Minelab Equinox 800 Vs. Gold Monster 1000

Mgumby16

Full Member
Jun 26, 2014
204
326
East Coast
Primary Interest:
Prospecting
Finally go the video finished of comparing equinox 800 to the gold monster 1000 on in-situ targets in the field. This is my no mean the comprehensive review as im sure the settings on the equinox could be tweaked more produce even better results. But from what i saw on my ground they were vary evenly matched. The gold monster seemed to pop a little harder on the targets, but the equinox still hit all the targets the gm1000 hit. Since i detect mainly creeks the equinox has a leg up since its water proof and i dont have to worry about it getting wet or falling in the creek. Hope you guys enjoy the video and ill take more footage as i work this little patch.

 

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OneStudPuppy

Full Member
Jan 17, 2018
150
75
So-Cal
Detector(s) used
Equinox 800, Sdc 2300, gold monster 1000 gpx 6000.
Primary Interest:
All Treasure Hunting
Watching the video now. Man audio could use some voice over in parts.
I’m currently debating a purchase and your video is first I saw.
So the gold monster is not water proof eh? That’s a bummer! Was one I’m leaning towards.
I have a AT gold and a xterra 705. I ran my own test with a .09 .13 .26 /gram bits.
I must say I was underwhelmed by the performance when it comes to looking for small gold.
So between the two which would you say was top performer over all?
 

Treasure_Hunter

Administrator
Staff member
Jul 27, 2006
48,302
54,458
Florida
Detector(s) used
Minelab_Equinox_ 800 Minelab_CTX-3030 Minelab_Excal_1000 Minelab_Sovereign_GT Minelab_Safari Minelab_ETrac Whites_Beach_Hunter_ID Fisher_1235_X
Primary Interest:
All Treasure Hunting
Gold Monster is not a good detector for hunting salt beaches, parks and fields, it is 45 khz and designed for small gold nuggets not coins and jewelry. Gold Monster is bad on salt beaches since it is a single freq detector although like other single freq detectors it will work in dry sand above the high tide line.
 

OneStudPuppy

Full Member
Jan 17, 2018
150
75
So-Cal
Detector(s) used
Equinox 800, Sdc 2300, gold monster 1000 gpx 6000.
Primary Interest:
All Treasure Hunting
Gold Monster is not a good detector for hunting salt beaches, parks and fields, it is 45 khz and designed for small gold nuggets not coins and jewelry. Gold Monster is bad on salt beaches since it is a single freq detector although like other single freq detectors it will work in dry sand above the high tide line.
Kinda exactly what I’m looking for.
I already have to many detectors lol! I’ve got 2 at pro, 1 at gold 1 exterra 705 gold pack. I originally bought the at gold and exterra 705 gold pack with hopes of gold hunting but after some at home testing .09 .13 .26 bits and only .26 was somewhat strong at 3 inches 2 inches on .13 and .09 was barely breaking threshold on direct coil cover swipes.
I think those two will be finding new homes. Haha
 

Oct 5, 2014
31,886
35,424
Massachusetts
🥇 Banner finds
1
🏆 Honorable Mentions:
1
Detector(s) used
Garrett: AT Pro, AT Gold & Infinium; Minelab: Explorer SE, II; Simplex; Tesoro: Tejon & Outlaw; White's: V3i
Primary Interest:
Relic Hunting
Thank you for sharing! :occasion14:
 

OP
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Mgumby16

Mgumby16

Full Member
Jun 26, 2014
204
326
East Coast
Primary Interest:
Prospecting
Sorry about the audio, the camera has a hard time when it is dipped in and out of the water. What was underwhelming about the GM1000 performance? It was picking up piece that i would barely call flakes of gold, lol.

As far as the top performer, hmm, the gold monster definitely hits harder on the gold and is very simple to operate, its basically a grab and go machine. However for me the fact that the control housing isnt water proof really sucks, as you see the locations im hunting are in the water and if i slip up i could ruin a $800 dollar machine. So if you are looking to strictly hunt dry land for only gold nuggets the GM1000 is the one to go with.

If you are going to hunt wet and dry locations for gold and also want to detect saltwater beaches and hunt for relics then the Equinox 800 is the winner.

Both had very similar performance on the small gold targets and with the adjustability of the equinox im sure it performance could be improved with some tweaking of settings. Im probably going to sell my GM 1000 due to the ground i hunt and the fact that the equinox will pretty much match it on small gold while being able to also hunt for relics and on beaches.

Hope that helps.
 

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