Equinox 800 $899, X-Terra 705 $499. Of course they'd want to offer a detector between those prices like all the major mfrs. In my case I don't want to pay for detection of very tiny gold as tiny amounts of gold have only been found in a very few places in my state. I think the Equinox 600 will be the best under $700 deep coin detector with accurate IDs ever, as well as detecting coins very close to trash. It seems they are saying it will even go deep for those who don't want to sweep slow. This caught my interest as standing still detecting is harder on my back than slow walking. Best wishes.
Agreed. It is a great price point for what you get with the 600.
I am glad that Minelab included a lower price point Equinox that helps deliver MOST of the goods for those detectorists on a limited budget. But for those just shopping for a bargain, I cannot help but think that it may leave many a detectorist wanting for more once they realize that you may be leaving behind more than just a Gold Prospecting mode if you choose to invest in the economy machine and there is really no upgrade path even with the capability of software updates, other than ultimately purchasing the 800.Be careful about just focusing in on the high frequency capability difference, and dismissing the difference as an unneeded capability just because you may not be a gold nugget prospector. There is more to the differences between the two than meets the eye. Part of the confusion lies in the fact that there is not hard and fast comparison between the two that I can find online, at least in relation to the capability (not just feature) differences between the two detectors. Also, even if you are not a gold prospector, high frequency capability is not something that should be of interest to the gold prospector, it enables capabilities that are also of interest to the relic hunter and even the coin shooter (more on that below).
The following comparative information is what I can ascertain from reviewing the Minelab 600/800 quick start guide and other online sources.
[Note: corrected the MultiIQ discussion below to properly reflect that both the 600 and 800 will utilize 5-frequency MultiIQ including 20 and 40 kHz].
Waterproof: Both will be waterproof and submersible to 3 meters.
Multi IQ: Both will incorporate the Multi IQ technology -
Both the 600 and 800 will have the ability to simultaneously utilize all 5 frequencies including 20 and 40 khz as part of the Multi IQ scan signal. The 600 cannot, however, operate in single frequency mode at 20 and 40 kHz. This is important not just for gold nugget prospectors but for those who are also relic hunters that detect small and mid-conductive targets like buttons and brass artifacts that will be more detectable when using the higher frequencies of the 800 in either discrete or Multi IQ Gold mode. This is of less importance to coin shooters who focus primarily on high conductive silver coins (unless of course you are also into hammered coins or US nickels, both of which are considered mid-conductive targets). Furthermore, there is evidence based on recent experience with the new Deus HF coils, that doing general searching in the higher frequencies in areas with high iron concentrations and especially
deep iron actually enhances the ability to unmask shallower mid
AND high conductive targets such as buttons and silver coins.
So, besides gold nugget prospecting, the HF frequencies also have a role in helping to unmask not-so-deep silver from iron, and that DOES matter to the coin shooter.. Furthermore, from an EMI perspective there may be circumstances where the ability to be able to choose from 5 vs. 3 discrete frequencies may be a game changer when broadband noise renders 5, 10, and 15 kHz as unusable, whereas 20 and/or 40 kHz are significantly less impacted.
Reactivity/Recovery: It is not clear that there will be a difference in the ultimate high-end or low-end recovery speed of the 600 vs. 800 but from what I can tell, you will have less adjustability with the 600 with only 3 levels vs. 8 levels of adjustability with the 800. Coming from the Deus, having a finer control over reactivity/recovery which enables you to balance separation vs. depth is a distinct advantage. XP added another level of adjustability on reactivity/recovery in its latest software update to the Deus based on customer demand.
Preset Detect Modes and User Profiles: Obviously the "Gold" Detect Mode is absent from the 600, but as I said before, the high frequency capability does not just enhance gold mode detecting. There is an instant user profile settings save button on the faceplate of the 800, this button does not exist on the 600. Both detectors are capable of saving up to 2 different custom search mode profiles for each search mode setting (Park, Field, Beach, Gold (800 only)).
Non-Ferrous and Threshold Tone Selection: Only the 800 will provide the capability to customize Threshold Tone settings and Non-Ferrous Tone Volume, Pitch, and Tone breaks vs. the 600 which will only have a single default setting for these parameters. This is important to me because I have partial hearing loss and ability to adjust tone pitch and volume is critical. Adjustable tone breaks also enable me to better set up tones consistent with enabling my desired targets of interest to punch through the noise better.
Wireless Audio: Both detectors support wireless audio including the connection of up to FOUR wireless modules (which means that you can have 4 sets of ears listening to a single detector - not sure how this could be used outside of a learning environment, but it may open up some interesting possibilities. First one to actually dig the target wins...lol). The 800 will include a wireless headset and WM08 module. The 600 will come with a set of non-waterproof wired headphones.
Are the differences worth the $250 price differential? That is for each of us individually to decide (I know my answer) and of course for many, even if they wanted those capabilities, affordability is the key when resources are limited. I just wanted to point out that the differences between the two detectors is more than just a Gold Prospecting search mode. The way I think about those additional 800 capabilities is that it is like paying for an included additional accessory coil that is incompatible with the 600 (even if you were willing pay the extra $250 down the road after investing in the 600) because they consist of fundamental hardware and software differences and capabilities (extra faceplate buttons, additional transmit frequencies) between the two detectors that cannot be simply added on later with future software updates to the 600. So you are, in essence, kind of stuck with what you get and, for me, having that constraint is not worth the savings.
HTH
