Minelab Manticore On Sale

[CalReg]

Up here in NorCal, I don't see many Manticore's or Deus 2's for that matter. More of the traditional Equinox 800 guys. I will say, having read quite a bit about both machines, either would suit my needs! $1200 is still a LOT of money!

[Skate]

In my neck of the woods most folks are still swinging the 800. I loved the 800 but I love the 2D screen more and the expanded TID range. 

That being said that is a great sale and with gold at $2400 an ounce you can easily pay for your machine if you are concerned about that sort of thing. 

[TampaBayBrad]

7 hours ago, Steve Herschbach said:

Maybe the scene is different on Florida beaches?

I see mostly 800's and Excal's still. (some 800's didn't flood!) Did come across one lady who was swinging a Legend a while back. Then there's the older than me sand hunter that I run into all the time with a Ace 300. His wife escorts him to the beach to make sure he doesn't stray too far or stay too long according to him. Ha! Have yet to see a D2. 

[Steve Herschbach]

I’d expect 800s to still be the norm. The question is, for those that are switching, what are they switching to? Legend, D2, or Manticore?

I ruffle feathers when I say the tech has maxed because people want to believe detectors have no limits. I think however many people are seeing that for some applications at least, like nugget hunting or beach detecting, the Equinox 800 is still a top performer. Gains are very hard to come by with the current state of the technology.

[Dug D]

I bet sales would be better if they managed an improved update, I assume now, there is not one coming. ☹️

[AirmetTango]

54 minutes ago, Steve Herschbach said:

I’d expect 800s to still be the norm. The question is, for those that are switching, what are they switching to? Legend, D2, or Manticore?

I ruffle feathers when I say the tech has maxed because people want to believe detectors have no limits. I think however many people are seeing that for some applications at least, like nugget hunting or beach detecting, the Equinox 800 is still a top performer. Gains are very hard to come by with the current state of the technology.

I agree, the tech is definitely approaching it's ceiling, and I've been very happy with my EQ800 for the last 5.5 years. My main complaints involved build quality issues much more so than performance. To make a long story short, I needed to replace my 800 control pod two years ago, so I decided this year was the year to look at moving on to something different, while I could still get good resale on the machine with a year of warranty left. I looked at the EQ900, but it didn't seem to offer enough (if any) improvement for the cost, and I didn't like some of the reviews from other detectorists that I trust - a few of them were previous 800 owners, and several sold off their 900s or went back to the 800. The Manitcore was appealing but I couldn't justify the cost for the potentially minimal gain in performance. I decided to try a Legend starting in January - I wasn't expecting an increase in performance, just an increase in build quality and roughly equivalent performance, and at a much better price. That's essentially what I got for the investment, and the Legend works very well - though I'd make the case that it's performance isn't quite the same in some areas that are important to me, and I'm not convinced (after almost 100 hours) that it's the machine for me.

Anyways, the price drop on the Manticore was enough to entice me - if it was at this price point in January, I would have bought it over the Legend without a second thought. Pulled the trigger last night. Once it arrives, I'll suddenly have three detectors when I've always just had one, and I'll suddenly have an irate wife! But if the Manticore provides better build and even marginal gains over the EQ800 as it seems to promise, then it'll be worth it to me - I'll finally part with the 800, and the Legend will likely get sold as well.

[Jeff McClendon]

After owning and loving 5 Equinox 600/800s, I thought I just couldn't survive without one.

Now I own the Legend and Manticore. I simply do not miss my Equinox 600/800s at all. I don't even think about buying another Equinox or have the slightest bit of seller's remorse.

The Legend and Manticore easily out perform the Equinox 600/800 where I detect the most and I don't have to worry about leaking and build quality either.

[mn90403]

My last day of detecting before this trip I went out on the beach with my 800 and my coil ears broke off the 11 inch coil.  I wondered if it was an omen.  I'd say now I have my answer.  Even tho it is just a 'coil' I'm ready to get a Manticore replacement.

[phrunt]

Sometimes these sales become price adjustments, as they stick around or never go back up to their full price.  I thought the Manticore is overpriced, well still is here.  I can buy a Deus 2 WS6 lite whatever it is kit for half the price of a Manticore.

Minelab always aim high for pricing, and gradually adjust when they work out they have overshot.  

The Deus 2 is the competitor to the Manticore and has pretty good popularity, and the Legend competing with the Equinox 800.  So, for the first time in some time Minelab has real competition.  It will be interesting how Garrett's new detector when it finally comes out adjusts the market uptake but may have been another reason this sale is US only, as the Garrett detector will be virtually USA only too unless they sort out their pricing.

My biggest problem with Nokta detectors is their UI is always a poorly thought-out mashup of making too much fit on a screen not suitable.  XP face similar issues although not near as bad.  The Manticore is so simple to navigate and understand the screen it doesn't even compare in that regard.

What was never taken into account it seems was a bulk of people were happy with their 800's, and the changes made especially to the 900 were certainly not enough to entice an "upgrade" unless a water hunter so many will only upgrade once their 800 fails out of warranty.   The Manticore was an upgrade but the price increase was far too high for not enough extra for many people.  I'm happy with my Manticore though, and glad I bought it, especially now I have the m8 and m15.  A very good detector.

As Steve said they'll sell a lot of Manticores now during the sale, once the sale is over, they'll be lucky to sell many at all for a long time.

[okara gold]

3 hours ago, TampaBayBrad said:

I see mostly 800's and Excal's still. (some 800's didn't flood!) Did come across one lady who was swinging a Legend a while back. Then there's the older than me sand hunter that I run into all the time with a Ace 300. His wife escorts him to the beach to make sure he doesn't stray too far or stay too long according to him. Ha! Have yet to see a D2. 

The majority of machines I see on the Florida coast are the 800 followed by Excals. I run across one guy from time to time who uses the D2. Some Ace machines on the dry sand but most are snow birds. I was one of the lucky water hunters with my 800 that never flooded. I did break everything else on it, but all was covered under warranty. I was down to one detector and when the Manticore came out I grabbed one and it is my go-to machine all the time now especially since my 800 was long out of warranty. 

I used a friends D2 on two different occasions and didn't care much for the small, complicated screen. Also had the antennae wire pulled off after seaweed got the best of it.