Tough decision for next detector GPX5000 or NOX 800

[Beech7]

Seasons Greetings,
I’m looking for a new detector. I will be primarily in remote locations looking for gold nuggets, some hot ground. I also enjoy poking around for relics. My experience is with a Whites MXT which I used to find some gold, coins and cool stuff. My concern is the learning curve on the 5000. Am I being realistic to make the jump to this and be successful? Also with the 7000 now in production is the 5000 becoming obsolete? I can pick one up used for about 3k. The Equinox is the other option I’m considering.
Cheers, Mike

[smokeythecat]

Welcome. There are several things to consider. I see you are in Alaska. If you are strictly looking for gold nuggets and pickers at depth, I would go with one of the GPX machines. If you are relic hunting, the GPX series will drive you nuts with areas with a lot of iron in it. When we dig Civil War hut and camp sites, and older home sites, a GPX is not the beast of choice. The Equinox is a good machine, at least comparable to the MXT. If you need a beast in iron, the best option is the XP Deus. It runs at an extremely high 74khz frequency which will zap gold out of the ground. Head to head, when we try the Equinox vs. Deus in bad ground and with a lot of iron, the Deus outperforms the Equinox by about 15%. That may not sound like a lot, but a buddy of mine just got a nice gold coin with his Deus in an area the Equinoxes have pounded - hot soil. You might consider what you want to look for the most, and eventually get two machines.

[Beech7]

Thank You Smokeythecat,
I think you bring up some great points. I am in Ak, but can travel freely once this Covid blows over. I am interested in finding a meteorite, and of course treasure, which sounds like the Deus might be a great option. I haven’t spoken to anyone running the Dues, but I have listened to a few of the XP podcasts. Sounds like a great machine.
I appreciate your insight and will take a good look at the Deus.

[cudamark]

If you're mainly hunting gold nuggets in ground reasonably free of iron, I'd get the GPX or GPZ detector. As Smokey mentioned, the Deus is very good in iron infested ground. The Equinox does a decent job there too, and it it would be my choice for salt water areas. It's also waterproof. As with just about any machine, it will take some time to become comfortable with any of them. I found the Equinox fairly easy coming from an Etrac....maybe 50 hours before I became one with the machine. PI machines in mineralized ground will take a bit more work getting adjustments tweaked just right, and pin pointing the target takes a bit to get used to.