New Minelab Blues

[Tony]

30 minutes ago, phrunt said:

Even better a Nox Mode where you can switch to the Nox number of ID's if you want to.  Can't be that hard in software to have a setting to select the number of ID's, they've already got a majority of the code.

Microsoft do stuff like that all the time in their software, people aren't happy with a change so you can go to "classic" or legacy mode 🙂

Maybe a “Sovereign” mode 😎

[phrunt]

The Ultimate detector, pick you're favourite Minelab detector and it emulates it, CTX 3030 mode, Nox mode, Sovereign mode, Gold Monster mode etc, How cool would that be, with the Manticore screen they could display anything to do it 🙂

[Daniel Tn]

I've had two Manticores.  The first one I sold while they were still hard to get, and easy to sell.  I used the $ to go on a week long vacation trout fishing in Arkansas.  I have since bought another one that I was going to keep but I've about decided to let it go as well.  I've sold all my other detectors except for the T2 and am trying to put together enough to get an Axiom. I'd like to have a waterproof vlf detector for the beach but have no idea what I want for that.  I've almost considered just getting a CTX for that.  That's probably my favorite beach machine. But...the D2 really did a great job on my freshwater sites so there's that to ponder on too.

[Valens Legacy]

I am so happy that I never thought about getting rid of my grandfathers 800 for something newer as it seems that the newer detectors have so many issues.

I will keep what I have, learn it well and keep on using it until it dies of a heart attack. One of these days I might get another unit but for now and the near future I will just keep what I have.

[Chesroy]

13 hours ago, phrunt said:

The Manticore was certainly a 1 step forward 3 steps back detector, I'm so glad I didn't burn my money on a Nox 900 too, I was very tempted as I love my 800 but the things I love about my 800 the 900 has lost, most importantly target ID stability.  I am rather annoyed that Minelab still market the Manticore as having more stable ID than the Nox 800 as that is the primary reason I bought it and had I have known what I know now I wouldn't have bought it and would have likely just bought a Deus 2 instead and had my more stable ID's.

My last few Minelab purchases have been disappointment's and in my currency I've spent over 10 grand on these last 3 purchases, enough to buy a decent used car.  The first of the 3 was the Pro-Find 35, bitter disappointment, followed by the faulty and buggy GPX 6000, and last but certainly not least the Manticore. 

I haven't given up on the Manticore as I paid so much to get it, in fact I'm trying my best to like it but if I could get a refund on it I would and I'd stick to my CTX and 800.

I don't know who gets these detectors across the line but it appears the finish line is a few miles in the distance yet they release them anyway to get the sales money coming in, a bit like the Legend.

The Pro-Find, 6000 and Manticore, along with by the looks of it the 700 and 900 were not ready for release when they were released.

I'd normally be in a rush to buy the new Minelab pinpointer, but not this time, my experience of the 35 has been terrible, I felt like just throwing it away, no point getting it replaced as the new one is no better, been there done that.

My 6000's been back twice for repairs and one of them took a lot of rallying for Minelab to even acknowledged the fault.

My Manticore appears to have good quality, but certainly doesn't meet what marketing are saying about it.

Does marketing meet expectations?

Simon tongue in cheek 😊 your enthusiasm for the Manticore is dwindling each time you post lol, Sell it cut your loses and go back to the machines that you love to use. I have no regrets selling mine, we can always purchase again if updates improve things to our liking. it's not much fun detecting with a machine that continues to disappoint. 

[George1971]

Simultaneous multi frequency technology is the top for now, but I think we have a long way to go.  When the metal detectors reach the point of telling us exactly what is under the soil, e.g. gold ring, aluminum, silver coin, can, etc. then I think we will be talking about the ultimate technology. I hope we live to see it but you never know.

[longbow62]

You guys are blowing my mind on I.D. stability issues. In mild to moderate dirt I see absolutely no wild swings on the I.D. of targets. Every deep silver I dig I pretty know it's silver. Silver dimes in my dirt are always 80 to 84 tops. You just don't see like ever see a 78 or below if it's a silver dime. (If targets are silver deep reading in the upper 70's I dig them. I've been burnt to many times on worn silver not to dig those. Quarters 99% of the time start at 88. If they are silver they can go as high as 92. I've dug 2 silver half dollars with the Manticore. I knew they were half dollars. I.D. 94ish. Sure the I.D. can fluctuate slightly, but I've never been left wondering what I was digging due to I.D. fluctuations. In my dirt wild fluctuations mean some kind of trash target usually. Honestly I guess I'm a Cherry Picker. I don't like digging trash. I'm having my best year ever sliver wise swinging the Manticore.

