AT Gold vs Equinox 800

[Calabash Digger]

Please dont take this the wrong way....OPIE that is about some flawed logic you got there my friend about comparing detectors. I mean really its really simple I swing two detectors over some targets that I hunt for.... One beeps the other doesnt . The one that beeps on the targets is the BETTER one for what I do.. pretty simple...It is not some college philosophical argument .Its more of a common sense type deal.

 

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[vferrari]

I come from the land down under where the men are six feet tail and full of thunder.....Just had a flashback..

Those vegemite sandwiches your served on our last outing were great, BTW.

 

[vferrari]

Honestly, you can't openly compare "any" unit against another, their all specialist designs to keep you buying a new detector. You can compare a general function like a prospecting mode or a relics mode or even same units going head to head in single frequency modes using different single frequencies. My first response was to say "Yes" you can compare an AT-Gold to an Equinox 800 and they compare similar in function, but only in "gold prospecting mode" but the AT-Gold is a budgeted "Gold" machine, its primary design was not relic hunting, its an added marketing option that its higher frequency 18 kHz is able to hit smaller targets easier than say a 7.5 kHz machine, so just like the Fisher F-19 or the Teknetics G2 (both rebranded Goldbug machines) it was given the do all moniker, which was really goofy considering Garrett already had the AT-Pro rolling in popularity. Regardless if you hate Garrett's AT series or not, its the machines that caused the industry to make sure water proofing was an almost standard option. The At Max to me is the blending of the pro and gold models then adding the new wireless technology.
New models are in the works for both Garrett and First Texas products but let us first hope they both don't go the way of Tessoro, many people who worked hard to make the toys we use were laid off these last few years so we need to support our locally made items for our sport, weather its a shovel, boots or a machine. Now it cost money to design a completely new detector and the fact that a 20 year old MXT design can still compete in 2019 should tell you how difficult it is to make an even more amazing machine, and in those 20 years the best we get is multi frequency, faster recovery speed and water proofing, (Something we started to see some 25 years ago) Wireless technology both on the coil and in the headphones is the latest break through on the retail release side anyway. More depth has constrains both from the science and physics placed on the process of VLF machines. Anyway, most who know me here know I don't wade into the compare units pool because of what I do, the arguments will continue and I'm a lover not a fighter,,,,lol
Good Luck!
Stay Gold!
Opie

Regarding the quote in bold above - Agree, Garrett got the industry moving in the right direction that there is no reason why machines shouldn't be waterproof. ML took it to the next level to show that a water machine needn't weigh a ton. I think the AT Gold was the pinnacle machine for Garrett in terms of putting a decent relic machine out there (gold and brass and lead are all mid-conductors) and was a sweet spot at 18 khz. I think 20 to 30 khz is ideal for relic hunting. 8 to 14 for Coin Shooting.

What is holding Garrett back is they took the wrong approach with the AT Max, and frankly a step sideways at best and probably, actually a step back. Specifically, they should have at least made the Max a waterproof switchable multi-frequency machine a la Nokta/Makro Anfibio/Multi-Kruzer with perhaps an increase or allowance for semi-adjustable recovery - don't even mess with the familiar AT series tones. No significant technology investment really necessary (it wasn't like they were trying to put Multi IQ out there or anything). Just put a WP detector out there where you can switch from the AT Max (13.6 KHZ or lower, say 8 khz)) to the AT Pro (15 khz) to the AT Gold (18 khz) frequency and call that the Max and they would have had something competitive.

Instead, with the Max they marginally lowered frequency and upped the gain (which at a lower frequency increased susceptibility to EMI and chattiness) and added some wireless bells and whistles and came out with a slightly warmed over and more chatty AT Pro, then released it right when the Equinox announcement was made, and shortly thereafter, the Makro Multi Kruzer announcement - talk about taking the wind out of your sails.

Garrett could have done better if they were looking outward instead of inward and surveyed what was going on out in Europe as well as the US. Instead, they relied on their loyal customer base to call the shots ("we want a deeper AT Pro") rather than thinking outside the box to give their base something they didn't even know they wanted and that was more capable. Forgetting about technology for a second, ML decided to make the bold move of aggressively going for the mid-range detector market, so they not only introduced some new tech (Multi IQ) but they also aggressively slashed cost and prices to to gain a market foothold, even putting their high end detector offerings like the eTrac, CTX 3030 and Excalibur series in peril. (why should I get a CTX when the Equinox is cheaper, faster, lighter, and perhaps just as deep). Garrett did nothing of the sort. Warmed over the AT Pro and offered it at a higher price point. Then released it at the worst time possible. Ugh.

Believe me, if you could somehow take the functionality of the SINGLE BUT SWITCHABLE 3 TO 5 FREQUENCY Equinox (i.e., forget about MultiIQ which is proprietary) and wrapped it in that wrist breaking AT series package, the Garret fanboys would hardly be able to keep from wetting themselves on their "revolutionary" detector. It would be a couple steps more capable than the max, yet still lag the Equinox in functionality, but it would at least be competitive and it would be great to have a US company out there trying to do something the French, Turkish, and Australian companies are doing. At least that's the way I look at it. I really hope Garrett, Fisher, or Whites can step up their game but it is looking increasing likely, that the overseas manufacturers are getting the upper hand, and, in the end that is bad for the detecting community if we start losing US brand choices. Those US brand manufacturers need to step it up, but they may already be in hospice care.

