Garrett AT Max (2018) or Minelab Vanquish 540

[rs2007elias]

Looking at grabbing one of the two (see title).
Price difference is negligible (within 50 bucks of eachother).

Leaning towards the AT Max (from 2018, but good shape) as it seems to usually fetch a higher price, so can likely resell it close to what I buy it for. Which would not be the case with the Vanquish.

Thoughts?

 

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[cudamark]

What are you trying to find? Water? Land? There may (and probably are) be better options than either of those two.

 

[rs2007elias]

Brackish (almost fresh) water, land. Coins would be fun!

I was recommended the Nokta Legend on another forum, despite it being a lower % discount than the AT Max is (the Legend ends up at 50$ more, despite MSRP being 300$ lower here). Still worth going for Legend instead, or is it just overhyped?

 

[cudamark]

No way I'd get the AT Max. Between those two models, the Legend is a no-doubter. The Equinox 700 or Deus2 are another great option of you can handle the extra cost. You'll want a good set of waterproof headphones also. Forget getting any machine that isn't a multi-frequency machine and waterproof.

 

[rs2007elias]

No way I'd get the AT Max. Between those two models, the Legend is a no-doubter. The Equinox 700 or Deus2 are another great option of you can handle the extra cost. You'll want a good set of waterproof headphones also. Forget getting any machine that isn't a multi-frequency machine and waterproof.

Always was a believer of "you get what you pay for" -- but I assume this is one of those rare exceptions to that law then?

The Nokta will give a worse resale price here if I decide to go for another machine later on, but if it is substantially better (is it that much better?), then I will certainly pick it over the AT Max 🙂

 

[cudamark]

Always was a believer of "you get what you pay for" -- but I assume this is one of those rare exceptions to that law then?

The Nokta will give a worse resale price here if I decide to go for another machine later on, but if it is substantially better (is it that much better?), then I will certainly pick it over the AT Max 🙂

Yes, it's that much better, and one of the best buys in detectors at the moment. It competes easily with detectors twice it's price. The AT Max is a good land machine and in fresh water, but, it's also old tech with only having one frequency. With simultaneous multi frequency, you have a much more adjustable machine and one that can handle salt (or brackish) water with ease.

 

[Peterw]

Legend all day. The Legend and the Nokta Anfibio are better in my opinion than almost all machines on the market, regardless of price.

 

[cudamark]

We had one person using an Anfibio on England farm fields last week. I don't know what the problem was, but, it wasn't getting the job done. It wasn't getting the depth and some of the targets weren't sounding as a good target. They switched to an Equinox 800 and also a Deus 2 and had much better luck.

 

[RayHeezy]

Is the nokta legend tested submersible? Out of personal curiosity

 

[Peterw]

We had one person using an Anfibio on England farm fields last week. I don't know what the problem was, but, it wasn't getting the job done. It wasn't getting the depth and some of the targets weren't sounding as a good target. They switched to an Equinox 800 and also a Deus 2 and had much better luck.

I had trouble when I first got the anfibio, just static and couldn't click with it..I notched out the last three upper segments and that thing was quite as a church mouse. I was running 95 sens and man is it ever deep in my Pennsylvania soil,I pulled loads of old coppers and buttons at 10 inches ,honest 10 inches. And most were in thick yellow clay after the first 6 inches of dirt..
I know the deus 2 and manicore are all the rave but those nokta / makro machines are hard to beat.. I have a deus 1 and love those machines. Had a deus 2 for a minute,had the 11 inch coil and it was just a EMI magnet, I don't put that on the machine but the coil ,,cause the 11 on my deus 1 will pick up EMI nonstop..I run the x35 9 inch and it's quite...

 

[rs2007elias]

Ok, so a little change. The AT Max had 3x coils (regular, sniper and large one), as well as 3x headphones (including Amphibian Grey Ghost. Still a better buy to go for the Legend base kit with no extras?

 

[Richard Guy]

My .02
Go With the Legend, .. a very capable unit and it's waterproof to 10 feet underwater

 

[cudamark]

I could be offered 1000 entry level Bounty Hunters vs one Legend. The 1000 Bounty Hunters would be a better buy, but, not the better detector no matter how many were included.

 

[rs2007elias]

I am now the proud owner of a Legend