I own both and use both. They are both excellent detectors, fairly evenly matched IMHO. I have found more "good" items at some sites with the Manticore and at other sites with the Dues 2. Depends on ground, I guess. Until I got the HF2 coil for the Deus 2, I liked the Manticore better for heavy iron sites. The HF2 coil has made the Deus 2 equal to the Manticore in heavy iron. Some may say the Manticore has the 2d target trace to help determine good targets from bad. The Deus 2 also has the XY screen which helps the user determine if a target is worth digging.
One thing I like about the Manticore over the Deus 2: Not sure if this was intended by Minelab, but you can tell ferrous over non-ferrous when using the pinpoint feature. If you have the red vdi turned on, when you pinpoint if at any time the numbers turn red, the target is most likely iron. I've seen this in operation and dug the targets to verify. Helps when digging bent nails that sound like coin targets.
Batteries: The Manticore has one lithium battery in the control and one in the headphones. The Deus 2 has three batteries, one in the remote, one in the coil (or coil shaft), and one in the headphones. I've been able to do 7-8 hour hunt with both detectors on full batteries. I usually only go out about 4 hours at a time. I can do Saturday and Sunday 4 hours each day on one charge.
You can't go wrong with either!
Just some advice:
Manticore: Get the M8 and M9 coils. You'll find yourself using the M9 regularly over the stock M11. The M8 is the master in heavy iron to find good targets.
Deus 2: Get the 9" coil, like the Manticore, you'll find yourself using the 9" regularly. Also get the HF2 coil. You will find more using it heavy iron and general use.
