Running a XP Deus for years, thinking about the Equinox 800 to go with Deus

[austin_luker]

So I have been waiting and waiting for XP to drop a new machine with multi-freq's like the Equinox 800. I'm getting tired of holding my breath just like the App we where supposed to have YEARS ago.....
What is XP doing just collecting of the Deus and mini Deus (ORX)
Anyone have a Equinox 800?
The good and the bad please!

I would love to hear from you V on this!

 

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[smokeythecat]

V will chime in. The newest upgrade on the Deus kills it on a salt water beach.

 

[Irishgoldhound]

Any upgrades for the ORX yet?

 

[signal_line]

I read a post on another forum the guy put a 15" coil on his nox. To get the balance right he added a counterbalance--28 ounces! That's like adding an ORX. Multi-frequency might save some time but single frequency is better for a given target type. Probably the main reason I did not buy the nox was the coil size. I heard some things I didn't like--headphones kinda iffy, out-of-balance, don't care for the VDI number range.

 

[bigtim1973]

If your in mineralized ground or salt water beaches your not going to g to benefit from the multi iq thing. I had an equinox and the multi iq falses a lot in iron. The equinox runs much smoother in single freq mode. At least in my ground it did.

It does have a nice large screen though and it balances decent enough.

But to me it is kind of flimsy for the price of it too. But do not let me talk you out of it. If you want one go for it.

 

[Tom Slick]

I have both the Deus and the Nox 800. They are both terrific detectors and I find that I use both to supplement each other. I think the Nox is the better coin shooting Park and School detector but I prefer the Deus for hunting the Unlandscaped areas like forests and desert areas. The Deus is a little faster and I like it in the iron infested sites like ghost towns and Railroad camps but the Nox has the agvantage here in the turf sites.
I think a really good combination would be the Nox 800 with the XP ORX. I don't really need the extra features of the Deus over the ORX as most of those features are enhanced audio features not needed because those are the areas (sites) that the Nox is the better performer.

 

[Tommybuckets]

I have the deus and the equinox 600. I used the HF coil on a site and got two 2 reales at 12" . I went back over the same ground the next day with the equinox and could not uncover any more coins or artifacts that I may have missed. I've also gone the other way, cleaned up with the equinox and gone back over with the deus and nothing left. They seem equal on depth but the deus is faster and better in high iron sites. The small coil helps so much. I like(d) the equinox for beeping in the water but recently discovered they are not as waterproof as advertised. The balance of the equinox s for sh*t and trying to push it in the water makes my hand cramp up. The shaft wobble is a real nuisance but one I've been willing to put up with. Plus a screen is useless in cloudy water anyway. Mines heading back for repairs after a hard two years. I treat all my detectors a bit rough on the kayak or ATV or as a walking stick deep in the brush but the equinox didn't cut it. I had an excalibur for 10 yrs that had a much harder life and did better and I really like the BBS/ FBS minelab machines. I own a Safari thats as slow as a dinosaur compared to modern equipment but it will be my deus backup. I'm not trying to talk you out of it. I'm a diehard minelab fan but I figure tell the truth and you can decide. i love the deus but its too expensive to risk a swim with it.

 

[chazzcage]

Smokey ,what settings at the beach on 5.21 with the elliptical coil should I use ? Haven’t been hunting at beach for a long while due to work but now have time.

 

[jmc24]

The Deus and Equinox are my two favorite detectors. I have owned four Equinox, two Deus and an ORX. I keep trying to tell myself I don't need a Deus because I have the Equinox. I am either too dumb or the Deus is too good (both are right) to be without one. Nothing like the Deus in thick iron trash or for raw speed with the 9" round coils or the HF elliptical and the balance is almost perfect with those small coils.

I ditched the stock Equinox shafts on my 2 Nox 800s as soon as there were alternatives. The carbon fiber shafts by Steve Goss and Detect-Ed are fantastic and well worth the money. The Equinox with the 6" coil and one of those fine aftermarket shafts make the Nox very well balanced. They make using the 11" coil a lot more comfortable too. The stock shaft is very heavy in comparison. The Equinox stock wireless Bluetooth headphones are also very bass oriented and really don't sound very clear to me especially on smaller targets. There are plenty of better Bluetooth wireless headphone choices along with the awesome WM08 wired headphone Wi Stream module that comes with the 800.

