Availability?

67GTA

Sr. Member
Dec 3, 2017
252
316
Franklin, KY
Detector(s) used
Equinox 800 XP Deus 2 Vanquish 540
Primary Interest:
Metal Detecting

Iffy Signals

Sr. Member
Sep 17, 2018
484
730
Rhode Island
Detector(s) used
Current-Deus & Equinox 800. Past - CTX, F75, AT Pro/Max, F44, Patriot.
Primary Interest:
All Treasure Hunting
It's funny because I wondered if the cheaper vanquish would have better ergonomics due to the S shaft.

They did a great job on the layout & the coils.. some people are gonna be turned off with the Red and not waterproof but its an awesome machine. Fast, Deep, Nox clear tones, and Multi IQ.
 

67GTA

Sr. Member
Dec 3, 2017
252
316
Franklin, KY
Detector(s) used
Equinox 800 XP Deus 2 Vanquish 540
Primary Interest:
Metal Detecting
Finally took the Vanquish to one of my colonial nail beds today. I was disappointed because it was really falsing on the square nails. It would hit in the 20's until I got the nail out of the ground. Really likes the iron halos I guess. The Nox chirps on them but you can tell it's iron if you turn on them and the signal cuts out. Really has me second guessing the Vanquish. I can try to video it falsing if anyone wants to see how bad it was.
 

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Andy Nunez

Full Member
Nov 19, 2015
190
156
Maryland's Eastern Shore
Detector(s) used
Minelab Vanquish 540 or Garrett Ace 400 with a Cors Cannon coil and Z-lynk, Predator Piranha shovel, White's TRX pinpointer.
Primary Interest:
All Treasure Hunting
I'd like to see something on that. I asked for a Vanquish from Santa based on the great iron performance on the Equinox and will be upset if I go to a nail infested site and dig square nails all day long.
 

67GTA

Sr. Member
Dec 3, 2017
252
316
Franklin, KY
Detector(s) used
Equinox 800 XP Deus 2 Vanquish 540
Primary Interest:
Metal Detecting
I would definitely spend the extra $ and go for the Equinox 600. You can get a free 6" coil with them right now. This guy's write up is on par with my experience so far. The Vanquish sucks in iron. An awesome beginners machine in clean ground that is almost as deep as the Equinox. You will want to pull your hair out and regret buying it if you do any relic hunting. Once the word gets out about it's performance it will be hard to resell unless there is a miracle and they update the firmware.
https://www.detectorprospector.com/forums/topic/11380-my-thoughts-on-the-minelab-vanquish-540/
 

67GTA

Sr. Member
Dec 3, 2017
252
316
Franklin, KY
Detector(s) used
Equinox 800 XP Deus 2 Vanquish 540
Primary Interest:
Metal Detecting
I also don't believe the Vanquish shares any DNA with the Equinox except for multi IQ. There are just too many differences between them with my testing. I was expecting a dumbed down Equinox, but the Vanquish seems to be truly on par with it's intended yellow target.
 

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Andy Nunez

Full Member
Nov 19, 2015
190
156
Maryland's Eastern Shore
Detector(s) used
Minelab Vanquish 540 or Garrett Ace 400 with a Cors Cannon coil and Z-lynk, Predator Piranha shovel, White's TRX pinpointer.
Primary Interest:
All Treasure Hunting
And that would really suck, because being on a budget, I was hoping the Vanquish would punch above its weight in comparison to my ACE 400, which is a great field machine, but can't do well in high iron and really sucks on the beach. I needed something around old churches, where they have little nails everywhere for camp meetings, displays and stuff like that. I also wanted a good beach machine but it doesn't have to be waterproof because I can't swim anyway. Youtubers like Gigmaster and Iffy Signals have been indicating that the Vanquish 540 is great in both. Not perfect, as the latest Iffy Signals head to head with the Simplex vs. the Vanquish with iron close by targets shows, but still way above my yellow fellow. I went to an old (1820s) site with an 1870s church and a campground in the back and the first time I went, I got 3 large cents and a 2 reale. I bring my friend with the Nox and he got 9 silvers and over a dozen other coins. I got an IHP and a Buffalo nickle. I was hoping that the Vanquish could at least hold its own in high trash, but I guess I was expecting too much.
 

67GTA

Sr. Member
Dec 3, 2017
252
316
Franklin, KY
Detector(s) used
Equinox 800 XP Deus 2 Vanquish 540
Primary Interest:
Metal Detecting
That's what Iffy Signals was showing in is last video. When you mix in iron, the Vanquish didn't do as well. In clean ground/sand it is a decent detector. Even the Simplex stutters in difficult situations. Hard to get a good relic machine under $500 -$600.
 

