Gold Mode May Not Necessarily Be the Most Important Thing Missing from the 600

[vferrari]

I have posted variations on this theme but they are buried in other threads.

First off, I want to say that the point of this thread is NOT to convince people to get the 800 instead of the 600. The 600 is capable and may do everything you need and is a fantastic value.

But I want people to be informed when they are considering both detectors and I get concerned that they may experience a little buyers remorse once they realize that perhaps the most important thing missing from the 600 is NOT necessarily just gold mode which seems to be the common reaction (at least outwardly expressed reaction) from people posting on the forums. It typically goes something like this, "Since the 600 has the same multifrequency spectrum as the 800 including the 20 and 40 khz components, I have seen that it hits hard on gold even in the non-gold modes. If I subsequently decide I want to focus on gold prospecting, I will get a dedicated gold prospecting machine." Sounds logical and it is a logical thought in and of itself. Especially, if Gold Mode was the only missing feature from the 600. Now I am not going to say what "missing" 600 features are the most important, that is something everyone has to decide for themselves. I am just going to list them as sort of questions with some of my perspective and you can all decide whether any of it matters to you.

1. What else can Gold Mode be used for? We already covered Gold Mode, but all I am going to say additional about it is consider that Gold Mode being a VCO vice Tone implementation (unlike all the other modes) plus its high frequency spectrum bias means it may have some alternative benefits for relic hunters, especially those who are working hot soil sites. That is because besides gold, brass and small lead relics (and even small silver hammered coins) will ring up as mid-conductors and many of your most sought after relics, such as buttons, ID tags, cutlery, and knapsack parts are made of brass or small lead. So think about it if you are a big into relic hunting.

2. Will you miss 20 and 40 khz single frequency modes? Hard one to answer with any certainty at this point. I would say with MultiIQ and strong noise cancelling features it will be rare for you to have to go into any single frequency mode. Perhaps, much less, 20 and 40 khz. Single frequency can be used as a means to interrogate a target to identify if it is junk (i.e., a crown cap) masquerading as treasure. But you only really need one of the three lower frequencies to accomplish the trick of shifting to single on the fly and seeing a large change in VID which is a dead giveaway that you have a probable bottlecap. 20 and 40 khz may provide you with a last ditch way to hunt in a heavy EMI site where the built-in MultiIQ noise cancellation is NOT doing the trick (very rare). But other than the Equinox community not yet discovering what possible useful tricks or performance enhancements these high single frequencies bring, you may never miss them. One advantage of not having them is that you only have to cycle through 3 frequencies vice 5 to get back into MultIQ mode after going single freq.

3. Do you like to adjust tone breaks, pitch, and volume to customize your audio experience for specific targets or to compensate for selective hearing loss? If yes, then you are virtually out of luck with the 600 as you can only adjust the ferrous/non-ferrous tone break and only ferrous tone volume and pitch. To me this is kind of an important missing sleeper feature. Something you may not use out of the blocks but that you might want to explore as you get more proficient with the Equinox 800. The 800 also allows you to change the pitch of the threshold tone.

4. Do you like having the ability to adjust recovery speed over the entire range or iron bias, for that matter? Most people are aware that the 600 only offers 3 steps of recovery speed adjustment and only 4 steps of iron bias adjustment vs. 8 and 10, respectively on the 800. But more importantly than the resolution (number of steps) of the adjustment, is that the extreme slow and fast recovery speed adjustments on the 800 go beyond the range of adjustment on the 600. Some folks are actually using those upper two recovery speed adjustments in really thick iron which is not something I ever used on the Deus (I never have used the Deus in the field at the highest recovery speed setting, it is looking like that may not be the case with the Equinox 800). So that is something to consider. I am still trying to figure out iron bias and whether it matters that the 600 cannot achieve the highest 3 iron bias settings of the 800.

5. Can you use an extra, instant recall memory slot? The 800 has a User Profile Save button that allows you to instantly save the current machine settings in a slot that can be instantly recalled at the touch of a button. This can be handy in the case of the bottle cap single frequency interrogation technique described above or if you need a second version of your favorite mode selection saved. Each mode can be modified and saved in its own slot so the User Profile Save feature just gives you some added flexibility not available on the 600.