I have not enjoyed using the stock Deus WS4 back phones or the WS5 headphones either. I bought a pair of the Quest headphones that accept the WS4 puck. They sound great, have good noise cancelling and are very comfortable on my big head. The WS4 stock back phones literally cause blisters above my ears after using them for more than an hour and the WS5s are just too heavy and not very comfortable on my head.

For going after really deep stuff, in heavy mineralization or in wet saltwater sand or surf, the Equinox can really get the job done. The 800 using the 1 tone VCO audio of the Gold Modes can really go deep and you still have very accurate target IDs even at 12".

One other thing the Deus, ORX and Equinox 800 all have in common besides iffy stock headphones is that they are actually amazing gold prospecting detectors. I have used all three extensively in the gold fields out west and they have never failed to impress me for handling hot rocks, cold rocks, mineralization and ferrous/non-ferrous identification accuracy. All three are also great for micro jewelry hunting.

The Equinox and Deus are about as different as you can get in a VLF however. I have a really hard time switching from one to the other. If you don't want to drive yourself crazy and just want to try Minelab Multi IQ without shelling out big bucks, try the Vanquish 440 or 540. They go as deep as the Equinox on dry land with comparable settings and coils, have extremely accurate target ID all the way to the edge of detection, work great in wet sand, have good ergonomics and are really fun to use. For the price they are hard to beat.

 

[Iron Patch]

I'm a long time Minelab user, Deus convert, but do own an Equinox. Both detectors are fairly close if you know each well but there's a much steeper curve for the Deus... and probably more so for me switching to a detector that was very different. Even once I bought and took the EQ for quite a few hunts I stuck to the Deus as my main detector because to me there's more info in the sound, and it's better to swing. I think anyone who knows the Deus very well would stick to it over the Minelab, but for anyone who doesn't know it, or doesn't know it as well as they think they do, the Equinox is a little more user friendly/forgiving so they may like what they see and stick with it. The only purpose my EQ serves these days is for backup and salt water. Otherwise it collects dust... but does do an excellent job at that!

 

[austin_luker]

Sorry for the late response I recently opened a business and am buried. I went ahead and got the Nox 800 with 11" coil. Really confusing coming from a Deus really confusing! But I'll give it a shot and its nice to have 2 machines.

Thank you all for your replies !! Keep them coming! I deff like the MI-6 better then the Pro-30 that is for sure!

 

[Iron Buzz]

I have both the Deus and the Nox 800. They are both terrific detectors and I find that I use both to supplement each other. I think the Nox is the better coin shooting Park and School detector but I prefer the Deus for hunting the Unlandscaped areas like forests and desert areas. The Deus is a little faster and I like it in the iron infested sites like ghost towns and Railroad camps but the Nox has the agvantage here in the turf sites.
I think a really good combination would be the Nox 800 with the XP ORX. I don't really need the extra features of the Deus over the ORX as most of those features are enhanced audio features not needed because those are the areas (sites) that the Nox is the better performer.

I couldn't have said it better. In fact, I was going to post something essentially the same, until I saw your post. I have a park near me with a few old coins and a jillion bottlecaps going back to the beginning of bottlecaps. I quickly gave up trying to detect it until I got the Equinox. On the other hand, give me a farm field where an old house used to sit and the Nox stays in the truck. The Deus with the 9" coil is just the ticket in all those nails, and I can swing it all day long.

 

[smokeythecat]

Chazzcage, to answer your question, I use "wet beach", tracking for gb and 74 khz. I really find no need to tweak the Deus as it slams it under all conditions. I even took it out once in a blowing sideways snowstorm. Under 2 pounds you can swing it forever and ever and ever. I was hunting wet surf yesterday and it did well. I it extremely easy to use. I think people get confused when they try to tweak it. On both the Equinox and Deus I think the most problems folks have is trying to over tweak them. The manufacturers know what they are doing when they set the presets.

