Minelab Equinox 900 Or XP Deus 2 Which Better?

[Zaj56]

On 6/28/2023 at 7:49 PM, bigtim1973 said:

I think I am gonna head back to xp units. Too much chatter from emi on the eq900.

I am with you on that...the 900 chatter is starting to annoy me.  Hoping(like many others) that a software update will stabilize it,

[bigtim1973]

45 minutes ago, Zaj56 said:

I am with you on that...the 900 chatter is starting to annoy me.  Hoping(like many others) that a software update will stabilize it,

Well I am not hanging on long enough to find out. I already made a move. I liked it up until I detected in small city neighborhood. It just went bonkers on me. I am done with it.

[Nikko]

@Steve Herschbach have you heard/seen yet how the XP Deus II with the HF2 coil performs on small gold?

[Steve Herschbach]

3 hours ago, Nikko said:

@Steve Herschbach have you heard/seen yet how the XP Deus II with the HF2 coil performs on small gold?

No since it was just released but came too late for me. I had two Deus 2 and am not getting a third to find out so will leave that to somebody else. If my buddy gets one we will probably sort it out to our own satisfaction sooner or later.

[mntnflyr4fun]

seems like if you want to hunt rivers etc. that pretty much lets the deus out the door?? who wants to mess with antenna stuff on a " wireless " detector?

[Chase Goldman]

2 hours ago, mntnflyr4fun said:

seems like if you want to hunt rivers etc. that pretty much lets the deus out the door?? who wants to mess with antenna stuff on a " wireless " detector?

Just commenting regarding the "Who wants to mess with antenna stuff" statement...

The antenna claptrap is definitely not ideal, but the D2 is a fairly popular water detector nevertheless.  I think part of the reason that many folks have been willing to put up with the antenna nuisance is because of the Nox 800's legacy of numerous reports of water intrusion (and to a much, much less extent (but still not zero) reports of 900/ Manticore leaks), so Minelab's reputation and buyer confidence in this regard has taken a bit of a hit. The Deus 2 is fully dive rated to 20 meters vice 5 meters for Minelab's latest models and so is inherently less susceptible.  Still, the Manticore, Nox, and Xterra detectors are also very popular water detectors, as well, because of their performance and, yes, no antenna baggage.  Manticore/Nox still holds an edge over D2 on micro gold sensitivity and a suitable coil form factor with the M8 coil. And as Steve noted above, the jury's out on whether the new XP HF2 coil will close that gap.

[Jeff McClendon]

18 hours ago, mntnflyr4fun said:

seems like if you want to hunt rivers etc. that pretty much lets the deus out the door?? who wants to mess with antenna stuff on a " wireless " detector?

At least the new Deus 2 HF2 coil is also rated at 20 meters depth in water. Judging by the success of other Deus 2 components that have been rated at 20 meters, we can take that rating as real for the HF2.

I know from experience that the hardwire antenna system of XP wireless detectors is a pain especially in fast moving freshwater with lots of rock and plant obstacles mixed in but if the new HF2 and its incredible frequency choices cures the sensitivity to really small sub 0.5 gram targets, I will be trying it out submerged for sure.

I know this is an old thread, but Nikko asked a good question.

[Steve Herschbach]

Well my buddy ordered one. I’m not too worried about its gold finding capability. It’s more about addressing two issues I have with Manticore. The biggest problem is hot rocks banging hard in the 17-25 range while in Gold Mode which so far I have only been able to address by using various notching schemes or using less preferred alternative modes. Secondary is that on small gold reading 01 is the total unreliability of the screen response. The nuggets will read centerline, where they should, but also hard upper left corner, hard lower left corner, or smear top to bottom. In other words dig all 01 readings regardless of what the screen says. That’s honestly kind of expected for tiny gold in bad ground. The hot rock thing is front and center for me as requiring too much screen watching/target analyzing on what could in theory be multi gram nuggets but are almost always hot rock responses. Equinox had a similar issue and with Manticore being hotter it’s only gotten worse. The biggest question will be that if the Deus 2 does handle that zone better, at what cost? There is no free lunch in metal detecting.