Minelab Manticore Vs Equinox 800/900 For Gold Nuggets

[Gerry in Idaho]

Thanks for chiming in Simon.  Yes, the bigger concern to me is the coil size and why not keep what we already have been making, the 6"?  After all, it proven.  On that note, I already reach out to Trevor and what's interesting??? You/I are on the same page able a really small elliptical coil.  I asked him for a 6" to 7" Ellip approx 3.5" across.  Also asked for an 18" x 3" similar to the old Big Foot.  They could call it the "Beast Foot".  That coil is tops when urban detecting schools/parks and planted hunts.  18" of ground coverage per sweep and dead accurate pinpointing at the end of the coil every time. I know of a few beach hunters in dry sand who used them all the time.

Sure the manual may say something to the effect of only needing 1 gold mode. Why take away what you already have and then charge $500 more?

Below info from Minelab Equinox 900 Manual on page 14.  Makes sense to me to have 2 after reading what each does.

Both the EQ-900/Manti operate kHz pretty close to the same in Gold Mode at 20, 40, Multi IQ for 900 and 20, 40, IQ+ for Manti.  I just wonder why no 2nd Mode?

Yes the missing 4kHz Setting is not a big deal to me, but it was big enough they decided to add it to the 900 but not on Manticore?  Sure they say the Multi IQ+ covers it even lower than 4 kHz.  Well I would hope so.  The very popular 10+ yr old technology CTX 3030 ran from 1 to 100 kHz and the senior aged 30 yr old Explorer was 1.5 to 100 kHz.  Must have to do with Marketing the 900?

Steve H. - Yes I went back and viewed that very post I started last year.  I was hoping after 2 to 3 months there would be more information and knowledge shared by now for our Gold Hunters.  So far it still seems pretty silent?

I'm starting to feel as you do Steve, the Manticore is more geared towards the masses.  That's perfectly fine with me, I was just hoping to get some official knowledge.  Simon did mention someone of authority said it should be on par.  I guess the verdict is still out.

That's what happens when I'm stuck in long winters.  Keep hoping and dreaming for the next best Gold Detector.

For now, I'll keep telling my customers what I know for Fact. the EQ-800 is proven.  The EQ-900 with the same technology and a little extra, will be proven.  The Manti for gold prospectors... we're still a little in the fog.  Here's the good side.  Hopefully by the time all backlogs are caught up, we'll start seeing results from those who are doing it.

Again,  I'm not down on the Manti at all for the masses and I have proven it's deeper for Coins and did me better on my Cancun trip for gold jewelry.  If that is all I'll see for extra performance in just those 2 categories.  I'm 100% on board and will happily sell it to customers and mention just that.

 

[Chase Goldman]

45 minutes ago, Gerry in Idaho said:

Sure the manual may say something to the effect of only needing 1 gold mode. Why take away what you already have and then charge $500 more?

Below info from Minelab Equinox 900 Manual on page 14.  Makes sense to me to have 2 after reading what each does.

Both the EQ-900/Manti operate kHz pretty close to the same in Gold Mode at 20, 40, Multi IQ for 900 and 20, 40, IQ+ for Manti.  I just wonder why no 2nd Mode?

 

 

Gerry - The reason is that the Nox Multi-IQ piece (high frequency weighting and processing under the hood) is fundamentally the same for Gold 1 and 2.  The only difference between the two is the user adjustable settings (Recovery Speed Setting) which can simply be replicated by utilizing the Custom User Profile.  If you adjust the user settings identically for Gold 1 and 2 (Disc, Threshold level, recovery, iron bias, ground tracking) you will see they are the same.  This is NOT true for Park 1 and 2, Field 1 and 2 or Beach 1 and 2.  Even with identical user settings they will behave differently on the same targets.

At one point, I recall that Nox Gold mode was going to use either 40khz single frequency and/or 40 kHz weighted Multi-IQ by default and at the last minute they chose Multi-IQ.  They probably planned for 2 modes similar to what they did for Park, Field, and Beach and then realized at the end of the day, there basically is really is only one true Nox Gold mode and Gold 2 is just an unnecessary user setting variant “filler” mode.  The probably translated that logic to M-core.  Agree that to prospective M-core users, though, it appears on the surface to be a potential shortcoming compared to the Nox.

I personally think the M-core custom user profile implementation needs an overhaul to make it more intuitive and flexible.  You should be able to set up and save multiple custom combined Disc patterns AND ferrous limit profiles (not just the ferrous limits profiles, as provided today) that can be applied to any search mode as desired by the user.  That would help make the single custom user profile more flexible because it would not be tied up (wasted) by a mode profile that simply has a different discrimination pattern.  But that’s just me.

[Steve Herschbach]

1 hour ago, Gerry in Idaho said:

Steve H. - Yes I went back and viewed that very post I started last year.  I was hoping after 2 to 3 months there would be more information and knowledge shared by now for our Gold Hunters.  So far it still seems pretty silent?

Because the serious gold hunters don’t really care about the minimal difference between the Equinox and Manticore on gold. I’ll be swinging a PI while the VLF sits in the truck and I’ve already got a couple detectors that are good at that. 

