistancy of the specimen might be somewhat challenging, the MPF timings should have still picked it up. But of course with all this said, there are always these odd examples where one nugget is heard by one detector and not the other, even when ideal settings are used. 

Just my 2 c

GC

Is it impossible for people to think the SDC timings have a hole? Denial is a river in Egypt.  No detector is perfect. The Axiom for sure, but that goes for the SDC also. But I’ll repeat for the “nothing can ever do anything better than anything made by Minelab” crowd - the 2300 is a great detector and anyone that has one and is happy with it has absolutely no need to trade it for the Axiom.

[afaitken]

So I've been using my Axiom for a few months now. The ergonomics and construction are A A A+++ and the weight, particularly with the 7x11 coil is amazing. Lighter than my wife's GPX6000. That alone was the reason I purchased it over my GPZ7000 which I sold to buy the Axiom. Having extensively used the Gold Bug, Equinox 600, SDC2300, GPX5000, GPX6000 and GPZ7000 with all of the optional coils available, yes, I was a coil junkie! I can tell you that the Axiom does indeed fall short in many ways of performance compared to the Minelab range. This is partially to do with the coil, partially the software/settings available and partially to do with my one eyed Minelab preference. It really does not excell in any one particular area, but averages out over the full range of operating parameters. The unfortunate thing with the Minelab's were that they were NEVER packaged as good as what their price tags led you to believe. Coil options evolved out of necessity, especially with the incredibly sensitive x-coils. Nothing is perfect though - after a while, I was finding the x-coils less than robust, appearing with cracks and wearing through skid plates at astonishing rates then not being able to get replacements. The x-coils though, found me A LOT OF GOLD. So where am I going with this? Um...the Axiom is the closest thing to a near perfect detector that I have ever used, if only it had a bit more ground punching power. Due to my neck/back/tendon injuries - this is the only detector I have been able to swing with out pain, so I love it because it keeps me in the game, but until the thing performs a "little better", stick to the sub par ergonomics and support of a Minelab.

[Steve Herschbach]

17 hours ago, afaitken said:

So I've been using my Axiom for a few months now. The ergonomics and construction are A A A+++ and the weight, particularly with the 7x11 coil is amazing. Lighter than my wife's GPX6000. That alone was the reason I purchased it over my GPZ7000 which I sold to buy the Axiom. Having extensively used the Gold Bug, Equinox 600, SDC2300, GPX5000, GPX6000 and GPZ7000 with all of the optional coils available, yes, I was a coil junkie! I can tell you that the Axiom does indeed fall short in many ways of performance compared to the Minelab range. This is partially to do with the coil, partially the software/settings available and partially to do with my one eyed Minelab preference. It really does not excell in any one particular area, but averages out over the full range of operating parameters. The unfortunate thing with the Minelab's were that they were NEVER packaged as good as what their price tags led you to believe. Coil options evolved out of necessity, especially with the incredibly sensitive x-coils. Nothing is perfect though - after a while, I was finding the x-coils less than robust, appearing with cracks and wearing through skid plates at astonishing rates then not being able to get replacements. The x-coils though, found me A LOT OF GOLD. So where am I going with this? Um...the Axiom is the closest thing to a near perfect detector that I have ever used, if only it had a bit more ground punching power. Due to my neck/back/tendon injuries - this is the only detector I have been able to swing with out pain, so I love it because it keeps me in the game, but until the thing performs a "little better", stick to the sub par ergonomics and support of a Minelab.

I'd say that's about a near perfect summary and I agree. The 6000 and 7000 have that little bit extra. I'm no doubt giving up a little insisting on using the Axiom but I'm fine being the oddball guy not using a Minelab. People complain endlessly about Minelab and yet reward them for doing what they do with dollars out of pocket. I'm over that personally, but fully understand in a world where as Minelab says "Performance Matters" why most people will still choose Minelab. Maybe if chasing gold was still as important to me as it was ten years ago I'd do differently myself. But I don't see myself dropping serious money into any new nugget detector at this point so I'll just keep plugging away with my Axiom.

There is hope still that new coils will help the Axiom close the gap at least a little. But if Garrett's goal was to unseat Minelab they came up short. It was bad timing really. If the Axiom had appeared a year before the GPX 6000 instead of a year after, it would have made all the difference in the world. As it turned out though, the GPX 6000 stole what would have been Garrett's thunder. Imagine a world where there was no GPX 6000, just a 7 pound GPZ 7000 at $8000. Then Garrett shows up with a 4 pound Axiom at $4000. Half the weight, half the price. It would have been a whole different ballgame. But Garrett simply took too long and Minelab headed them off at the pass with the GPX 6000, largely eliminating the need for a machine like the Axiom. Timing is everything and Garrett missed the window of opportunity.

[Jeff McClendon]

I recently purchased a slightly used Garrett Axiom.

I have owned the Minelab SDC 2300 (two of them), Minelab GPX 5000 and the Minelab GPX 6000. I liked some things about the SDC 2300 but the ergonomics were not okay for me. I really liked the Minelab GPX 5000 but again, the ergonomics were not okay for me. I like the GPX 6000 even more. Ergonomics are great. Super sensitive PI detector. Build quality however is another story. So is the fact that there are what, 9 search coils for the GPX 6000, 2 of the timings on the 6000 are for Mono coils (Normal and Difficult) and 4 of the timings are for DD coils (Normal EMI, Difficult EMI, Normal Salt and Difficult Salt) but only one of the nine available search coils is a DD coil and it is a ridiculous 14" coil!

I have only spent a few hours with the Garrett Axiom. It hasn't taken long to realize what a well built, ergonomically pleasant and excellent operating detector the Axiom is compared to the others mentioned and it has six currently available coils, 3 Mono coils and 3 DD coils.

I will be posting some rudimentary testing soon between the GPX 6000, Axiom and TDI 14.4v detectors on sub gram targets.

Aside from that, you couldn't pay me any amount of money to swing an SDC 2300 if I had a chance to swing an Axiom instead.