Equinox Launch Video

[auminesweeper]

Yeah they gave the V3i the power and the frequencies to find gold but I never understood why they never made the tracking as fast as the MXT's

J.

[Deft Tones]

I absolutely love my V3i. White's is a great American company, so I'm biased for that too. If we were family, Whites would be my mother-in-law and the V3i my wife, until death do us part, but....

BUT...why White's has done nothing for real improvements to the V3i in all these years...it's confounding!

My WifeV3i is outstanding at satisfying me, but she doesn't quite meet all my needs all the time. This is why I've strayed to begin with. At a minimum, my MIL should have prepared her for the water! Tisk, tisk!

Then the Equinox comes along - I'm probably going to stray again after getting a closer look at her specs. 

 

[auminesweeper]

Well I see a couple of issues with the design of the Equinox, 1) being that it has no weight under the Arm cup so that will make using their larger 13x15 coil a bit of a pain and 2) One of my pet hates is because there is no box or weight under the arm cup looking at the height of the handle with the pod stuck on top I think this machine will constantly fall over.

John.

[Steve Herschbach]

You have a point about underarm weight and the way a machine balances John. The problem with adding weight under the arm is - you are adding weight. The market whether you like it or not is demanding light weight detectors. Most people just don't use large coils. I do and so right now it is the sole reason I am struggling with the decision about whether to sell my CTX or not. Same deal with V3i - the BigFoot coil is making me keep it, not the detector itself. 

It's kind of the same thing with top mount pods and tipping over. I agree and it is quite annoying with my Gold Monster. Again, however, people want easy to read in your face displays.

Anyway, a couple great points, but every design you have to make trades. Do you cater to large coils and so make the machine heavier to balance it? Or read the Deus tea leaves and understand that people were not screaming for the Impact to weigh twice as much just so it could handle the large coil well. And half blind guys like me want large, bold displays we can actually read with tired old eyes. Those are just basic market facts at the moment. Minelab has to respond to what the majority wants and light weight, large readable display is high on the list.

I basically disagree with you John on the effect this will have on the market. Why would I want a machine like an AT Max locked at 13.6 kHz when I can have a detector that let's me choose between one of several frequency options, or go full blown multifrequency? All with no real weight or cost penalty. I am assuming of course the performance is there - if not that's another matter. Anyone that bets against Minelab in that regard generally is making a bad bet.

Just to get it on the books history-wise so to speak, my prediction is Minelab really has just redefined what people will expect in metal detectors. Any detector in the future that runs at a single frequency will be looked at as entry level type stuff. There will also be some that occupy specialty niches, like the Gold Bug 2 has for so long. You may not like it but the writing is on the wall as far as I am concerned. The future belongs to machines that let you pick and chose the frequency options you prefer. Nobody ever said your MXT would stop working John, but if I was still in retail I would be looking real hard at what my stock was on the shelf and how this announcement just changed the game. It's your cash in the line John - you going to order more MXT Pros for stock or get these instead? Put the emotional attachment aside and read the market and you will see why this actually is a watershed moment.

Put another way, when I first laid hands on the MXT years ago I knew it was a game changer not because it was the most powerful detector on the market, but because of the overall features and versatility it packed into one easy to operate detector. And that is what I am seeing now in the Equinox. Like it or not the MXTs time has come. No reason to ever abandon yours and it will always be a classic, but the market moves on. That's just reality.

Anyway looks like we can count you guys out on the Equinox so I will leave it there. It proves again we all have different needs and wants in detectors. This one hit on many of my key desires so all that remains for me now is deciding how many other detectors will be going to eBay. 

[Guest Tnsharpshooter]

I will wait to see the real deal with detector.

We can definitely say this.

Minelab has taken a beating on forums due to weight of their detectors.

So they must  have been reading and listening.

Minelab I think has taken a beating in Europe with XP Deus popularity.

So maybe this model will challenge Deus over there.

There is a lack numbers wise of water proof Vlf detectors in USA.

So that box is checked with this detector too.