 

[RustyGold]

I like that companies push the design envelope forward and are listening to customers as to what they want even if the customer doesn’t know they want it.
Looking over at the two detectors that I love using the most, I see two brands. One is the XP’s Deus. The other one is the Minelab Equinox.
I voted for my preferences with my wallet and drinking the kool-aid tasted pretty good.

 

[Professor of Engineering]

Not much talk or comparison of the Whites V3i (3-individual or 3 combo frequency ability) vs the Equinox or Deus. I may be wrong, but have not seen any comparisons between these machines.

I would love to see these machines tested head-to-head.

 

[Calabash Digger]

If the V3 I menu system is anything like the DFX ( and I heard it was worse)it would have to almost dig the holes for you to be any better than the Equinox...I know a guy here who was a LOYAL V3 I user for years......guess what he swings know ….Yep you guessed it...NOX!

 

[Truth]

Stands alone is right. AT Max was the worst purchase i have made in Metal detecting. Was pissed at myself for selling the pro to get it. Tones are god aweful, called garrett because i really thought i had a bad one. Crackly audio thought my speaker was busted. Its just my opinion but come on people the stuff out there you can get now for the price of the Max is unreal with many more on the way. Multi Freq, recovery speed, iron volume. All very important features you need. Unless you dont idk..

I was right there with you. Sold mine in a record breaking 2 months. Wanted my ATP back so bad. The new handle grip wasn’t worth it. Lol

 

[Opie]

Professor, I use the V3i, I haven't been able to do a head to head comparison, I usually don't and just go by ground results from test elements. The V3i is the machine you want if you are into tweaking or special programming, there is almost no limit to what that machine can be set up for in the way of a custom setting. And this is a literal custom setting and not an increase in adjustments or frequency change. You can change the number of frequencies 3-1 (The limit here is the 2.5 7.5 and 22 kHz frequencies) You can customize everything, swing speed, recovery speed, discriminators you name it, Crazy thing can probably be programmed to make my morning coffee,,,lol The down side to this machine is you really, really, really need some time using it before custom programming. However its open standard settings available are not too bad to just punch up "Relic" or "Deep Silver" and go for it.
This is a good example of detectors not being comparable evenly. You take the Equinox either machine and any other multi frequency newer unit and there is a limitation to how much juice is being sent/received/processed on each frequency. Minelab has made a huge leap in the processing of the Equinox compared to the Etrac, but then the Equinox is running only 3 frequencies compared to the super multi 1.5 to 100 kHz frequencies the Etrac uses. This is why the Etrac is so slow. But there are reasons why you want the Etrac over the Equinox in certain situations.
More to come.
Stay Gold!
Opie

 

[vferrari]

...You take the Equinox either machine and any other multi frequency newer unit and there is a limitation to how much juice is being sent/received/processed on each frequency. Minelab has made a huge leap in the processing of the Equinox compared to the Etrac, but then the Equinox is running only 3 frequencies compared to the super multi 1.5 to 100 kHz frequencies the Etrac uses. This is why the Etrac is so slow. But there are reasons why you want the Etrac over the Equinox in certain situations.
More to come.
Stay Gold!
Opie

Actually, just to clear up some info for accuracy, ML combines 2 discrete frequencies of 5 across the spectrum of 5 to 40 khz for Multi IQ on Equinox (whichn2 frequencies are selected is mode dependent). Similarly, FBS combines 2 of 25 discrete frequencies across 1.5 to 100 khz but scans across the spectrum which limits its recovery speed. Equinox also has 5 individual frequencies to choose from for single frequency ops, flexibility FBS lacks. FBS/FBS2 is probably ultimately deeper on high conductors under ideal conditions and can produce highly accurate target IDs. Equinox excels at recovery speed and target separation in trash situations, handles mineralization well, and is superior to FBS in ferreting out small mid-conductors.

ML says this about the optimal number of frequencies that should be combibed and about FBS vs. Multi IQ:

“How many simultaneous frequencies?” you may ask, wondering if this is a critical parameter. Minelab has been carrying out detailed investigations into this in recent years. Just as you can color in a map with many colors, the minimum number to differentiate between adjacent countries is only 4 – a tough problem for mathematicians to prove, over many years. Similar to the map problem, it’s perhaps not the maximum number of frequencies needed to achieve an optimum result, but the minimum number that is more interesting. When it comes to frequencies in a detector, to cover all target types, how the frequencies are combined AND processed is now more important, with the latest detectors, than how many frequencies, for achieving even better results."

"How does Multi-IQ compare to BBS/FBS?

Multi-IQ uses a different group of fundamental frequencies than BBS/FBS to generate a wide-band multi-frequency transmission signal that is more sensitive to high frequency targets and slightly less sensitive to low frequency targets. Multi-IQ uses the latest high-speed processors and advanced digital filtering techniques for a much faster recovery speed than BBS/FBS technologies. Multi-IQ copes with saltwater and beach conditions almost as well as BBS/FBS, however BBS/FBS still have an advantage for finding high conductive silver coins in all conditions."

 

[rjtyree]

I always get a laugh outta fan boys ...... thanks !