6. Do you want to be able to use your existing headphones untethered from the detector? This is not a missing "feature" per se. Both the 600 and 800 have the same exact wireless capabilities. However, the 800 is bundled with a key piece of Equinox unique hardware that can't actually be obtained at the moment at any cost. That is the WM08 wireless module that allows you to plug your existing favorite headphones into the WM08 and use them "wirelessly" with the Equinox. Cool feature. As far as Bluetooth is concerned, the 800 does come with a decent set of bluetooth APT X low latency headphones but there are a number of similar third party headphones and wireless sports earbuds (think weather resistant and even water proof) that can be purchased online for the 600 that will do a great job. You can think of the extra 800 hardware as a tangible value that accounts for some of the cost delta between the two detectors. Others may see that extra hardware as something they do not need and shouldn't have to pay extra for while wishing for a less expensive version of the 800 without those components.

7. Do you like to take manual control of an automated process? Well then you are in luck with the 800 because it has both auto and manual noise cancellation in the event you are not happy with the "noise free" channel auto noise cancellation selected for you. The 600 only has auto noise cancel.

I am probably forgetting a couple other odds and ends but these are the main feature differences between the two detectors that you should consider and decide for yourself whether the $250US savings is worth it because none of the above "missing" features are all that important to you.

I am a "I want the whole enchilada" kind of guy and am willing to pay the premium, because in some cases I may not know what I am missing until after I've had a detector for awhile. In other words, I don't know what I don't know about the value of the missing features so I might as well have them just in case.

I will re-emphasize, however, that he 600 probably beats the pants off just about anything else out there at the same price point and perhaps a number of more expensive rivals as well. Just make sure you are making the choice for the right reason(s).

HTH HH
VF

 

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[tnsharpshooter]

Biggest things IMO to consider for price differences vs performance/ accessories are the wireless Add Ons to 800 package and the speed adjustment/levels on the 800 model unit.
This assumes person buying not a gold nugget hunter.

And maybe throw in backlight adjustment on 800 model if one does a lot of night hunting.

 

[smokeythecat]

Point 2 - may be critical around power transmission lines, transformers and electric fences.

Point 4 - recovery speed is everything in a spot with high metals density.

Point 6 - Headphones and accessories are expensive.

Only thing that tweaked my curiosity right now is I'm seeing people already messing with the units to make them into something else but what the manufacturer intended. That's a little odd. Modifying a brand new unit under warranty? A deficiency?

Like to see if any of this matters outside of the test areas. I'd be curious to know.

 

[vferrari]

Yeah, the S-shaft mods. It is a good discussion to have though because it does make a difference for some people. It might be another thing that Minelab could do to perturb the "system" further. Offer the detector up with your choice of shaft, straight or S. The removable/self-contained control panel/handle should make it easy for Minelab from a manufacturing and assembly point of view. The same control panel and coil can easily be affixed to either shaft type. The high volume of sales could make it worth their while to offer that.

 

[smokeythecat]

An "S" shaft might have sold me when I saw the first one last fall. If they offer an s shaft as an additional accessory, that would be not cool (cost wise). Should have engineered it into the machine to begin with.

 

[Echoplex]

#3 was a big deal to me. I was having trouble bonding with the machines tones until I changed them. In particular T2, which was way too low/quiet, and covers the most common targets. Also, T2 now matches my other brand detector's tone for the same range of targets. After tweaking the tones and tones breaks it really turned the machine into a pleasant and familiar machine (for me).

