Minelab Equinox 600 vs 800 - which to buy?

[saanich2018]

I know this has been addressed before, but since the 800 has now been out for a while I thought I would ask what people think about it.

I am pretty well set on the Equinox unit, but not sure if the 800 is worth the extra cost over a 600?

I know I read where some people were not happy about the charging connection on the 600 and they felt it would not last over time.

Does the 600 and the 800 charge the same way? Was there any improvement or change on the 800?

Is there anything else I should know about these two units before I buy one? I have been looking at them most of this year, saving my extra money up to buy one and I just about have what I need.

So which unit should I buy? Mainly for use at the beach.

I have been watching this forum, but does anyone have a good 600 or 800 they want to sell?

Thanks

 

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[Terry Soloman]

Unless you live out west and are going to hunt gold nuggets, get the 600. They both charge the same way. Love my 600 on the beach!

 

[RustyGold]

Terry is a very knowledgeable guy with experience with the Equinox but for me I would suggest spending the extra for the Equinox 800. The 800 has more features and comes with the wireless HP which is a plus.
UncleTom has a like new 600 here in the classifieds. Best of luck!

 

[relicmeister]

I’d get the 600 and the 6” coil

 

[digger27]

You live in Atlanta Ga., I live in Birmingham Ala. and we have similar dirt.
I have the red clay stuff just like you, my black dirt is pretty mineralized also.
On top of that I have other issues.
I have the 800 but I sure don't use it to hunt for nuggets.
I do, however, use the Gold modes the 800 has that the 600 does not and they seem to work well...well enough that if I picked the 600 instead I would have regretted it.
Think about it, those gold modes are designed for highly mineralized gold fields, if we are about anything here in the SE we are all about mineralization.
I use the other modes on my detector too but the more I use the Gold modes the more I like it the more I am finding and the deeper I seem to get.
Here in my area they have an advantage and could end up being my prime way to hunt once I get it all optimally dialed in.

I have read all kinds of people say if you don't hunt for nuggets you don't need the 800.
Those people don't live where I live and don't hunt in the areas and conditions I do so my opinion is not the same because of my experience using all the modes...in my difficult and challenging devil dirt.

On top of all that the extra adjustments the 800 has, tone and others, has been and I am sure will continue to be very helpful to me and the way I hunt.


If indeed you are buying it for a single purpose like beach hunting then the 600 might be, will probably be good enough if the beach modes are the best for that task, for all around hunting some other things should be considered.

 

[pa-dirt_nc-sand]

Equinox 600 = 600 hours required to master, Equinox 800 = 800 hours.

Just kidding, sort of...

 

[Calabash Digger]

That 7 or 8 recovery speed will help with bad dirt too. Buy the 800....the recovery speed settings alone make it worth the extra money.

 

[HighVDI]

If I were to redo it I'd get the 800 again. My 600 is good for some spots but the tone adjustability and wireless setup are definitely worth the extra $$$$ on the 800. This is JMO for cherry picking parks and yards though.

 

[vferrari]

By getting the 800 for the reasons stated by others above you won't be second guessing your choice down the road.

I especially agree that gold made adds another dimension for relic hunting, especially in hot soil, it is not just for nugget hunting.

And although you can add aftermarket wireless headphones to the 600, the Minelab list price for the wireless accessories included with the 800 exceed the delta in cost between the two detectors by over $100 meaning that you could sell the WM08 wireless module (not needed if you are using the BT headphones) and defray some of the cost premium you paid for the 800.

I also like the very convenient and underappreciated User Profile button which comes in handy for quickly switching between search profiles (like gold and field mode) so you can interrogate a target without having to cycle through all the modes. It's like asking your buddy to come over and run his detector over your target because each mode behaves like a different detector.

The higher two single frequencies on the 800 at 20 khz and 40 khz that are missing from the 600 can come in handy when targeting mid conductive targets like brass, gold, lead, and nickels and those higher frequencies are less susceptible to EMI if you encounter high EMI conditions that interfere with the multifrequency modes.