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Andy Nunez

Full Member
Nov 19, 2015
190
156
Maryland's Eastern Shore
Detector(s) used
Minelab Vanquish 540 or Garrett Ace 400 with a Cors Cannon coil and Z-lynk, Predator Piranha shovel, White's TRX pinpointer.
Primary Interest:
All Treasure Hunting
Yeah, I saw that video. I am not in an area where big iron or iron relics of any collectible value show up, but am in an area that goes back to the 1600s with lots of old camp meeting grounds and colonial era churches. My big nemesis are nails of all sizes. If the Vanquish can get through them better than my yellow fellow, then it's worth the money. If not, well, if I get one under the tree, at least I'll have a decent beach machine, I guess. If Santa doesn't give me one, thoiugh, I am going to save up for a Nox and just live with the fact that my friend with a Nox will destroy any site I take him too.
 

Iffy Signals

Sr. Member
Sep 17, 2018
484
730
Rhode Island
Detector(s) used
Current-Deus & Equinox 800. Past - CTX, F75, AT Pro/Max, F44, Patriot.
Primary Interest:
All Treasure Hunting
And that would really suck, because being on a budget, I was hoping the Vanquish would punch above its weight in comparison to my ACE 400, which is a great field machine, but can't do well in high iron and really sucks on the beach. I needed something around old churches, where they have little nails everywhere for camp meetings, displays and stuff like that. I also wanted a good beach machine but it doesn't have to be waterproof because I can't swim anyway. Youtubers like Gigmaster and Iffy Signals have been indicating that the Vanquish 540 is great in both. Not perfect, as the latest Iffy Signals head to head with the Simplex vs. the Vanquish with iron close by targets shows, but still way above my yellow fellow. I went to an old (1820s) site with an 1870s church and a campground in the back and the first time I went, I got 3 large cents and a 2 reale. I bring my friend with the Nox and he got 9 silvers and over a dozen other coins. I got an IHP and a Buffalo nickle. I was hoping that the Vanquish could at least hold its own in high trash, but I guess I was expecting too much.


Hi all, quick update the Vanquish does separate very well in most tests i have done but the concern is the High Iron Bias setting.. the high iron bias setting will mask just like the Nox will when set to high.. the great thing about the vanquish is you can hunt in low iron bias and the button to check for iron is right in front of you. This makes it very convenient to check for possible big iron.. but the watch out is that the big iron check may also be a masked good target. The Ergo of the shaft, 8” and 12” coils, multi IQ, and iron bias at a fingertip make it an awesome machine for my style of hunting. Here is another Nut Cracker not yet on video. with my Nox in Park 1, recovery 5, F2@3 the Vanquish with the 12” coil punches a little deeper in the test garden. I know other modes and lower recovery speed will het the Nox deeper but that was a little nice surprise for me considering i like the feel of the vanquish better when swinging it on a long hunt. I did a full 6 hour hunt with it and my fav feature was the iron bias check low to high right in front of me... no menus no user profile just on/off.

If you wanna see any other tests pls let me know. Thx
 

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Andy Nunez

Full Member
Nov 19, 2015
190
156
Maryland's Eastern Shore
Detector(s) used
Minelab Vanquish 540 or Garrett Ace 400 with a Cors Cannon coil and Z-lynk, Predator Piranha shovel, White's TRX pinpointer.
Primary Interest:
All Treasure Hunting
Thanks Iffy! That restores my faith in the machine a bit. As far as Big Iron goes, I can usually figure it out because it's way deeper than what the pinpoint says or the target size broadens out once the soil gets disturbed. My biggest issue with iron, as I said earlier, are nails. On the East Coast here, around Methodist churches, they held what they called camp meetings. They built tiny wooden two story cabins around a central tabernacle and so a lot of older Methodist church grounds are filled with mid-late 1800s nails of all shapes and sizes and they mask coins. So, if I was going to have a big ask about the Vanquish, it would be: Can it get in between those nails like the Nox could. My friend with a 600 just blew me out of the water with his Nox. He was able to get under a powerline that drove my 400 nuts and he was able to unmask oodles of coins that my detector just couldn't separate out. Thanks for those videos. Being visually oriented, I get a lot out of watching tests and hunts more than reading dry specs on a web page.
:)
 