 

[☠ Cipher]

Guilty. I'm one of those guys that at least outwardly use the Gold mode as my justifier for going 600, (perhaps irresponsibly, not even considering that it could be used without certain disclaimers, by others to base their decision on). For me personally, I went through all of the differences exhaustively, and there were many factors that went into my decision to rest on the 600 for now, not just the Gold mode, although that was probably the biggest dismissible for me. For me all the following were considered: 1. I likely wouldn't miss the Gold mode. 2. At this point I'm only looking for a good water machine. I do not yet expect the Equinox to be my go-to (not ruling it out either), so simplicity was key for now. I have my more complex flagship for fine tuned hunts and any possible prospecting etc. 3. Availability (although I did pass up many chances to buy the 800 on demand, I stalled for collective reasons). 4. I did consider the reactivity to be an important factor, but decided on simplicity for now. 5. I don't care for Minelab's default idea of "wireless" headphones, so that offer barely factored at all, except that I might be able to later sell it to a 600 buyer. 6. Basically the rest of the fine tuning I dismissed under the banner of simplicity is key for now as well. 7. Finally, financial. This was least important, as if I had found the options compelling enough I would've spent the extra $250. What $250 is worth though, is relative. It's worth more to some people and less to others and at different times. Right now, the timing made $250 more of a consideration than it normally would be. A month from now $250 will be worth little to me. By then I'll know a lot more about what I think of the Equinox. If I think it's as great as it's cracked up to be, I'll have no trouble at all buying the 800, even if it's just to say I have it, and sending the 600 off to someone else. I actually do hope I like it that much. Each person has to decide what's right for them at the right time. At this time the 600 is right for me. It's a sampler, basically. When push comes to shove I have no trouble plunking down any amount of money for a top notch machine.

 

[flgliderpilot]

I don't take these theoretical comparisons seriously. When someone hunts with a 600 for a year and then upgrades to an 800 and tells me how it improved their hunt, or visa versa I'll give it some weight.

 

[vferrari]

I don't take these theoretical comparisons seriously. When someone hunts with a 600 for a year and then upgrades to an 800 and tells me how it improved their hunt, or visa versa I'll give it some weight.

Having trouble understanding what was "theoretical" overall about the comparison? Just stated the feature differences factually. It wasn't what's better than the other. It was just supposed to be comprehensive list of differences so people can have the information to decide. I don't think there is much debate about what those features bring to the table. If you know what type of detecting matters to you, then you know pretty much whether or not these missing features are important.

For me the lack of high end recovery speed and non-ferrous tone break adjustments on the 600 was a deal breaker coming from primarily relic hunting in thick iron with the Deus. With gold mode and iron bias close behind and the 800 included wireless hardware diminished the actual cost difference.

Terry knew exactly what he needed for his focus on beach hunting which didn't require the features I considered important for relic hunting but the 600 also brought just enough flexibility beyond the beach modes to satisfy his terrestrial hunting needs to enable him to get rid of a few detectors. Wireless is not really suited to water hunting and I suspect he will eventually opt for the WP phones once they become available or jury rig something so he can use an existing pair.

Two examples of where each machine model suits the different needs of two different detectorists. It's not one model is better than the other but which machine brings the most value.

Nothing really theoretical about the decision making other than the surprises to come, based on what we don't know about each machine's performance.

The whole point of the post is to avoid the need to up or downgrade down the road by making the right decision now.

Again, it wasn't 800 better than 600, but whether 600 is good enough for you despite the differences from 800. A personal, but informed, decision.

 

[vferrari]

