Equinox 800 vs. Ctx 3030

[bust1000]

I only have 30 hours in on the Equinox and 3 years on the CTX. Currently, I am not finding much that the CTX left behind due to lack of experience with the Equinox and lots of experience with the CTX.

Once you get to substantial field experience with the Equinox, does it outperform the CTX 3030 at old park sites with heavy trash and iron?

 

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[PowerDubs]

The Nox is cheaper, lighter, faster, and finds small bits better..

The CTX offers MUCH more info about what is under the ground.

Other than cost, weight, and recovery speed/separation- I’d say the ctx is superior.

Depends on what your priorities are.

Nox is a great all around unit and will find most stuff.

The CTX is great for cherry picking, dig less trash, deeper, heck- it will SHOW YOU multiple targets on the screen at the same time: learn how to use it and it is very powerful.

 

[vferrari]

Here's my take on the eternal CTX 3030 vs. Equinox Debate

A lot of it overlaps with what has already been mentioned but there are a couple things that I feel need to be addressed.

CTX 3030 - disclaimer: I am not an expert on the machine but have used it and have received instruction from Andy Sabisch on some of the finer aspects of the machine. I am very familiar from a technical standpoint of the differences between the two machines and despite both being multifrequency machines, there are a number of performance differences. Some of those differences favor the CTX others favor the Equinox. As Power Dubs said, the optimal choice really comes down to what your detecting objective is.

The CTX excels at precise visual target identification at depth and has a very sophisticated, programmable discrimination scheme that permits precise target cherry picking. It rightfully has a reputation as a deep silver slayer. On the other hand, it is relatively heavy, tends to have a relatively complicated user interface and menu navigation scheme, is, at best, average from a recovery speed perspective (and is basically locked to a single recovery speed), and is not as "hot" on mid-conductive targets as the Equinox - therefore it is not as sensitive to small gold, brass, or nickel targets as Equinox. It also only has basically one multifrequency profile (compared to at least 7 for the Equinox) [note that the different FBS2 "channels" don't count as different profiles, they are more about eliminating EMI and the different user settings and discrimination programs only serve as filters not target enhancement profiles).

The Equinox on the other hand is light weight, straight forward to program and navigate, has multiple multifrequency profiles optimized to different target and site situations including gold, jewelry, and relic hunting, has superior hot ground handling compared to the CTX (a lot of this is associated with its high recovery speed capability which suppresses ground noise), has a large, adjustable range of recovery speeds, and has a more refined signal processing approach with Multi-IQ vs. FBS. On the flip side, it has a relatively simplistic target ID and discrimination implementation. This provides simplicity and target ID stability but with its limited audio modulation, can make it difficult to discern certain types of targets if you are really into precise cherry picking detecting.

The Equinox is a more versatile detector than the CTX overall. It also excels in thick iron and hot dirt better than the CTX and let's face it. Sites have been hammered for years so the deep silver that CTX excels at finding is drying up and not being replenished. The good finds are hiding amongst the iron at relatively shallow depths because detector technology, until lately, could not handle that situation very well unless you just wanted to beep and dig every piece of iron. That is why fast detectors like the Equinox and Deus are becoming more popular than the slow, deep silver slayers. I think the next iteration of ML's Multi IQ detector (the successor to Equinox) should further close the gap between Multi IQ and FBS2 by incorporating the sophisticated target ID and discrimination capabilities of the CTX combined with the fast and versatile capabilities of the Equinox will truly make the CTX an obsolete but classic detector. IMO.

 

[rc2125]

Once you get to substantial field experience with the Equinox, does it outperform the CTX 3030 at old park sites with heavy trash and iron?

Without a doubt, Yes.

You may not know exactly what you're gonna pull, but at least a nox will hit it when a ctx is totally blind to it or can't reach down deep enough.

 

[sgoss66]

I fully agree with vferrari's post, particularly the last paragraph. In terms of "raw" performance, I believe that the EQX is right there with the CTX, and even exceeds it in several ways (not ONLY in the more obvious "separation when working in iron" category, but even in terms of absolute depth, to a small degree). However, the CTX is more "refined," offering (as vferrari said) more visual information about a target, allowing you to "cherry pick" deep conductors a little bit more effectively (in less trashy areas). That's to be expected, as the CTX is the "third generation" of FBS machines, following the Explorer and E-Trac, and the Equinox is still "first generation" Multi-IQ.

Still, the potential of the platform (Multi-IQ) has -- to me -- proven itself. Now, with a focus on refinement of the platform, and some hopefully new/innovative ways of providing accurate information (audibly AND visually) to the user, the next iteration (flagship model) of Multi-IQ will very likely do exactly what vferrari said -- close any remaining gap between the two platforms (FBS and Multi-IQ), thus allowing this new flagship to charge ahead, beyond the CTX, and thus making the venerable CTX, as vferrari said, an obsolete but classic unit.

Steve

 

[Deleted member 140734]

I have over 1,000 hours on my Nox 800 and am very satisfied. I hunt colonial sites now overgrown with forests and my main problems are forged nails and the brass bases of old paper shotgun shells. Both iron and shell bases waste my time but their signals, both audio and visual, are pretty identifiable once you dig enough targets and learn the machine. The iron targets will usually give erratic numbers, often starting high and decreasing with swings, and seem nebulous as opposed to concise. There is a plaintive, non-excited audio tone to iron. The brass shell bases read very coin-like as they should given size and composition, defined and high-pitched. They fool me often, but if I not looking at many targets, I will dig them. I dig any iron-type signal over 20 so I do see large pieces of iron including horse shoes and hardware. The early American large cents and British half pence give me such a definitive repeatable signal I know when I hit them. Silver sings.

I do enjoy the technology side of metal detecting and lately have been thinking about splurging for the 3030. Initially I was going to buy it before the Nox 800, then sentiment on this forum swayed my choice (and saving money is always a good thing). My hunting situation is different than you are asking. I don't hunt trashy areas so I am willing to dig more and discern less. Where the Nox really shines for me is the size. I break it down into a small backpack and use the shaft as a walking stick. When I reach my sites I assemble it. I like the privacy and don't like to chit chat with people I see on the trails. Often people get nervous and think I hunting carrying a gun. I prefer the standard coil and sometimes go over areas again with the huge 15" to see if I missed depth or to cover more ground. If I was in a trashy area I would invest in the 6." If the Nox 800 isn't updated with a year or two I will buy a fresh one since I hunt often.

 

[DeepseekerADS]

Okay, I have both.

I prefer to swing the CTX, and that's a fact Jack.....

 

[DeepseekerADS]

Robertson1865

 

[PowerDubs]

Even Minelab themselves says the CTX is better on silver.

Take that to the bank.

[emoji51]

 

[vferrari]

Deep silver to be specific. In clean ground, yep. CTX ID's deep silver better. Doesn't mean Equinox will not detect a target, ID may be up averaged, but Equinox will still likely see it. But in mineralized dirt, in thick iron, detecting a deep gold ring or tiny gold, black sand beach, etc., Equinox will very likely outperform CTX. Kind of a lot to pay for what is essentially a one trick pony... So yeah, I'll take all my hot dirt, iron infested site silver and CW relics that were silent on the CTX and take them to the bank, thank you very much.