[abenson]

Well if my biggest concern was gold I wouldn't buy the Manticore the way it sits right now. Equinox is a proven platform with multiple coils available. Once the Manticore coils start to roll out, then maybe. It's hard to say right now because I haven't had a chance to get the Manticore out in gold country. But that 2D screen may have some use when hunting gold. No not telling lead from gold, it might be useful in mineralized ground telling gold from iron bits though. From my experience so far if you get a target that touches that middle line you better dig it no matter what else the trace looks like.

[GB_Amateur]

10 hours ago, Gerry in Idaho said:

I'm starting to feel... the Manticore is more geared towards the masses.

I resemble that remark!  For sure I can't answer the Eqx 900 vs. Manticore for native gold.  But here are some thoughts on your first post above:

You mentioned that for the Equinox 800/600 pre-release you (plural) were given a private demo, etc. with engineers.  If I recall, the introduction of that detector in September 2017 was at Detectival (only), at least for the public.  For the Manticore (and weaker ? cousin 900/700), you didn't get the same treatment.  Instead Minelab not only hits Detectival as in 2017 but keeps their engineer (Mark Lawrie) in Europe for 2 full weeks.

Unlike some purely end-users who have mumbled here, I don't feel shortchanged when some other part of the world gets the treatment we in the USA are accustomed to.  (And, BTW, I think we *are* getting the best prices even now.)  But I think there is more to this rollout than simply "it was Europe's and Great Britains's turn".

Let's start with the USA pricing of the Manticore:  $1600.  Hmmm, does that sound familiar?  Yep, the retail price of the XP Deus 2.  What detector (potentially) superceded the Eqx 800 for coin&relic and had a much deeper water rating than the 800?  Deus 2.  What's the biggest selling detector in continental Europe?  (Not sure, but the XP Deus 1 and Deus 2 were/are quite big.  And I think they are big in the British Isles.)  This is no longer "your father's Minelab."  This is Codan's (controlling) version of Minelab and (IMO) the bottom line is all that matters.  Figure out your biggest competition and take them on ASAP.

In terms of gold prospecting IB/VLF, I'm pretty sure the Eqx 800 still has no outside competition.  (Well, OK, the Garrett/White's 24K is right up there, but maybe hasn't hit Codan/Minelab much in the wallet....)  No rush among the Codan stockholders to improve that.  But even the much less expensive Nokta Legend (apparently not bad with nuggets, either), although not quite as powerful in some ways than the Deus 2, is directly competing with the Eqx 800/600 in terms of coin-and-relic detecting.  Squeeky wheel gets the grease.

Bottom line is the Manticore takes on Codan/Minelab's most threatening (in terms of profits) competitive model for the coin/relic/beach/shallow-water side of detecting.  That's getting most of their attention right now.  Europe and its coin&relic trashy sites is probably where they have the most to gain, market share-wise so their focus is most intense there.

[Steve Herschbach]

5 hours ago, abenson said:

Well if my biggest concern was gold I wouldn't buy the Manticore the way it sits right now. Equinox is a proven platform with multiple coils available. Once the Manticore coils start to roll out, then maybe. It's hard to say right now because I haven't had a chance to get the Manticore out in gold country. But that 2D screen may have some use when hunting gold. No not telling lead from gold, it might be useful in mineralized ground telling gold from iron bits though. From my experience so far if you get a target that touches that middle line you better dig it no matter what else the trace looks like.

Yeah if I was forced to pull the trigger today I’d get an Equinox 900 instead of a Manticore if gold nuggets were a serious concern. I know it works, and I have the coils already.

[phrunt]

Minelab are so smart, having so much confusion around which is best for what and putting that little edge on one model over another mostly by coil options and then releasing multiple new models at once so now people want them all ?

[Gerry in Idaho]

On 3/2/2023 at 11:25 AM, phrunt said:

Minelab are so smart, having so much confusion around which is best for what and putting that little edge on one model over another mostly by coil options and then releasing multiple new models at once so now people want them all ?

Yes, folks want them all, but not many are actually pulling the trigger.  My phone is not blasting off the walls...yet anyway.  I have most everything except Manti's.  We all know the issue with them.

[philber]

On 3/2/2023 at 6:06 AM, Chase Goldman said:

I also hope we don’t have to wait 3 more years for Coiltek coils for the Manticore like we had to wait for the Nox.  I don’t know if ML realizes it or not (which makes me question their overall consumer business model savvy if they don’t), but simply striking a licensing deal for the embedded coil interface electronics with Coiltek for accessory coils in manner that enables Coiltek to release accessory coils for M-core in a time frame similar to or even faster than ML’s spool up of their own M-core accessory coils could actually tilt fence sitters into purchasing an M-core without ML having to invest any additional capital.  Their track record of aloof behavior with respect to accessory coil options and availability from a customer demand perspective makes them appear to be blind to this fact.  And I’m not just talking small circular coils, but an elliptical slightly bigger than what is presently envisioned would be welcomed by non-prospecting users to fill the remaining gap between the stock and the planned ML 8x5.5.  A solid coil body or skid plate variant option would also be welcomed.

 

THIS.

Yo, Minelab.  Here's that "clue" you've been searching for; maybe you should "get it".