Equinox or Deus 2

ColonelDan

Hero Member
Jan 19, 2014
997
2,159
Central Florida
🥇 Banner finds
1
🏆 Honorable Mentions:
1
Detector(s) used
Deus II
Primary Interest:
Beach & Shallow Water Hunting
I've read several threads on the soon-to-be-fielded Deus 2 and how it will compare to the Equinox. There have been many good views on this topic so I thought I'd share mine. As you read this, keep in mind the views expressed here are worth just as much as you've paid for them. :laughing7:

1. Wireless vs Wired: I'm 99% a salt water beach hunter with my EQX 800 and the way I grid a beach, I often go from the damp sand to the wet sand and then into the surf (only about 1 foot deep due to concerns over water intrusion so I keep the control box dry). Given that, a Deus II for me would have to be constantly wired from coil to control box in order to work in the surf. For that reason, a totally wireless capability would not be that enticing since the wire from coil to box would be a permanent configuration.

2. Waterproof: I owned a Deus and found it to be a solidly engineered machine so I'm not a skeptic where XP claims of being waterproof are concerned. Were I to make a wager, I'd bet on much better waterproof performance in the Deus II than was the original ML waterproof claim for the EQX. Being truly waterproof is important for me and not because I hunt deeper than 1 foot in salt water these days because I don't. Ours is an outdoor hobby so I think all detectors should be waterproof...at the very least, reliably weatherproof. How many times have you been caught in the rain or dropped your detector in a puddle of water? Even if you are a land hunter and never go near any water, replacing a damaged or inop machine due to moisture intrusion isn't a trivial thing.

3. Build quality: The Deus I had was quality built, rugged and reliable. No coil ear issues, wobbly shafts or arm cuff breakage. In my view, it was a much more rugged detector than Minelab products in certain areas. XP doesn't seem to pinch pennies as did Minelab on simple things. Recall the original skimpy gaskets they put in the CTX 3030 that caused flooding of the battery box. The issue was solved when they came out with merely a little thicker gasket! Their use of cheap coil ears, arm cuffs and wobbly shafts on the EQX series is another example. For a few pennies more per unit, they would have saved untold thousands in warranty replacement costs in both the CTX and EQX series machines. Although they are among the very best where software technology is concerned, I never understood that "penny wise pound foolish" approach in their physical build design.

4. Overall Performance: This is where the EQX was superior to my original Deus. The multi-frequency/multi IQ of the EQX vs the selectable single frequency of the Deus was an obvious choice in my salt water beach hunting environment. I eventually sold my Deus for that reason. Now, if XP has really overcome that limitation in the Deus II with their FMF feature, I'll be happily impressed.

5. Final Thoughts: I'm with the others who will take a "wait and see" approach. But, given my past experience with XP engineering, I have no doubt the Deus II will be a very capable salt water beach detector. Will it generally outperform the Minelabs? TBD. Will it be found that XP pinched pennies on their build quality? I say no. It will be a well built unit. Will it be more comfortable to use than the Minelabs? Yes. Will it be more complex in its settings options than the Minelabs? Yes. Will it's overall performance justify the higher price tag compared to the current EQX? TBD but that will be determined solely by and in the eye of the beholder as the saying goes.

Just a few thoughts from my foxhole...
 

cudamark

Gold Member
Top Banner Poster
Mar 16, 2011
13,173
14,462
San Diego
🥇 Banner finds
1
🏆 Honorable Mentions:
3
Detector(s) used
XP Deus 2, Equinox 800/900, Fisher Impulse AQ, E-Trac, 3 Excal 1000's, White's TM808, VibraProbe, 15" NEL Attack, Mi6, Steath 920ix and 720i scoops, TRX, etc....
Primary Interest:
All Treasure Hunting
One of the important issues with me (I do a lot of salt water beach hunting too) is the cost and availability of a variety of coils sizes. Deus coils in the past haven't exactly been inexpensive. In hunting most beaches, an 11" coil just doesn't make it. 15" and bigger is all I use these days. These large coils almost always come with balance issues unless you design a shaft to where you can counterbalance it effectively. From the features I've seen, and the tech it's supposed to have, the D2 might be a real winner in performance. With me, it's going to be what the final cost is going to be with all the gear I need/want vs. the improvement over the NOX in performance. If performance is equal or only slightly better, it may not be worth the expense. We'll see!
 

billb

Silver Member
Sep 23, 2010
4,569
10,145
New York
🥇 Banner finds
1
Detector(s) used
Excalibur2,,silver sabre
Primary Interest:
All Treasure Hunting
I've read several threads on the soon-to-be-fielded Deus 2 and how it will compare to the Equinox. There have been many good views on this topic so I thought I'd share mine. As you read this, keep in mind the views expressed here are worth just as much as you've paid for them. :laughing7:

1. Wireless vs Wired: I'm 99% a salt water beach hunter with my EQX 800 and the way I grid a beach, I often go from the damp sand to the wet sand and then into the surf (only about 1 foot deep due to concerns over water intrusion so I keep the control box dry). Given that, a Deus II for me would have to be constantly wired from coil to control box in order to work in the surf. For that reason, a totally wireless capability would not be that enticing since the wire from coil to box would be a permanent configuration.

