vferrari
Silver Member
- Joined
- Jul 19, 2015
- Messages
- 4,910
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- Location
- Near Ground Zero for Insanity
- Detector(s) used
- XP Deus with HF/x35 Coils and Mi6 Pinpointer/ML Equinox 600/800/ML Tarsacci MDT 8000 GPX 4800/Garrett ATX/Fisher F75 DST/Tek G2+/Delta/Whites MXT/Nokta Simplex/Garrett Carrot
- Primary Interest:
- All Treasure Hunting
- #1
Thread Owner
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
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
Last edited:
No morning coffee yet.