 

[Iron Buzz]

Chazzcage, to answer your question, I use "wet beach", tracking for gb and 74 khz. I really find no need to tweak the Deus as it slams it under and conditions. I even took it out once in a blowing sideways snowstorm. Under 2 pounds you can swing it forever and ever and ever. I was hunting wet surf yesterday and it did well. I it extremely easy to use. I think people get confused when they try to tweak it. On both the Equinox and Deus I think the most problems folks have is trying to over tweak them. The manufacturers know what they are doing when they set the presets.

I would agree with what you say about presets when it comes to the Equinox. I do not agree when it comes to the Deus. Most of the presets, IMO, really suck. I think the marketing team got involved and thought that most people would want to emulate their previous XP machines, so many of the presets were set up for that. And of course, they wanted a preset for the rank novices to use, so there went another preset. I have tested the presets a few times over the years, and invariably have found them to be weak, at best. But they do serve as good starting points.

 

[austin_luker]

great feed back
thank you keep on coming!

 

[bigtim1973]

I do not know if i agree totally with the preset programs in the Deus.

It has probably 3 that were set up to mimic their other machines. I think that is pretty fantastic since you cannot buy the other XP units that are analog here in the states.

The only thing i really mess with are the tones and tone breaks for cherry picking the coins here that we have.

Other than that it is an awesome machine. One of the best if not the best and the preset programs blow a lot of the competition away without messing with any of the settings.

 

[vferrari]

Just learn what the settings do and the preset programs become irrelevant. All the base programs you need to know to create your custom programs are Deus Fast, Deep, and Gold Field. Everything else on the Deus is basically just a variant of Deus Fast with different user settings for the Disc; the tone type, number, and breaks, Sensitivity/Tx Power, Frequency, Reactivity/Silencer, the X/Y screen vs. the Horseshoe, Iron Volume, Audio Response and whether or not you are using normal ground or salt balance reference and tracking. The Deep program processes target signals fundamentally differently than Deus Fast (more audio definition at depth but also sparkier/less stable in Deep) but all the user settings behave the same on both Deep and Deus Fast. And Gold Field is just a different VCO beast altogether with iron audio reduction/blanking versus discrimination, no tone ID (VCO pitch audio only), and a threshold tone and variable reactivity like the regular discrimination modes.

 

[Iron Buzz]

Just learn what the settings do and the preset programs become irrelevant. All the base programs you need to know to create your custom programs are Deus Fast, Deep, and Gold Field. Everything else on the Deus is basically just a variant of Deus Fast with different user settings for the Disc; the tone type, number, and breaks, Sensitivity/Tx Power, Frequency, Reactivity/Silencer, the X/Y screen vs. the Horseshoe, Iron Volume, Audio Response and whether or not you are using normal ground or salt balance reference and tracking. The Deep program processes target signals fundamentally differently than Deus Fast (more audio definition at depth but also sparkier/less stable in Deep) but all the user settings behave the same on both Deep and Deus Fast. And Gold Field is just a different VCO beast altogether with iron audio reduction/blanking versus discrimination, no tone ID (VCO pitch audio only), and a threshold tone and variable reactivity like the regular discrimination modes.

Exactly. These days, I rarely even use my own presets without a little tweaking onsite. The most common thing I change is Reactivity Speed, but there are a few others that I will modify on occasion to fit conditions.

 

[austin_luker]

So after screwing the first trip with the NOX 800 I can now say I think its a great machine! I pulled a amazing flat button that I will post in a separate thread from the civil war on an old home site I POUNDED with the Deus and AT Pro/Max. I pulled some great targets other machines past up on. It will be the perfect buddy for the Deus until XP gets there sh*t together and releases a kill Multi-freq machine, I do believe that is the future of detecting!
Thank you V for all your help!

 

[smokeythecat]

That's a very, very nice button. What I have noticed is every time a different machine goes over the same spot, more stuff comes out. A couple years ago I went to a park, a rarity for me, a local club pounds. None of those guys uses a Deus, not then at least, I'm not sure now but they are fairly rare around here. There were remnants of dig holes everywhere. I pulled out several silvers, an 1864 Indian, and about $4 in change in about an hour and a half until I got bored. I have gone behind myself with a different machine, same thing happens.