2. Waterproof: I owned a Deus and found it to be a solidly engineered machine so I'm not a skeptic where XP claims of being waterproof are concerned. Were I to make a wager, I'd bet on much better waterproof performance in the Deus II than was the original ML waterproof claim for the EQX. Being truly waterproof is important for me and not because I hunt deeper than 1 foot in salt water these days because I don't. Ours is an outdoor hobby so I think all detectors should be waterproof...at the very least, reliably weatherproof. How many times have you been caught in the rain or dropped your detector in a puddle of water? Even if you are a land hunter and never go near any water, replacing a damaged or inop machine due to moisture intrusion isn't a trivial thing.

3. Build quality: The Deus I had was quality built, rugged and reliable. No coil ear issues, wobbly shafts or arm cuff breakage. In my view, it was a much more rugged detector than Minelab products in certain areas. XP doesn't seem to pinch pennies as did Minelab on simple things. Recall the original skimpy gaskets they put in the CTX 3030 that caused flooding of the battery box. The issue was solved when they came out with merely a little thicker gasket! Their use of cheap coil ears, arm cuffs and wobbly shafts on the EQX series is another example. For a few pennies more per unit, they would have saved untold thousands in warranty replacement costs in both the CTX and EQX series machines. Although they are among the very best where software technology is concerned, I never understood that "penny wise pound foolish" approach in their physical build design.

4. Overall Performance: This is where the EQX was superior to my original Deus. The multi-frequency/multi IQ of the EQX vs the selectable single frequency of the Deus was an obvious choice in my salt water beach hunting environment. I eventually sold my Deus for that reason. Now, if XP has really overcome that limitation in the Deus II with their FMF feature, I'll be happily impressed.

5. Final Thoughts: I'm with the others who will take a "wait and see" approach. But, given my past experience with XP engineering, I have no doubt the Deus II will be a very capable salt water beach detector. Will it generally outperform the Minelabs? TBD. Will it be found that XP pinched pennies on their build quality? I say no. It will be a well built unit. Will it be more comfortable to use than the Minelabs? Yes. Will it be more complex in its settings options than the Minelabs? Yes. Will it's overall performance justify the higher price tag compared to the current EQX? TBD but that will be determined solely by and in the eye of the beholder as the saying goes.

Just a few thoughts from my foxhole...
ColonelDan..Great Information Well Said
 

1LWiL15

Full Member
Nov 15, 2021
119
356
Upstate New York
Detector(s) used
Barska Winbest Elite Edition, Bounty Hunter TK-IV, Garrett Ace 400, Garrett AT Gold, Minelab Equinox 600, Garrett Ace Apex, XP ORX, XP DEUS
Primary Interest:
Metal Detecting
You may just have to see how the Deus II looks in testing vs. the EQX.
 

charlives

Full Member
Jan 16, 2012
210
235
Primary Interest:
Relic Hunting
I want to reiterate the Nox600 (essentially the same hunting as the 800) is $650 vs the
Deus2 which is $1600. I'd hope the Deus is better...but then again the Deus1 was also much more $ than either nox, and not clearly better.
 

Tommi

Sr. Member
Sep 19, 2005
290
14
Australia
Detector(s) used
Famous-Trails-MD9100 ACE250-PRO
Primary Interest:
All Treasure Hunting
I'm looking at upgrading and considering both, I think one thing that makes me question the new Deus II is all the wireless tech having issues pairing and also the amount of (built-in?)batteries used for everything required: control box (remote), coil?, headphones etc. It just makes me wonder with all the latest tech there is a lot more to go wrong.
 

AceofBases

Jr. Member
Jan 7, 2019
58
58
Detector(s) used
Deus II, MI-6, Manticore, Equinox 800, Pro Find 35, Ace 250
Primary Interest:
All Treasure Hunting
One other item for consideration (perhaps)... are we expecting a Minelab announcement for a CTX3030 replacement? And when?
 

CarsonChris

Sr. Member
Feb 11, 2019
486
1,992
Carson City NV
🏆 Honorable Mentions:
1
Detector(s) used
Equinox 800, AT Pro
Primary Interest:
All Treasure Hunting
I'm looking at upgrading and considering both, I think one thing that makes me question the new Deus II is all the wireless tech having issues pairing and also the amount of (built-in?)batteries used for everything required: control box (remote), coil?, headphones etc. It just makes me wonder with all the latest tech there is a lot more to go wrong.
Very few people have issues with XP machines. XP is confident in its build and has a 5 year warranty.
One other item for consideration (perhaps)... are we expecting a Minelab announcement for a CTX3030 replacement? And when?
the 3030 was a $2300 machine? It's weight is terrible. It has less separation in iron. A new flagship from Minelab would need to be lighter and quicker than the CTX and the Equinox. Minelab has its work cutout from the testing I've seen of the Deus.
 

Dirt Duke

Jr. Member
Aug 26, 2018
42
43
Detector(s) used
ATPro
Equinox 800
Primary Interest:
All Treasure Hunting
So, when the coil battery dies, you purchase a new coil? Don't have that problem with the Nox. Only one replaceable battery in the Nox. Just can't see any serious Deus magic vs the Nox at the $700 premium.
 

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