Guilty. I'm one of those guys that at least outwardly use the Gold mode as my justifier for going 600, (perhaps irresponsibly, not even considering that it could be used without certain disclaimers, by others to base their decision on). For me personally, I went through all of the differences exhaustively, and there were many factors that went into my decision to rest on the 600 for now, not just the Gold mode, although that was probably the biggest dismissible for me. For me all the following were considered: 1. I likely wouldn't miss the Gold mode. 2. At this point I'm only looking for a good water machine. I do not yet expect the Equinox to be my go-to (not ruling it out either), so simplicity was key for now. I have my more complex flagship for fine tuned hunts and any possible prospecting etc. 3. Availability (although I did pass up many chances to buy the 800 on demand, I stalled for collective reasons). 4. I did consider the reactivity to be an important factor, but decided on simplicity for now. 5. I don't care for Minelab's default idea of "wireless" headphones, so that offer barely factored at all, except that I might be able to later sell it to a 600 buyer. 6. Basically the rest of the fine tuning I dismissed under the banner of simplicity is key for now as well. 7. Finally, financial. This was least important, as if I had found the options compelling enough I would've spent the extra $250. What $250 is worth though, is relative. It's worth more to some people and less to others and at different times. Right now, the timing made $250 more of a consideration than it normally would be. A month from now $250 will be worth little to me. By then I'll know a lot more about what I think of the Equinox. If I think it's as great as it's cracked up to be, I'll have no trouble at all buying the 800, even if it's just to say I have it, and sending the 600 off to someone else. I actually do hope I like it that much. Each person has to decide what's right for them at the right time. At this time the 600 is right for me. It's a sampler, basically. When push comes to shove I have no trouble plunking down any amount of money for a top notch machine.

Not "guilty" but logical. No need to get more machine than you need. Perhaps if you want to upgrade down the road you might even keep the 600 as a backup. Very similar approach to where I assume Terry was coming from.

 

[Treasure_Hunter]

Guilty. I'm one of those guys that at least outwardly use the Gold mode as my justifier for going 600, (perhaps irresponsibly, not even considering that it could be used without certain disclaimers, by others to base their decision on). For me personally, I went through all of the differences exhaustively, and there were many factors that went into my decision to rest on the 600 for now, not just the Gold mode, although that was probably the biggest dismissible for me. For me all the following were considered: 1. I likely wouldn't miss the Gold mode. 2. At this point I'm only looking for a good water machine. I do not yet expect the Equinox to be my go-to (not ruling it out either), so simplicity was key for now. I have my more complex flagship for fine tuned hunts and any possible prospecting etc. 3. Availability (although I did pass up many chances to buy the 800 on demand, I stalled for collective reasons). 4. I did consider the reactivity to be an important factor, but decided on simplicity for now. 5. I don't care for Minelab's default idea of "wireless" headphones, so that offer barely factored at all, except that I might be able to later sell it to a 600 buyer. 6. Basically the rest of the fine tuning I dismissed under the banner of simplicity is key for now as well. 7. Finally, financial. This was least important, as if I had found the options compelling enough I would've spent the extra $250. What $250 is worth though, is relative. It's worth more to some people and less to others and at different times. Right now, the timing made $250 more of a consideration than it normally would be. A month from now $250 will be worth little to me. By then I'll know a lot more about what I think of the Equinox. If I think it's as great as it's cracked up to be, I'll have no trouble at all buying the 800, even if it's just to say I have it, and sending the 600 off to someone else. I actually do hope I like it that much. Each person has to decide what's right for them at the right time. At this time the 600 is right for me. It's a sampler, basically. When push comes to shove I have no trouble plunking down any amount of money for a top notch machine.

One you left out is the 800 has both auto AND manual ground balance, 600 has auto only. (meant to say noise cancel)

 

[☠ Cipher]

Did you mean Noise Cancel? It appears both models have manual gb, auto gb, and tracking going by the manual, but there is an asterisk on the manual noise Cancel stating it is only available on the 800.

 

[Treasure_Hunter]

Did you mean Noise Cancel? It appears both models have manual gb, auto gb, and tracking going by the manual, but there is an asterisk on the manual noise Cancel stating it is only available on the 800.

Sorry, I was talking about noise cancel and for some reason typed ground balance No morning coffee yet.

Here is a comparison chart.

 

[vferrari]

And I covered the noise cancel difference in point 7 of my OP at the top of the thread.

 

[sprailroad]

Again, great points put out by vferrari, many if not all I had considered, and I do like the fact? that I could use a set of favorite "wired" headphones with the 800. I also was right there with Cipher in thinking through "What was important/not important to me" in choosing between 6 & 800. I would not really miss the features the 800 offers, but I do like having the options to play around with if I choose to. I am still waiting for the additional items to become available for sale, (long wait yet?) before I order. For the $250 more, I'll go the 800 I already know. Anyway, this has been a good thread, learned a few things.