I'm perfectly happy with the Manticore. I wouldn't trade it for anything currently being made. I've had multiple silver hunts from places where silver had not been found in a while. As in for all practical purposes about hunted out. I've done this enough that I've been kind of flabbergasted how the silver was still there when so many high end detectors had been over it.

I don't think the Manticore is a ground breaking detector. I think it's definitely a step up from the 800 & 900. I think Multi-IQ+ is better than Equinox Multi-IQ on the turf. I don't have access to lots of relic sites, so I can't seriously comment on that. For the sites I hunt it's perfect. 

[Jeff McClendon]

4 hours ago, Chesroy said:

It's not much fun detecting with a machine that continues to disappoint. 

That statement for me is very important. I am very willing to pay good money for a detector that is fun to use as long as it also detects well. That way I don't have to constantly be wondering about my abilities to use it and its abilities to tell me a lot of clear and factual information about what it is detecting. Some detectors have clicked with me immediately even though I needed a bit of time to navigate their user interface and to learn the basics. Getting acquainted with the Equinox 600/800 was a good example. It took a bit of time but I wasn't struggling or wishing I had never purchased it. Knowing the Equinox 600/800 really well made the Legend an immediate success. The same goes for Deus 2. Having lots of time on Deus 1, ORX and the Equinox made moving to Deus 2 fairly simple. I really enjoy using these detectors and they make going for a walk with them very rewarding both for my physical and mental well being and for what they find. They aren't by any means perfect but I trust them. 

I wish I could say the same for the Equinox 900. All I can say is that in the soil conditions around here which is where I hunt about 80% of the time, the Equinox 900 was just a hot mess, five alarm fire. It did very well at areas that were not so iron mineralized.

[Rattlehead]

The Manticore actually performed very well for me, even though ATHC was definitely on the sparky side when hunting in iron. I always switched to ATLC in those areas which seemed to quieten it down considerably. My biggest issue with the Manticore was that even after putting a lot of hours on it, I just didn't jive with the audio. It just didn't speak to me in the same way as the D2. It was like you said... I'd be out hunting with the Manticore thinking that I'd be even more confident if I were using the lighter, more ergonomic D2 that was sitting at home in my bedroom. So, one day my hunting buddy offered to buy the Manticore and I said sure, why not. I've always been a huge fan of Minelab detectors and I still am, but the D2 has been outstanding for the type of hunting I do, so its really hard to pull away from it.

[Jeff McClendon]

20 minutes ago, longbow62 said:

You guys are blowing my mind on I.D. stability issues. In mild to moderate dirt I see absolutely no wild swings on the I.D. of targets. Every deep silver I dig I pretty know it's silver. Silver dimes in my dirt are always 80 to 84 tops. You just don't see like ever see a 78 or below if it's a silver dime. (If targets are silver deep reading in the upper 70's I dig them. I've been burnt to many times on worn silver not to dig those. Quarters 99% of the time start at 88. If they are silver they can go as high as 92. I've dug 2 silver half dollars with the Manticore. I knew they were half dollars. I.D. 94ish. Sure the I.D. can fluctuate slightly, but I've never been left wondering what I was digging due to I.D. fluctuations. In my dirt wild fluctuations mean some kind of trash target usually. Honestly I guess I'm a Cherry Picker. I don't like digging trash. I'm having my best year ever sliver wise swinging the Manticore.

I'm perfectly happy with the Manticore. I wouldn't trade it for anything currently being made. I've had multiple silver hunts from places where silver had not been found in a while. As in for all practical purposes about hunted out. I've done this enough that I've been kind of flabbergasted how the silver was still there when so many high end detectors had been over it.

I don't think the Manticore is a ground breaking detector. I think it's definitely a step up from the 800 & 900. I think Multi-IQ+ is better than Equinox Multi-IQ on the turf. I don't have access to lots of relic sites, so I can't seriously comment on that. For the sites I hunt it's perfect. 

longbow62, I am glad that you decided to post a really good report on the Manticore. Obviously, it is working very well for you and your ground conditions as it is for many people that are saltwater beach hunters and who hunt in less iron mineralization.

So, it seems like whatever Minelab changed about Multi IQ and Multi IQ+ in the Equinox 700/900 and the Manticore has not adversely messed with its performance in some ground and beach conditions and Minelab's claims for those detectors that they have performance improvements over the Equinox 600/800 are perfectly true. However, in other types of soil conditions, those claims are simply not true from the reports that are being given by very experienced people on this forum that willingly payed a lot of money for these next generation Equinox 600/800s, used them thoughtfully and correctly and decided to move on.