XP DEUS alternatives!!!

[relicmeister]

I have an Orx. Before that I had an equinox 800, but sold it. I was doing better with the Orx. That said I then bought a Nox 600. I still favor the Orx and use it much more the the Nox.

 

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[Greek_Hunter]

I have an Orx. Before that I had an equinox 800, but sold it.

So is it safe to say that according to your experience the equinox 800 is not as good as the Orx? And no where near the Deus than? I thank everyone with your patience as I'm trying to figure out which one to get at this level of detectors.

 

[Greek_Hunter]

Are you cache hunting

I'm sorry, but what exactly does that mean?

There is a big difference in the type of .machine you were using compared to the Deus.

YES! You are so very right! But unfortunately the land here I believe does not have the appropriate treasures for a Lorenz.

It is however a most excellent machine. And if you take the time to get to know it you would be very happy.

I thank you for your advice.

 

[GoDeep]

You can't go wrong with any of them. They are all great detectors. It just depends on your budget.

 

[jmc24]

So Greek Hunter, as you can read from many of these posts about your topic and the argument within the topic there are some Equinox haters, some Deus lovers, some ORX users and even the mention of the AT Max.

Before I continue, I own the Equinox 800, the Equinox 600, the XP ORX and the Whites V3i. I used to own the XP Deus, AT Pro, AT Gold and many other detectors that just can't handle my hunting conditions which are moderately to highly mineralized soil for coin, jewelry and relic hunting, salt and fresh water beach, surf and submerged hunting, and gold nugget prospecting in high to extreme mineralization.

These are my opinions from extensive use of these detectors in tough soil conditions for hundreds to thousands of hours except for the Whites V3i which I recently purchased used. It is nice to be fairly fit and retired so I can detect whenever I want, even during a pandemic. They do not reflect what these detectors are capable of in mild soil conditions since I rarely hunt in places with low mineralization.

I really liked the XP Deus. However, it could not handle the mineralization in my area and depth was an issue no matter what coil I used. This was before the newer HF and X-35 coils. I tried another time to make the Deus work well for my detecting needs but I ended up just using Deus Fast and Goldfield since they handled the mineralization here the best. I was wasting the rest of the detector so I sold another Deus. When the XP ORX was introduced which was designed for gold prospecting and relic hunting specifically for use with the HF coils I bought one and couldn't be happier. It has two versions of Gold Field, a clone of Deus Fast and also a clone of Deus Deep which work well here. The ORX is an excellent relic detector and an outstanding gold prospecting detector since coupled with the HF coils, it has the higher selectable frequencies that I need for gold prospecting and relic hunting in moderate to high mineralization. For coin and jewelry hunting in my area it would not be my first choice. For relic hunting in thick iron trash the Deus and Orx are unmatched in my opinion.

The Equinox 800 or 600 are much better equipped for coin and jewelry hunting for my soil condition and for the digging restrictions in my area. I have to basically already have a good idea about what I'm am going to dig with a screwdriver (no shovels allowed) in the parks and public property here. Digging a bunch of big holes will get everyone banned from detecting here. The Equinox will tell me with really good certainty that I am digging iron, a low conductor, a mid conductor or a high conductor down to 11"+ on a coin sized or larger object with the stock 11 inch coil. It gives me accurate tones and numerical target IDs for these targets along with accurate depth. It works really well for jewelry also and is extremely adjustable. My least favorite thing about the Equinox are the ergonomics which Smokey alluded to. I have changed the shafts on both of mine to carbon fiber/graphite and that made a big difference. It would be my second choice for relic hunting behind the Deus/Orx.

The ORX and the Deus in my soil conditions cannot correctly numerically or tonally ID any low to mid conductors deeper than 3" here. Some people will say it is the tones that are more accurate and important on the Deus and ORX. I agree. The problem is that when every tone is a high tone on targets deeper than three inches here, I have little clue what I'm digging. It's just a fact and is not meant as a slight on these outstanding detectors or any other single frequency detector which perform about the same in the areas where I hunt. Only simultaneous multi frequency detectors like the Equinox and the Whites VX3 and V3i are able to numerically and tonally identify deeper targets here.

I will add that in my opinion (and I have extensively used every VLF gold prospecting detector made from the USA, France, Australia/Malaysia and Turkey) the best VLF gold prospecting detector on the planet right now is the Minelab Equinox 800.