 

[toddbbq]

I have both and only have 2 trips with the 600 and my first trip with the 800 is tomorrow. Where I detect I have noticed a lot of EMI which I could not get the 600 to noise cancel out I hope the manual noise cancel on the 800 is better but wont know till Sat. I believe the EMI is coming from a couple of large hotels and definitely coming from a pier. Ooops I meant to post this on a different thread

 

[smokeythecat]

I've never really had a problem with EMI. I was detecting after a guy a couple years ago. He had a Minelab, I don't remember which one. There were standard residential overhead power lines running through the one farm. He said he could not dig near or under them due to the EMI. I went behind him with my el cheapo machine and got a CW snake buckle, and a bunch of bullets.

Since I have not used some of the other brands, who else has problems with emi?

 

[Terry Soloman]

I have posted variations on this theme but they are buried in other threads.

First off, I want to say that the point of this thread is NOT to convince people to get the 800 instead of the 600. The 600 is capable and may do everything you need and is a fantastic value.

But I want people to be informed when they are considering both detectors and I get concerned that they may experience a little buyers remorse once they realize that perhaps the most important thing missing from the 600 is NOT necessarily just gold mode which seems to be the common reaction (at least outwardly expressed reaction) from people posting on the forums. It typically goes something like this, "Since the 600 has the same multifrequency spectrum as the 800 including the 20 and 40 khz components, I have seen that it hits hard on gold even in the non-gold modes. If I subsequently decide I want to focus on gold prospecting, I will get a dedicated gold prospecting machine." Sounds logical and it is a logical thought in and of itself. Especially, if Gold Mode was the only missing feature from the 600. Now I am not going to say what "missing" 600 features are the most important, that is something everyone has to decide for themselves. I am just going to list them as sort of questions with some of my perspective and you can all decide whether any of it matters to you.

1. What else can Gold Mode be used for? We already covered Gold Mode, but all I am going to say additional about it is consider that Gold Mode being a VCO vice Tone implementation (unlike all the other modes) plus its high frequency spectrum bias means it may have some alternative benefits for relic hunters, especially those who are working hot soil sites. That is because besides gold, brass and small lead relics (and even small silver hammered coins) will ring up as mid-conductors and many of your most sought after relics, such as buttons, ID tags, cutlery, and knapsack parts are made of brass or small lead. So think about it if you are a big into relic hunting.

2. Will you miss 20 and 40 khz single frequency modes? Hard one to answer with any certainty at this point. I would say with MultiIQ and strong noise cancelling features it will be rare for you to have to go into any single frequency mode. Perhaps, much less, 20 and 40 khz. Single frequency can be used as a means to interrogate a target to identify if it is junk (i.e., a crown cap) masquerading as treasure. But you only really need one of the three lower frequencies to accomplish the trick of shifting to single on the fly and seeing a large change in VID which is a dead giveaway that you have a probable bottlecap. 20 and 40 khz may provide you with a last ditch way to hunt in a heavy EMI site where the built-in MultiIQ noise cancellation is NOT doing the trick (very rare). But other than the Equinox community not yet discovering what possible useful tricks or performance enhancements these high single frequencies bring, you may never miss them. One advantage of not having them is that you only have to cycle through 3 frequencies vice 5 to get back into MultIQ mode after going single freq.

3. Do you like to adjust tone breaks, pitch, and volume to customize your audio experience for specific targets or to compensate for selective hearing loss? If yes, then you are virtually out of luck with the 600 as you can only adjust the ferrous/non-ferrous tone break and only ferrous tone volume and pitch. To me this is kind of an important missing sleeper feature. Something you may not use out of the blocks but that you might want to explore as you get more proficient with the Equinox 800. The 800 also allows you to change the pitch of the threshold tone.

