Minelab Equinox 600 vs White's VX3

[smokeythecat]

Burlbark, you are quite correct about the "magic bullet". If someone is looking for that, they might as well try cornering the genuine Easter Bunny.

 

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[DirtDiggerDaveinMD]

I have a new Spectra VX3 on the way. I might be selling my Equinox 600 soon, along with the 6 inch coil and an extra lower rod + a pair of Paww Wavesound 2.1 Wireless headphones (works great and is low latency). Just don't know yet, but wife says I can't keep em both(too much of my stuff already hanging around).

Keep them both. You'll find the VX3 likely will not give you an advantage over the Nox 600, especially in recovery speed. And the Nox is waterproof.

 

[☠ Cipher]

I have a V3i and Equinox 800 combo. I've been through a lot of detectors over the last several years, and these are the best bits of kit I've ever owned. They have different strengths and weaknesses and I have them set up accordingly. The V3i is at its best on isolated inland targets in mild to moderate ground. I bought a Detech Ultimate 13 and that coil brought the V3i to life in ways the stock coil couldn't.

With that Ultimate 13 I'll put it up against anything out there on deep isolated targets and for accuracy of ID and Disc. For what it does, and compared to the competition I don't think of the Spectra series as overpriced. If it is, then so is every machine. I would also take issue with be idea that the color screen doesn't help you find anything. The whole point of the color screen and multiple frequencies are to be able to monitor what color coded frequency is reacting the strongest to a particular target. It's not perfect, but it's the best indication you'll get in this hobby particularly if you want a high end machine that is balanced across the spectrum of metals, and not just biased toward the silver end.

The Spectra series can be described as more complex than other machines, but in my opinion these are things everyone who is serious about metal detecting should learn. I know that the idea behind them is that if you're willing to learn everything that makes them tick you'll have an edge, and all those adjustments will become second nature. Most people don't want to learn about all those features and complex interactions. Those people quit and blame the machine unfortunately. As someone who is very good with this machine and many others, it's not the machine when it comes to the Spectras.

The V3i was Whites at its best in my opinion. For general inland hunting of mild to moderate conditions it hasn't been surpassed to this day. It's Achilles heel can be very harsh or rapidly changing soil. This may sound odd for a multifrequency machine, but Spectra employs its multifrequency differently from FBS, CZ etc. It's true simultaneous, and the filters available at that time allowed some cross talk. It was a trade off for its unique method of target ID, but does make ground balancing to harsh or rapidly changing terrain more cumbersome. So when it comes to such conditions and heavy trash I cross over to my Equinox. For shallow dense trash one of my secret weapons to this day is a Whites Classic SL with shooter. You want to see a machine that can annihilate Monte's nail board, that's one, and it can be gotten dirt cheap these days.

There's nothing wrong with Whites machines. They are reliable, high quality machines to this day. There's a concern that they aren't keeping up with where the industry is going, and that concern is valid, but it's also true that there's nothing out there so revolutionary at the moment they can't handle. If that were the case I'd sell my V3i and just keep the Equinox or some other latest and greatest.

 

[ATPRoDon]

I have to agree with Cipher. I also have a V3i with the 13 inch Detech coil and the Nox 800. I don’t think there is a machine out there that can tell you as much as a V3i does about a target and I have been at this 40yrs. It’s true you can’t swing the V3i as fast as the Nox because it won’t process as fast but my arm would wear out swinging it that fast all the time.

The V3i can be intimidating if you get too caught up in all the tweaking you can do. There are tons of articles written on it as well as videos out there to help you.

I will say my Nox 800 is just killer in high trash areas with a 6 inch coil and has an uncanny ability to radar lock on a good target sitting in trash.

For me unless they come out with something technology wise that’s just unbelievable I’m not getting rid of either one of these metal detectors.

 

[ATPRoDon]

It will take you a year to LEARN V3i. It's heavy, and overpriced. The MX Sport is a, well, it's not worth the money. Stay away from Whites. Good Luck!

[FONT=&quot]Thats really not true. The V3i is intimidating because of all the tweaks you can do but in reality, you only need to do about 4 things before you start metal detecting with a V3i. Is it heavy? a bit but really you don't swing this machine fast.[/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]
[/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]1) You have to Ground Balance[/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]2) Check for any rf interference - and it will tell you 100%[/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]3) Now check the ground and see what kind of soil your dealing with using "Ground Probe” (yes this machine will tell you what's happening in the ground as far as mineralization)[/FONT]
[FONT=&quot][/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]4) Last Check Sensitivity and adjust accordingly. keep a nice hum in the background.

Thats it.[/FONT]