Overall Observations Of The Equinox

[Wayfarer]

I was one of the lucky first recipients of the Equinox 800 and now after a couple weeks of use here in Boise, I figure I'll go ahead and give my rundown of my impressions of the machine. I agree with several other users that the TID is jumpy on deep silver (or other deep coins) certainly compared to the CTX. I never had an etrac but I did have (and liked) a CTX, and the CTX did better on deep coins, there's no doubt. Minelab said as much in their releases regarding the Equinox and Multi-IQ, specifically that FBS is still going to be superior on deep high conductors, and my experience with the Equinox is that they were right. 

The Equinox is a very good, but not great, detector for deep coins. For deep isolated coins, the CTX still reigns supreme. However, the current thinking is that the vast majority of yet-to-be-found silver coins are still there not because they are deep, but because they are masked. The Equinox unmasks far better than the CTX does. So you may actually have a better chance of coming home with silver with the Equinox because it unmasks so much better than the CTX (or, I'm assuming, the various other FBS machines which I haven't used). Park 1 with iron bias set to 0 and Recovery Speed set to 3 or less, seems to do best on deep coins. Despite the talk of Beach 2 being best on deep coins, I haven't found that to be the case, but everybody's soil and local conditions are different, or maybe simply because Beach 2 operates at a reduced transmit power level. Set up right, my V3i and MXT with the 10x12 SEF and Ultimate 13 coils, get just as deep and with just as stable TID on the deep coins in my test garden as the Equinox, the MXT maybe even a bit better. The MXT separates as well too, but that's probably because I have many, many, hours on the MXT and know just the right coil control techniques to use with the MXT, and I'm still learning the Equinox. 

And on mid to low conductors, like most gold jewelry, the Equinox does far better than the CTX. What really are the main types of targets that most of us would like find? I would suggest that gold jewelry has become the main target for most of us, whether it be on the beach, sports fields, or wherever, and for these targets, the Equinox does a fantastically good job. 

A couple more thoughts after using the Equinox for a couple weeks. The depth gauge does not work very well, for whatever reason. Not useless, but not very accurate, and it's slow and reports targets deeper than they really are. It seems to be calibrated for quarter or larger sized targets which is different than almost every other detector out there, so it takes some getting used to.  The inaccurate depth gauge is compounded by the lack of much audio modulation.  From the audio, it's easy to tell a 2" deep target from a 8" deep target, but not much else in between.  The pinpoint VCO audio is much better for determining the depth of a target, but that means you have to go into to pinpoint each time to get a good read on target depth.  Also, I wish the depth gauge and TID worked in pinpoint mode, and this shortcoming seems to be a step backward in technology after having used most other modern detectors with that capability. I expect some tweaking in a subsequent firmware update. 

The audio is great. Smooth, stable, very pleasant to the ear. Unlike most detectors with a lot of tones, the Equinox actually sounds really nice in full 50 tone mode (my V3i is almost unbearably horrible when used with many tones, in comparison). Maybe it's the stable TID or lack of a lot of TID segments, but the tones are very stable and communicative, and it's a great detector for hunting by ear rather than visual TID. One of the first adjustments I made was adding a threshold tone, which is very useful for determining when targets are disc'd out, as the threshold goes silent for an instant. This is kind of a good middle ground between totally silent search and all-metal "horseshoe" mode, so you get some info but without the chaos of too much noise. The threshold is a great feature. As I mentioned above, the modulation isn't great, but at least it errs on the side of letting you hear the deep targets.

The audio does get very busy in trashy environments with a lot of shallow targets. The DD coil design causes very strong signals on the edges of the coil, so you actually get three strong "beeps" as you sweep the coil over a shallow target. The strength of the three beeps is almost the same intensity, so it sometimes gets very hard to locate a target in a target rich environment where targets are less than a coil width apart. Out in the open, it's easy to tell you are sweeping over one shallow target, with a distinct rhythm of three beeps that you soon learn to recognize, but with lots of closely-spaced targets, it gets confusing fast.  I know this is inherent in the nature of DD coils, but on the Equinox, for whatever reason, the edge targets are very strong and frequently difficult to distinguish from the main center target response. I found this to be still confusing even after several hunts. Going into pinpoint and examining the individual targets clears this up, but it makes hunting in disc mode where there are lots of targets to be sometimes quite tedious as you have to stop, go into pinpoint, and slowly separate out each closely spaced target. Other detectors with DD coils have the same issue, but it just seems a lot worse with the Equinox.  I expect more time with the Equinox will help me learn to better separate out the false edge signals from the true center signal.  The Bluetooth feature is great. One you go wireless, you don't go back, and Minelab was good enough to use the widely available aptx-LL codec, so that users can pair any number of aftermarket headphones with the detector, as I have already done with the Audition Pro's I bought on sale on Amazon. 