Finally, take your cue from Terry who ended up selling his 600 and got an 800 so he could go nugget hunting in AZ this winter. It's nice to know that your machine has that capability up front should the opportunity present itself without having to go through the bother of selling your 600 because you want the extra capability you hadn't previously antcipated. Who knows what surprises your detecting future holds.

See my post here for more detailed information regarding 600 vs. 800:

http://www.treasurenet.com/forums/e...-thing-missing-600-a.html?highlight=gold+mode

If you do decide to get the 600, you are still getting one helluva capable and versatile detector, an incredible performance to price ratio.

BTW there is no difference between the 600 and 800 charging coonections but with the 800 you get two of the special proprietary charging cables which means you are not stuck with the inability to charge your detector awaiting a replacement should you lose or damage that specially designed cable.

HTH

 

[Happa54]

Here's my experience with the 600...

I came off of the Minelab Safari and into the 600 when they first hit the market. At that time, the wait time for the 800 was unpredictable and I simply did not want to wait so I bought the 600, all the while knowing in my mind that I would get the 800 as soon as they became available.

My first impression with the 600 was its speed...it overwhelmed me compared to my slower FBS Safari. I also hunt in 50 tones since I cut my teeth on tones with the Safari... au naturale. Even if I had the 800 I most probably would not utilize the optional tone breaks or pitch adjustments anyway.

I entirely agree with those here who favor the 800. I guess I don't know what I could be missing if ever I needed that extra notch on the recovery speed. Difficult for me to say if I'll ever need it though. The 600's recovery speed of 3 (equal to 6 on the 800) is plenty enough even in the most trashy parks in L.A. It goes deep, separates well, and since the upgrade, the depth meter is pretty spot on. I live on the Gold Coast and there is gold in the mountains behind me but thus far that type of hunting hasn't appealed to me yet.

I use my 600 aggressively, primarily in park 1 & 2, and it has produced bucketlister coins, relics, gold & silver and a ton of coins.

If you decide to go with one over the other and don't mind spending the extra $250, then get the 800. And if you decide to go with the 600, you've also made a great choice.

 

[cudamark]

Another feature I find valuable on the 800 over the 600 is the backlight adjustment. If you hunt at night and want to see the display, the 600 only has one brightness setting and is WAY to bright for me. The 800 has three settings and the lowest is perfect for night hunts.

 

[saanich2018]

Rusty wrote, " The 800 has more features and comes with the wireless HP which is a plus." What is this HP feature?

As for gold, I know a gold nugget is different from a gold ring. However, if I am on the beach, in shallow water, looking for gold rings, etc., wouldn't I better off with the 800 and the gold setting?

Thanks for everyone response. You make a lot of sense.

Also, I saw on one chart that the 600 weights 6.45 pounds while the 800 weighs 2.96 pounds. Is this correct? Is the 800 half the weight of the 600?

And why/where would you want the 6" coil over the 11"?

 

[digger27]

Rusty wrote, " The 800 has more features and comes with the wireless HP which is a plus." What is this HP feature?

As for gold, I know a gold nugget is different from a gold ring. However, if I am on the beach, in shallow water, looking for gold rings, etc., wouldn't I better off with the 800 and the gold setting?

Thanks for everyone response. You make a lot of sense.

Also, I saw on one chart that the 600 weights 6.45 pounds while the 800 weighs 2.96 pounds. Is this correct? Is the 800 half the weight of the 600?

HP is headphones, not a huge deal but the 800 comes with a set plus the wireless module also so you can use any other phones.

The weight thing was a misprint...they pretty much weigh the same.

The beach thing, the beach settings are made for that environment but nobody says you can't use other settings if you want.