If you will be hunting salt water beaches and shallow surf or hunting with your detector submerged, your best choice for a VLF detector is the Equinox 600 or 800. If you just want to hunt dry salt sand, a little wet salt sand or fresh water beaches the XP Deus or XP Orx will do very well since they have salt compensation settings. You cannot submerge even the coil in water however without using the underwater kit. The XP wireless signal cannot travel through water. The AT Max cannot handle salt mineralization well at all, so I would not recommend it for salt water beaches or surf. The new Garrett APEX which comes out soon should handle salt water beaches very well since it has salt compensation and is a simultaneous multi frequency detector but it is not fully waterproof like the AT series Garretts and the Equinox.

If you want a really amazing detector, that sadly is not waterproof, the Whites V3i (many people do not like it by the way) is a master class for learning about what makes a VLF detector work. It actually works really well right out of the box however for anyone that can swing it and will challenge you for the rest of your detecting life. So will the XP Deus and the Equinox. They can also be considered as master level detectors which in the right conditions can work right out of the box for a less experienced person too.

There is at least one dealer that sells the Lorenz Deepmax Z1 here in the US if you are missing your Lorenz. There are many other excellent pulse induction detectors for sale here too.

good luck,

Jeff

 

[Greek_Hunter]

Well Greek hunter let me be one of the first to welcome you to a very fine forum. Now finding something at three feet would have to be a good sized object. Can you give us more info to be able to steer you in the right direction. I also live in Ohio

Hello Gare and thanks for the welcome. Yes, by the looks of things, you guys definitely have a fine and suburb forum here and I'm honored to be part of your group here as I am a very passionate hunter and love this sport of ours. I'm looking to get the XP Deus and I've been holding off to get more opinions and by the looks of things, even in here other hunters seem to like the Deus also. Perhaps my comment about 3feet deep was wrongly stated! I'm going to be searching for relics etc but should a bunch of coins in a vase be fairly deep I don't want to walk away from it without a beep!

You can't go wrong with any of them. They are all great detectors.

Thank you GoDeep. Appreciate it.

There is at least one dealer that sells the Lorenz Deepmax Z1 here in the US if you are missing your Lorenz. There are many other excellent pulse induction detectors for sale here too.

Jeff I am very grateful for such detailed message that you share with me that comes from years of experience! I don’t know if the forum’s rules allows for you to tell me the dealer that sells the Lorenz Deepmax Z1 here in the US but if it’s ok, please post. Not that I would buy it right now because I don’t believe that there’s anything in the ground deep enough for a Lorenz. I’ve nailed an ancient pinky nail size gold pendant at more than a foot deep with the 14in. round coil and I’ve nailed a soda can size oinochoe at a meters depth and with the 1.5 x 1.5 meter frame with a double coil nothing would get away up to 2+ meters and that’s from personal experience. But all that I believe, is unnecessary for US hunting and I’ve been advised to look into the Deus and similar which I have no clue of VLFs because the Lorenz did it all and basically dusted all detectors that went first. But I find it inappropriate to walk down the beach with such a machine hooked on my body! I would really appreciate it if you can shed some light about your experience with pulse induction detectors that you would choose above the VLFs that you've mentioned.

Thank you again Jeff.

P.S. By NO means do I want to be associated with trying to promote the Lorenz in any way whatsoever and NOR am I trying to throw mud on any other company whatsoever!!! I'm simply a hunter stating my own personal experience without having great knowledge of all other detectors.

 

[bigtim1973]

Cache hunting means looking for pots of coins or large deep objects. A cache of coins per say is in a term same as a hoard of coins.

When you buy a Deus or ORX you will have a choice of coils to pick from too.

The X35 black and the HF white coils.

The X35 coil has a choice of frequencies from 4khz thru 27 khz with 7 offsets each giving a total of 35 frequencies to choose from and the white HF coil has frequencies from 14 khz thru 54 khz with 7 off sets for a total of 21 frequencies to choose from.

The black X35 coil is a bit more chattery around power lines and city parks and the white HF coil runs quieter in those conditions.

So that will be another thing to consider. I like the white HF coil myself and prefer it. However since you may be wanting to cache hunt you may want to consider the X35 coil due to the boost mode on 4khz for large deep items.

Maybe that kind of clears up the term cache hunting a bit for you.....at least I hope it does.

If you consider an ORX that is a very good machine as well. Similar in depth as the Deus. However it does not have the capability to choose other tones and tone breaks. And it does not have the transmitter boost mode that the Deus has with the X35 coil on 4khz.

Also you cannot change the break points to f the targets either. But it is a very capable machine with 3 tones in the coin programs.

You see a lot of talk about the minelab equinox as well. I had one too. Mine was the 600. The only place I could see the equinox out performing a Deus would be on a salt water beach or in high mineralized ground conditions due to the fact that it can use more than one frequency at a time. In my soil conditions both the Deus and ORX ran circles around the equinox 600...at least the one I owned.