4. Do you like having the ability to adjust recovery speed over the entire range or iron bias, for that matter? Most people are aware that the 600 only offers 3 steps of recovery speed adjustment and only 4 steps of iron bias adjustment vs. 8 and 10, respectively on the 800. But more importantly than the resolution (number of steps) of the adjustment, is that the extreme slow and fast recovery speed adjustments on the 800 go beyond the range of adjustment on the 600. Some folks are actually using those upper two recovery speed adjustments in really thick iron which is not something I ever used on the Deus (I never have used the Deus in the field at the highest recovery speed setting, it is looking like that may not be the case with the Equinox 800). So that is something to consider. I am still trying to figure out iron bias and whether it matters that the 600 cannot achieve the highest 3 iron bias settings of the 800.

5. Can you use an extra, instant recall memory slot? The 800 has a User Profile Save button that allows you to instantly save the current machine settings in a slot that can be instantly recalled at the touch of a button. This can be handy in the case of the bottle cap single frequency interrogation technique described above or if you need a second version of your favorite mode selection saved. Each mode can be modified and saved in its own slot so the User Profile Save feature just gives you some added flexibility not available on the 600.

6. Do you want to be able to use your existing headphones untethered from the detector? This is not a missing "feature" per se. Both the 600 and 800 have the same exact wireless capabilities. However, the 800 is bundled with a key piece of Equinox unique hardware that can't actually be obtained at the moment at any cost. That is the WM08 wireless module that allows you to plug your existing favorite headphones into the WM08 and use them "wirelessly" with the Equinox. Cool feature. As far as Bluetooth is concerned, the 800 does come with a decent set of bluetooth APT X low latency headphones but there are a number of similar third party headphones and wireless sports earbuds (think weather resistant and even water proof) that can be purchased online for the 600 that will do a great job. You can think of the extra 800 hardware as a tangible value that accounts for some of the cost delta between the two detectors. Others may see that extra hardware as something they do not need and shouldn't have to pay extra for while wishing for a less expensive version of the 800 without those components.

7. Do you like to take manual control of an automated process? Well then you are in luck with the 800 because it has both auto and manual noise cancellation in the event you are not happy with the "noise free" channel auto noise cancellation selected for you. The 600 only has auto noise cancel.

I am probably forgetting a couple other odds and ends but these are the main feature differences between the two detectors that you should consider and decide for yourself whether the $250US savings is worth it because none of the above "missing" features are all that important to you.

I am a "I want the whole enchilada" kind of guy and am willing to pay the premium, because in some cases I may not know what I am missing until after I've had a detector for awhile. In other words, I don't know what I don't know about the value of the missing features so I might as well have them just in case.

I will re-emphasize, however, that he 600 probably beats the pants off just about anything else out there at the same price point and perhaps a number of more expensive rivals as well. Just make sure you are making the choice for the right reason(s).

HTH HH
VF

Excellent post Vferrari! You hit on very important differences between the 600 and 800, that folks should be aware of. For me the extra capabilities of the 800, were not that important. However, to a dedicated Relic hunter they certainly could be. I have a Minelab GPZ 7000 for goldfields, and deep woods foundation and cellar hole detecting, so that played into my choice. I really wanted a machine for wet and dry beach work, as well as rain detecting. Mission Accomplished!

 

[vferrari]

Thanks, Terry! I've learned a ton from your posts and the others around here who know detecting inside and out. As a relative newcomer to the hobby and without making this too cornball (lol) am honored you found it to be informative. Means a lot coming from you. Can't wait to see your detailed reports on the 600!

 

[flgliderpilot]

If you really did read my original post especially the beginning and ending statements and my subsequent reply to you, you would realize we are in violent agreement but you are couching as if I was trying to make the 800 out as better which is COMPLETELY missing the point. I went out of my way to not even coming close to "shaming" 600 users because I completely disagree with that sentiment.

BTW - as I am using the machine in thick iron, yes I am needing the 800 two highest recovery speed settings under some conditions, but that is just my requirement as a relic guy and as I said folks like Terry and Cipher don't need that on the beach.

After reading your original post again, I can see where we are in total agreement. I've deleted my post to avoid confusion. Sorry about that I did a quick speed read this morning and missed your overall point of the comparisons.