Basically it just depends on your point of view and your finances.
If I only had the money for the 600 I would be proud to buy that one.
I would have enough faith in it to know one day it would find me enough to pay for an 800 if I still wanted one.
Since I had the money for either I didn't think twice...just to be safe I wanted ALL the options possible.
I am a huge experimenter, tweaker and out of the box settings thinker so why limit myself?

 

[vferrari]

Rusty wrote, " The 800 has more features and comes with the wireless HP which is a plus." What is this HP feature?

As for gold, I know a gold nugget is different from a gold ring. However, if I am on the beach, in shallow water, looking for gold rings, etc., wouldn't I better off with the 800 and the gold setting?

Thanks for everyone response. You make a lot of sense.

Also, I saw on one chart that the 600 weights 6.45 pounds while the 800 weighs 2.96 pounds. Is this correct? Is the 800 half the weight of the 600?

Wireless HP are wireless headphones which come standard with the 800. The 600 has wireless audio transmission capability but you have to purchase the wireless headphones separately ("generic" branded phones that are identical to the ones ML includes with the 800 can be found for about $30 to $60 vs. $150+ if you purchase the ML branded phones).

Gold mode is a very hot mode and cannot be balanced on wet salt beaches or surf to run stable. The multi frequency Beach modes are able to balance the machine in the presence of salt water and run more stable. If you are hunting freshwater beaches, gold mode is a viable mode. Note that gold mode is not tone based like the other modes but pitch based and you must rely on visual ID for target ID whereas the other modes use both tone and visual target ID. The pitch based audio and threshold tone give extreme udio sensitivity to small targets at depth (e.g. nuggets). That being said, Park 2 and Field 2 set up well for gold jewelry and have been successful at finding natural gold too. But they too do not run as stable as the beach modes in wet salt sand and surf.

The weight of the 600 and 800 are identical at 2.96 lbs.

 

[cudamark]

Rusty wrote, " The 800 has more features and comes with the wireless HP which is a plus." What is this HP feature?

As for gold, I know a gold nugget is different from a gold ring. However, if I am on the beach, in shallow water, looking for gold rings, etc., wouldn't I better off with the 800 and the gold setting?

Thanks for everyone response. You make a lot of sense.

Also, I saw on one chart that the 600 weights 6.45 pounds while the 800 weighs 2.96 pounds. Is this correct? Is the 800 half the weight of the 600?

And why/where would you want the 6" coil over the 11"?

You can't really use the Gold modes in wet sand or water at a salt water beach. It's just way too noisy. As for coil sizes, the stock coil is a good one for most uses. The 6 inch is better for high trash areas, like an urban park or around fire rings. The 12 X 15 that just came out is great for wide open spaces, like a beach or field, or for slightly deeper targets.

 

[cudamark]

Looks like Vferrari beat me to the punch!

 

[saanich2018]

Great - my questions are being answered very quickly tonight - thank you.

Now of the last one for now: Why/where would you want the 6" coil over the 11" coil? Is it something worth buying if this is just going to be a fun hobby and not something you will using every weekend?

 

[cudamark]

Like I mentioned, it will depend on where you hunt and how trashy it is.

 

[cudamark]

It comes with the 11". Try it for a while and if you need a smaller or bigger coil for your type of detecting, then get one.

 

[vferrari]

Great - my questions are being answered very quickly tonight - thank you.

Now of the last one for now: Why/where would you want the 6" coil over the 11" coil? Is it something worth buying if this is just going to be a fun hobby and not something you will using every weekend?

Cuda answered that one. It is more of a specialty coil for areas with thick trash so you can betterdiscern individual targets and for searching in restricted swing areas like around playground equipment, fence lines, and in overgrown areas or thickets. The drawback is that it covers far less ground per swing so you can only search at a slow speed and it is not as deep seeking as the 11". The 11" stock coil will suit you just fine for 95% of the situations you will encounter as a relatively new detectorist. Learn with that coil and then once you understand what your typical sites are like you can then determine if the smaller or larger coil are worth the investment.