800 vs Manticore Comparison

rc2125

Sr. Member
Feb 15, 2010
464
375
Indiana/Michigan border
Detector(s) used
~ XP Deus II & Nokta Legend
Primary Interest:
All Treasure Hunting
Ran equinox 800's from the day they were available, for like 3 years, then a manticore this past summer's water season, with some occasional park hunts. Without a doubt you'd be gaining more ability to call more targets (with the broader vdi scale) and it'll call more junk targets junk (rather than throwing a good tone). It's slightly deeper with deeper vdi accuracy (usually), and occasionally you can see like a silver coin amongst adjacent iron on the trace screen (not always, not often, but I have seen and recovered a couple mercs and a couple indians that were next to iron with a perfect little round trace dot sounding off along with the rusty iron crazy trace). Would likely never have dug them with nox or legends and I may very well have missed them with either prior (same spots hunted hard). That ability may make it a worthwhile upgrade, as silvers in parks here are few and far between any more, so being able to go with a goal to seek/find the rare or ultra masked coins was nice. Having said that, I sold it and got a deus 2 again and have had success finding deep/missed/masked coins in the same spots I had been pounding with every prior detector.
 

OP
OP
sphillips

sphillips

Bronze Member
Jan 4, 2008
1,047
1,120
Western NC
Detector(s) used
Equinox 800
Primary Interest:
All Treasure Hunting
great score, the Canadian half is the icing on the cake

Ran equinox 800's from the day they were available, for like 3 years, then a manticore this past summer's water season, with some occasional park hunts. Without a doubt you'd be gaining more ability to call more targets (with the broader vdi scale) and it'll call more junk targets junk (rather than throwing a good tone). It's slightly deeper with deeper vdi accuracy (usually), and occasionally you can see like a silver coin amongst adjacent iron on the trace screen (not always, not often, but I have seen and recovered a couple mercs and a couple indians that were next to iron with a perfect little round trace dot sounding off along with the rusty iron crazy trace). Would likely never have dug them with nox or legends and I may very well have missed them with either prior (same spots hunted hard). That ability may make it a worthwhile upgrade, as silvers in parks here are few and far between any more, so being able to go with a goal to seek/find the rare or ultra masked coins was nice. Having said that, I sold it and got a deus 2 again and have had success finding deep/missed/masked coins in the same spots I had been pounding with every prior detector.
Thx rc for your insight
 

MackDog

Bronze Member
Nov 20, 2013
1,409
2,736
Spokane Wa
Detector(s) used
Garrett At Pro, 8 x11" and Nel Storm coils
Garrett Propointer er, Pro Pointer AT
White's V3i Standard, 10" DD, 13" Ultimate and 4 x6" sniper, 6 x10 coils, Drect 12 x 15 coil
Whites MX Sport With Detec
Primary Interest:
Metal Detecting
Ran equinox 800's from the day they were available, for like 3 years, then a manticore this past summer's water season, with some occasional park hunts. Without a doubt you'd be gaining more ability to call more targets (with the broader vdi scale) and it'll call more junk targets junk (rather than throwing a good tone). It's slightly deeper with deeper vdi accuracy (usually), and occasionally you can see like a silver coin amongst adjacent iron on the trace screen (not always, not often, but I have seen and recovered a couple mercs and a couple indians that were next to iron with a perfect little round trace dot sounding off along with the rusty iron crazy trace). Would likely never have dug them with nox or legends and I may very well have missed them with either prior (same spots hunted hard). That ability may make it a worthwhile upgrade, as silvers in parks here are few and far between any more, so being able to go with a goal to seek/find the rare or ultra masked coins was nice. Having said that, I sold it and got a deus 2 again and have had success finding deep/missed/masked coins in the same spots I had been pounding with every prior detector.
Yesterday went to a highly hunted park. Took the Manticore and worked the high trash areas. Just go slow enough to distinguish every target. I hear a high tone in the middle of junk sounding targets. Dug down 12" plus and dug out a beautiful 1918 S walker. The manticore's greatest feature is the unbelievable target separation
 

OP
OP
sphillips

sphillips

Bronze Member
Jan 4, 2008
1,047
1,120
Western NC
Detector(s) used
Equinox 800
Primary Interest:
All Treasure Hunting
In the small community in western NC there are just not many places to detect. There are a couple of old elementary schools built during WPA in the 30’s, never found anything older than a 61 Lincoln and a war nickel. But I keep going back coming away with clad. Frustrating. Just don’t know if the 800 is not getting deep enough for silver or I am doing something wrong. I would sell it and get a manticore if I thought it would go deeper and separate better
 

sibbley

Hero Member
Mar 18, 2023
654
1,908
Nazareth, PA
Detector(s) used
Dr. Otek MT-XR, Ace Apex, Xterra Pro, Nokta Legend, Nokta Makro Impact, Manticore, XP ORX, XP Deus 2 WS6 Master
Primary Interest:
Metal Detecting
In the small community in western NC there are just not many places to detect. There are a couple of old elementary schools built during WPA in the 30’s, never found anything older than a 61 Lincoln and a war nickel. But I keep going back coming away with clad. Frustrating. Just don’t know if the 800 is not getting deep enough for silver or I am doing something wrong. I would sell it and get a manticore if I thought it would go deeper and separate better
It was a lot of money, but the Manticore was worth the cost to me. I had pretty much nothing but iron left in my yard. Or so I thought. First day I had the Manticore I swung it around some iron targets and ended up digging a shot gun head stamp. I had hit that same spot with the Impact, Legend, and Xterra Pro and only heard iron. Separation is awesome in my book. I have never made any changes to the settings beyond ground balance and noise cancel. I've been using it right out of the box. I do switch between all metal and high conductor mode.

Today, I had an 85-90 on my Impact in the back yard. Impact was in deep mode, which is pretty deep. Impact said 13 inches deep. I swung the Manticore over the same spot and had the same hit although much scratchier. The trace on the Manticore showed the 90 signal along with iron. I ended up with a small square nail about 5 inches, and a round piece of foil lid, about the size of a half dollar, at about 12 inches deep. So, I do think the depth is there on the Manticore. I usually run here at home about 20-22 on sensitivity in high conductor mode. The other modes are useless at home beyond 15-17 sensitivity because of the neighbor's underground dog fences. Too much chatter.
 

Bart@Big Boys Hobbies

Supporting Vendor
Supporting Vendor
Jul 24, 2005
4,596
1,220
Moore Oklahoma
Detector(s) used
Call for your Treasurenet special discount! Be sure to mention Tnet when you call!
Primary Interest:
Metal Detecting
Yesterday went to a highly hunted park. Took the Manticore and worked the high trash areas. Just go slow enough to distinguish every target. I hear a high tone in the middle of junk sounding targets. Dug down 12" plus and dug out a beautiful 1918 S walker. The manticore's greatest feature is the unbelievable target separation
Great post and we agree! Separation in junk is where the Minelab Manticore wins!
Unfortunately, that's where most of the good stuff is anymore.
 

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