Seems like Minelab when deciding on designing this detector,,using the Texas Hole em phrase,,, "Went all in".

Time will tell how good or bad for the $$$.

And I think it is a safe bet,, expect to see detectors make debut at longer periods of time before actual physical release date to the public.

Also Minelab may elect to allow actual in the field performance info by certain users be broadcast beforehand physical release to public.

Minelab I would test one of the units at no charge should you be interested.

And report on accurately/honestly..

Even compare to Deus and Impact and Rutus.

[auminesweeper]

I totally agree Steve, just look how computers and Phones have changed and now they have changed the way we live, I see these new machines having a niche all of their own and people will have other machines designed just to run big coils, which is not such a bad thing,  If the weight is added in the right place even heavy machines within reason can still be good to swing, IE the GPX,

These new machines are the future, the Deus showed us that with its cutting edge design and I am all for them, But I think when they state that their machine will make all others obsolete I find that offensive and untrue.

On some sites the speculation is that it is better than the CTX and will even make It redundant, which is a bit crazy considering the cost of the CTX and I very much doubt that ML would do that to them selves and risk loosing around 2100 dollars by bringing out a machine at a third of the price, either way at last ML have bought out another machine with lightening speed which we have not seen since the Musketeer Advantage so well done ML

They have also made a 13x15 coil for it which a bit of a worry as to will that destroy the light weight ergonomics of the machine because it does not take much to push it over the top. anyways just thinking out loud here and I wish them well just the same.

J.   

[Steve Herschbach]

I doubt Minelab would care much if they sell 20 Equinox detectors instead of 1 CTX. That high CTX price puts it out of reach of the vast majority of people. Why do you think Garrett and First Texas are so slow to come out with high end detectors? Because for the general purpose coin and jewelry market the big bucks is in detectors that sell for under $1000. Minelab no doubt got tired of seeing Garrett sell a van load of AT detectors for every CTX sold. And no, that's not really an exaggeration.

I sure hope we see not only lots of coils, but Minelab for once actually helping aftermarket makers instead of hindering them. The more coils the merrier and it would do nothing but help them.

I can see a big market here for a couple aftermarket items. I mean really, how hard would it be to make a clip on counterweight to balance large coils? Being from Alaska duct tape and a rock might do the trick! 

[Tiftaaft]

I am, as most all of us are, very intrigued with tbe possibilities of this new Minelab.  I decided to part with my CTX in exchange for a PI, but that had less to do with the capabilities of the CTX (say what you will.. but truly an amazing and groundbreaking machine) and more to do with my satisfaction with the Explorer SE Pro and Etrac already in my arsenal.  For that reason I will always have my SE Pro and Etrac on the rack regardless of what new hot machine comes out and I buy....

I am most interested how it may handle difficult ground and high mineralization.  It is the bane of detectorists existence in the pacific northwest, and I have no false notion that the Equinox will do any better than the top of the line and higher priced Minelabs in the multi-freq/VLF category... but if it can perform as well, or maybe a little better due to upgraded tech... as a minelab user, and at the price point and feather weight compared to any other machine in my arsenal, wide range of single freq or multi freq..AND waterproof....  It won't take long after release for me to acquire and start testing one personally.  

My wife asked me if it will make a sandwich for me too... I told her that it I will have to wait for the final and finished product release to answer that ;)

Tim

[Guest Tnsharpshooter]

 

Correction, battery seems is in handle.

[johnedoe]

I will not likely buy into minelab but the new machine does intrigue me. It certainly has the functions and being water proof is a huge bonus but not the deal maker.

The price of 899 for the top end machine is also very enticing But I already have a top line machine that actually I didn't pay much more for.

I will stand by with interest to see what really comes out when these machines get into the hands of users and we start getting some solid reviews.... After all they are still VLF machines..... The other thing that bothers me a little about ML is their reputation on repair and customer service.....

My White's machines have been rock solid, and when and if I should need a repair it is just a couple hours away to the Sweet Home factory which I stop in on occasion just for the fun of it.

With all that is going on with technology I am still very curious what White's will unveil in the I hope not too distant future.