The Deus and ORX both have a faster recovery speed than the equinox 600 and they were both deeper than the equinox as well. I cannot give any reference to the equinox 800 as I have never used one.

I also noticed that the equinox was not as good in sites contaminated with iron and trash as the Deus and ORX are.

Hope this helps in your decision a little.

 

[Greek_Hunter]

Maybe that kind of clears up the term cache hunting a bit for you.....at least I hope it does.

It SURE did clear up the term cache hunting and I Thank You truly. I've done a lot of cache hunting in my life and I sure love it!

Hope this helps in your decision a little.

It sure does and again, Thank You.

 

[Greek_Hunter]

Well all of you here have confused the heck out of me with so much infobut I'm VERY grateful to ALL of you for helping me make a decision. Now, I will ask another question and I would appreciate your input. I don't know if you can freely express your opinions do to the site's policies but here I ask away... Where should I buy from? Kellyco is one that I know of and a couple of others but I have never bought anything from anyone since I relocated back home not to long ago. I would like a store where I can speak to a person where I'm not just a sale and that would guide me with honesty and not always $$$ and of course great service and warranties. If you Gents can, please share your wisdom. Thank You.

P.S.
I apologize to the admins if my question is inappropriate.

 

[bigtim1973]

You could get it from one of the dealers listed at the bottom of the forum. There are several to choose from. And do not be afraid to see of the dealer you call have actually used or uses the Deus. I have dealt with Kellyco in the past but I have had better service from other dealers. No pun intended.

 

[HuntinDog]

Towards the bottom of the main Forums page is a list of sponsoring dealers.
I've purchased from BigBoys and had great service.
Don't forget to tell them you found them here and ask if there is any discounts.

 

[relicmeister]

Cache hunting means looking for pots of coins or large deep objects. A cache of coins per say is in a term same as a hoard of coins.

When you buy a Deus or ORX you will have a choice of coils to pick from too.

The X35 black and the HF white coils.

The X35 coil has a choice of frequencies from 4khz thru 27 khz with 7 offsets each giving a total of 35 frequencies to choose from and the white HF coil has frequencies from 14 khz thru 54 khz with 7 off sets for a total of 21 frequencies to choose from.

The black X35 coil is a bit more chattery around power lines and city parks and the white HF coil runs quieter in those conditions.

So that will be another thing to consider. I like the white HF coil myself and prefer it. However since you may be wanting to cache hunt you may want to consider the X35 coil due to the boost mode on 4khz for large deep items.

Maybe that kind of clears up the term cache hunting a bit for you.....at least I hope it does.

If you consider an ORX that is a very good machine as well. Similar in depth as the Deus. However it does not have the capability to choose other tones and tone breaks. And it does not have the transmitter boost mode that the Deus has with the X35 coil on 4khz.

Also you cannot change the break points to f the targets either. But it is a very capable machine with 3 tones in the coin programs.

You see a lot of talk about the minelab equinox as well. I had one too. Mine was the 600. The only place I could see the equinox out performing a Deus would be on a salt water beach or in high mineralized ground conditions due to the fact that it can use more than one frequency at a time. In my soil conditions both the Deus and ORX ran circles around the equinox 600...at least the one I owned.

The Deus and ORX both have a faster recovery speed than the equinox 600 and they were both deeper than the equinox as well. I cannot give any reference to the equinox 800 as I have never used one.

I also noticed that the equinox was not as good in sites contaminated with iron and trash as the Deus and ORX are.

Hope this helps in your decision a little.

Agree with all this and came to same conclusions in comparing XP to Equinox 600/800 both of which I had. The Orx is much lighter and more comfortable to swing in woods than the Nox and I just do better with the XP.

 

[Greek_Hunter]

Gentlemen, you've been great and I appreciate all your help. Now I turn to you with another dilemma!! The 800 as you all know comes with the 11inch coil. If I change to the 15 inch, would that be smart or stupid? Has anyone added the 15 incher?

 

[RustyGold]

My personal preference is the 11” coil. Not too big not too small but just right for my style and area I hunt in. Good luck!

 

[Tom Slick]

The 15" coil adds ground coverage but doesn't add much depth to coin sized targets. In my soil it adds about an inch more depth but is much heavier to swing. If you want coverage or your looking for larger items it may work for you but on coins and jewelry sized items , not so much. I sold my 15" coil.

 

[Greek_Hunter]

Thank you Gents. That's enough for me to stick to the original. I love this site. All curiosities and questions covered!!