Build quality seems good. It's just so light and small, it just feels light duty, kind of along the lines of my old Gold Bug Pro. For the price, however, it is excellent and is very well designed, using a tough feeling plastic and nice connectors. Cost of production must be very low, as there are so few components. Picking up my V3i, it feels like a multi-thousand dollar beast in comparison, the screen, the heft, the buttons, everything about the V3i is heavy duty and high-dollar feeling compared to the Equinox. The CTX, too, feels decidedly high-end in comparison, with heft, thick housings, heavy-duty connectors, and the color screen. The Equinox screen is functional, but very simple, not a lot of info, just the basics. The Equinox is a mid-level detector after all, so I'm not faulting it, just making an observation that it has a definite mid-level feel compared to the top machines. And balance:  it's so light that it is nose-heavy.  Not bad in practice because it's overall so light, you're basically just feeling the weight of the coil itself, but it definitely does not balance well. I'm thinking of adding an external USB battery under the arm cuff mainly just to try to balance it out better. But again, it's so light, that it's not really a problem, just an observation. I have a 6" coil coming, and I'll bet it will be a lot better with the smaller coil. 

The Equinox does everything very well, including finding deep coins, in one detector. Minelab markets it as an all-purpose detector, and for this, it is the best ever built. But for detectorists who are focused on one type of hunting only, they would still probably be better off with a detector specialized for just that one purpose. I'm not bashing the Equinox. I love mine. But don't expect a silver bullet that will do everything better than every other detector out there. I actually think that Minelab has very nicely filled a hole in their lineup, so that the so-called "well-equipped" dectectorist would have a CTX for deep coins, an Equinox for heavy trash and beach and jewelry hunting, a Gold Monster for VLF nuggetshooting, and a GPZ of some flavor for the die-hard semi-professional prospectors. (If Minelab released a good closed 5x10 coil for the Equinox, it could probably substitute for the Gold Monster). Being fully waterproof opens it up to a lot of different uses for a lot of people. So it fits nicely withing their product line, and if someone wanted just one detector, they would do very well with the Equinox. 

Overall, I really like the Equinox, but it's not a miracle machine. I will happily keep this detector for its waterproofness, its separation ability, simplicity, cost-benefit ratio, and overall fun factor. It's amazing that Minelab was able to pack so much capability into such a small and inexpensive detector. Bang-for-the-buck factor is the best of any detector.
 

[Steve Herschbach]

Wow, just wow - what a great well written report! Thanks so much for writing that all up and sharing it Wayfarer. I am not a video watcher or statistics person so what I like hearing is reports that reflect overall feelings and impressions. I sure look forward to more as you get a chance to get beyond the initial impressions stage.

Thanks again - just terrific!

[UtahRich]

Excellent report Wayfarer. thanks for taking the time to work it up and post it. 

 

Rich (Utah)

[Jim Hemmingway]

I agree with the above comments Wayfarer, I very much enjoyed reading your report. It is coherent and understandable, and you've addressed the questions that came to my mind.

More importantly, I would imagine that even rank newcomers to the hobby would find it an informative pleasure to read. Thanks so much for this excellent effort to share your findings with us.

Jim.

[Rick K - First Member]

Well done - lots of folks do thoughtful testing....

Way more impressive - Well Written!

To thoughtfully assess the performance of a detector is hard enough - to describe and categorize it in clear English - WOW.

thanks

[Tometusns]

Wayfarer, I really enjoyed reading your review. I`ve had mine for two weeks now and think you were spot on with what I can relate to about the Equinox. I don`t have a knowledge base to compare it to other machines. But, when I read your evaluation I thought he`s right about that and another he`s right about that too. I know two people don`t make a consensus but it made me feel good to hear someone with the same thoughts I was thinking. For me the Equinox will be my #1. I`ve really enjoyed using it!!   

[Chase Goldman]

Great review Wayfarer.  A lot of us knew Equinox is likely going to be a great, if not the best, overall jack of all trades detector out there for the money (perhaps period).  But you know what they say about jacks of all trades, many are masters of none.  While I know that is not the case for the Equinox, and there has been a lot of discussion and consensus from the time Steve was pretesting it until now regarding what it IS a master of and just what it's strengths are.  Specifically, related to what fast, simultaneous multi-frequency brings to the table.  But more importantly, it is good to also hear what it DOES NOT excel at.  No real surprises (deep silver TID - pretty much knew that was coming) but the other minor quirks regarding the depth meter, audio modulation, triple beeps, and balance are great tidbits of information and I thank you for pointing them out.   I also liked your initial spectral analysis which was eye opening.  Further scratching the surface regarding the nuanced differences between the 800 and 600 in performance in a presentation modeled after yours above would be great and would be helpful for people agonizing about which model to get.  Good job.

[Whitbey]

Thanks for this very good and impressive report Wayfarer, makes it easier for me to make a decision to buy the Equinox or not, it's good I did not jump in during the hype and feeding frenzy buying of the Nox. I am going to wait till Minelab comes out with the smaller coil or the closed 5" x 10" coil, since I I want the unit for nugget hunting!

Will be waiting for your next report with the 6 inch coil, and maybe it will change my mind! Looking forward to see how the NOx does with smaller coil on gold nuggets. Hope Minelab comes out quickly with a closed 5" x 10" inch coil, would jump in right away, and buy the NOx!

 

[flakmagnet]

The best-written customer report I've read sofar. Between your writing and "Dirtfishing's (and others of course), videos, we are getting huge benefits from the kinds of experience it takes years to accumulate. Many thanks.

[johnedoe]

Excellent write up...... Thank you.....