Manticore & Deus 2

[D&P-OR]

How many prefer the Manticore over the Deus 2----and why?

[Chase Goldman]

12 hours ago, D&P-OR said:

How many prefer the Manticore over the Deus 2----and why?

So you don't want to hear from people who've used both, but don't prefer the Manticore over the D2?

[abenson]

I have both. I don't plan on getting rid of either. They both have their place in my arsenal. I could go into a bunch of detail about why and where I prefer each one. But I'm limited on time and can't write a long response at the moment.

[Chase Goldman]

2 hours ago, abenson said:

I have both. I don't plan on getting rid of either. They both have their place in my arsenal. I could go into a bunch of detail about why and where I prefer each one. But I'm limited on time and can't write a long response at the moment.

That's where I am as well.  I don't see one as clearly superior to the other.  They are both excellent machines that have strengths and weaknesses but really it comes down to personal preferences, your style of hunting, the targets of interest, and the capabilities and features you value the most.  Articulating that, @D&P-OR might give you better feedback.  

From my perspective off the top of my head:

If you detect primarily using audio to differentiate ferrous from non-ferrous, D2 is more suited to you.

If you can integrate on the fly what the 2D screen is visually telling you about the ferrous nature of a target or co-located targets, Manticore does just as well in ferrous as D2.

Manticore has the superior pinpointing implementation.

Manticore requires less claptrap (antenna extenders for the wireless coils) for submerged water work.

Manticore has better small coil options (at this time).

Deus 2 is modular and highly configurable such that you can configure it into a fully capable, light minimalist setup using the WS6 Master smart puck giving up very little in terms of features vs. The full remote (you lose the X-Y screen and some extra custom program slots).  This enables you to maintain a low profile and is convenient for packing in the detector to remote sites.

I could go on, but when it comes to detecting relics, beach detecting, or coin shooting, in any soil condition, I could be happy with either D2 or Manticore if forced to choose (fortunately I don't have to choose as I own both).  I think Manticore has a slight edge when it comes to gold detecting, but I have little experience with that.

FWIW

[Jeff McClendon]

If I was a scuba diver I would want a Deus 2 for sure. 

If I lived in an area where all of my hunting was in bed of nails situations I would also want a Deus 2.

I don't do scuba diving and I don't hunt bed of rusted nails every time I hunt. 

I hunt in ground with high iron mineralization mostly for mid depth to edge of detection coin and jewelry targets, I do shallow freshwater wading for coins and jewelry, I do gold prospecting and only occasionally do bed of nails hunting. The Manticore can handle those situations very well.

The Manticore handles the mineralization better here and I get more solid, strong, stable hits and accurate information on deeper targets with the Manticore than with Deus 2 even when I use a larger coil on Deus 2.

Pinpoint mode on the Manticore is much more accurate and easy to use on those deeper targets for somebody like me that rarely gets to recover targets with a shovel.

 Moving from land to water whenever I want to is much less of a hassle using the Manticore.

The Manticore has enough nuanced audio abilities to rival Deus 2's High Square audio. I can't stand PWM audio for long so it is not much use to me even though I realize it offers an advantage for Deus 2 users over the Manticore.

Even with the software updates, Deus 2 still cannot match the Manticore's gold prospecting and small target abilities where I detect.

When I need it, the Manticore can display multiple co-located targets on its display quickly and easily that I can see well. Deus 2 simply cannot do that.

I hunt in very rough terrain often. The tendency for my Deus 2 remote to fall off the shaft with the slightest nudge was ridiculous. I went through 3 stock shaft mounts in less than 2 years of ownership. I did use the RCDigs mounting system too. Nothing wrong with the RCDigs system but give me a break XP and fix the issue. The Ukrainian solution for sale on Ebay was hard to come by but it actually works easily and XP should adopt something like it in my opinion.

Some things where the Manticore comes up short compared to Deus 2 are:

8 hour Manticore internal battery life compared to twice that at least for Deus 2.

Easy disassembly and packability

Lots of custom program slots compared to zero custom program slots on the Manticore which is crazy

Deus 2 is still king of the nail bed but the Manticore is a close second for SMFs. I still have my ORX and I use it for nail beds when most of the desirable targets are shallow and I am just using a simple ferrous/non ferrous response program instead of accurate target IDs.  

Both are fantastic detectors and offer major improvements over their predecessors Equinox series and Deus 1/ORX.

      

[Rattlehead]

Depends on where and what I'm hunting, but in a nutshell (and IMHO):

More nuanced audio: Deus 2

Depth (in my soil): Manticore

EMI handling: Manticore

Hunting in heavy iron or even heavy modern trash: Deus 2

Display and visual target ID aids: Manticore

Menu (ease of navigation): Manticore

Pinpoint mode: Manticore

Modularity: Deus 2

Weight: Deus 2 - Although they are much closer in comparison with the M9 coil mounted vs the 9" FMF coil.

Coil Selection: Manticore

Battery life: Deus 2

On the beach: Both work well for me.

 

I could be perfectly happy with either one for the type of hunting I do. I'm glad that I'm able to own both and have no intentions of parting with either.

[D&P-OR]

Thanks for your responses gentlemen---I appreciate you taking the time to do so.------This is just the type of info I was hoping to get on these two detectors---opinions on them (both)  at this point in time.------I guess I could have posted my question a little better--I think you all knew what I was asking though.------Thanks again.----------Del

[F350Platinum]

I guess if you have both you're golden! All I do is hunt in iron infested areas, even my local beaches. 🤣 If gold was there I got it.

I've considered buying a Manticore for its lack of fiddly stuff, but is the jury still out on its waterproof rating? One thing you can count on with the D2, no worry about water intrusion, ever - and I've personally never knocked the remote off, but I was quick to get a better mount. 🙂 

My other problem is like the good ol' days with my Equinox 600, I completely dislike wearing over-ear headphones, and all the stuff I'd have to use to get situational awareness is as bad as the D2's waveguide. 😏 I really wish the major players would have a drink at Detectival and agree on a standard. 🙄 Preferably bone conduction for me. 😏

I find the 11x13" way more accurate with ID and separation than either of the others, I'll only spend more when (if) they come out with a 9" elliptical like Coiltek did for the Equinox, it was a gift from heaven. I still use it when I need it.

Maybe I don't have a dog in this fight, but honestly I am very happy with the Deus 2, and I don't think I'm missing much where I am. 🙂 Or really missing spending another $1500.

[Jeff McClendon]

4 hours ago, Rattlehead said:

Hunting in heavy iron or even heavy modern trash: Deus 2

 

I agree with your heavy iron trash assessment.

I had hoped to find that Deus 2 was as good or superior to the Manticore in heavy modern trash too. I fully expected it to be. After at least 10 hours of head to head wild hunts on the exact same ground in heavy modern aluminum and steel trashed parks, the Manticore won easily for me. I was not expecting this and especially since it wasn't even close.

Also, our club has regularly scheduled impromptu wild hunts at modern aluminum and steel trashed public parks in the Denver area. Those of us who use the Manticore have won almost all of those hunts in the last year (about 20 of them) where just about everyone hunting is using a Deus 2, Nokta Legend, Manticore or Equinox model. Aside from two hunts where I was helping some newbies, either I or two other Manticore users have easily out hunted the Deus 2 users for quantity of coins and for amount. I got beat by my good friend who is a Deus 2 user once and it was by 1 penny. The rest of the time a Manticore user has won by multiple dollars not cents.

That was the clincher for me. Had they been roughly equal in modern trashed areas, I would probably still own a Deus 2.