Iffy Signals

Sr. Member
Sep 17, 2018
484
730
Rhode Island
Detector(s) used
Current-Deus & Equinox 800. Past - CTX, F75, AT Pro/Max, F44, Patriot.
Primary Interest:
All Treasure Hunting
Thanks Iffy! That restores my faith in the machine a bit. As far as Big Iron goes, I can usually figure it out because it's way deeper than what the pinpoint says or the target size broadens out once the soil gets disturbed. My biggest issue with iron, as I said earlier, are nails. On the East Coast here, around Methodist churches, they held what they called camp meetings. They built tiny wooden two story cabins around a central tabernacle and so a lot of older Methodist church grounds are filled with mid-late 1800s nails of all shapes and sizes and they mask coins. So, if I was going to have a big ask about the Vanquish, it would be: Can it get in between those nails like the Nox could. My friend with a 600 just blew me out of the water with his Nox. He was able to get under a powerline that drove my 400 nuts and he was able to unmask oodles of coins that my detector just couldn't separate out. Thanks for those videos. Being visually oriented, I get a lot out of watching tests and hunts more than reading dry specs on a web page.
:)

Hey Andy, thanks I appreciate it. I know it will do better than the 400 with the noise cancel around power lines. I no longer have an Ace 400 to compare to to as my father moved to a AT Pro and my son the simplex but i would definitely take the Vanquish 540 over the Ace. I would take the 540 over the Ace, Simplex, At Pro/Max.. but i would go with the 600 over the 540 for more options and being waterproof. You can adjust for fast recovery on the 600 where your locked in on the 540 to one of the preset modes.
 

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Andy Nunez

Full Member
Nov 19, 2015
190
156
Maryland's Eastern Shore
Detector(s) used
Minelab Vanquish 540 or Garrett Ace 400 with a Cors Cannon coil and Z-lynk, Predator Piranha shovel, White's TRX pinpointer.
Primary Interest:
All Treasure Hunting
Thanks for the advice. Being on a budget sucks. As an older guy, I tend to swing slow, so if the preset on the 540 doesn't require a real fast swing, I'm good with that and don't need waterproof because I don't venture too far past the water's edge since I can't swim. As long as it's as quiet on the beach here on the mid-Atlantic coast as the videos I have seen, I'm good with that. I'd prefer the Nox, but well, I'd probably get a death threat if I suggested it. ;) Keep up the informative videos. My ideal machine can work the wet sand quietly and cancel out nails without losing good targets. :)
 

67GTA

Sr. Member
Dec 3, 2017
252
316
Franklin, KY
Detector(s) used
Equinox 800 XP Deus 2 Vanquish 540
Primary Interest:
Metal Detecting
If you can find a diamond ring with the Vanquish on the beach, maybe you can upgrade to the Nox without too much fuss:occasion14:
 

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Andy Nunez

Full Member
Nov 19, 2015
190
156
Maryland's Eastern Shore
Detector(s) used
Minelab Vanquish 540 or Garrett Ace 400 with a Cors Cannon coil and Z-lynk, Predator Piranha shovel, White's TRX pinpointer.
Primary Interest:
All Treasure Hunting
Yeah, that's right. Well, have to get a Vanquish first but I have seen a couple of YouTube videos now where the Vanquish is dead silent and max sensitivity and turned up a nice 14K ring with some stones in one of them. Dead silent and max sensitivity is something you can't do with a Garrett. I love Garrett, have owned 4, but they are not beach machines. Time to upgrade. And yeah, if I get a diamond ring with a Vanquish, I can write my own ticket.:icon_thumright:
 

67GTA

Sr. Member
Dec 3, 2017
252
316
Franklin, KY
Detector(s) used
Equinox 800 XP Deus 2 Vanquish 540
Primary Interest:
Metal Detecting
Just tried it for sh@ts and giggles. The Minelab update utility didn't recognize the Vanquish using the mini USB port. The detector turns it's self on when plugged in with the batteries installed.
 

Jason in Enid

Gold Member
Oct 10, 2009
9,593
9,229
Primary Interest:
All Treasure Hunting
Just tried it for sh@ts and giggles. The Minelab update utility didn't recognize the Vanquish using the mini USB port. The detector turns it's self on when plugged in with the batteries installed.

I imagine it will have its own update software.
 

67GTA

Sr. Member
Dec 3, 2017
252
316
Franklin, KY
Detector(s) used
Equinox 800 XP Deus 2 Vanquish 540
Primary Interest:
Metal Detecting
I will be surprised if they update the Vanquish. Since we found out about the USB port, it has been in the back of my mind. Just had to plug it in:laughing7:
 

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Andy Nunez

Full Member
Nov 19, 2015
190
156
Maryland's Eastern Shore
Detector(s) used
Minelab Vanquish 540 or Garrett Ace 400 with a Cors Cannon coil and Z-lynk, Predator Piranha shovel, White's TRX pinpointer.
Primary Interest:
All Treasure Hunting
What other function does the mini-USB port serve? Battery charger? I mean, they put it on there, so it must have a function. Happy Holidays! m:)
 

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