Simplex+ $299..... Read all about it. Doesn't impress me. Nothing new just made simple with fewer controls and options.
Vanquish - Simple yet powerful, it’s perfect for anyone starting out. Simply turn on and go. I'll bet it's great for a junk park or old home site. Again nothing new just made simpler to use with less options/settings and neither of them will go as deep as a T-2 or ATPro
Both are geared to the newbie.
You are right though, the big guys need to step up their game because sooner or later someone will come out with something to blow them away and it's game over. Right now most top end detectors go to 10" - 12" on a quarter on a good day. When one comes out that goes 2' with all the settings/options under $600 it will be game over.
They are both AS DEEP (we've basically reached the limit of single frequency vlf induction balance technology as far as depth is concerned and the Simplex is no exception) and both will have higher recovery speeds than either the ATP or T2 (or F75 for that matter which I still own) which will enable them to be killer in thick iron. I have seen the demonstrations of the Simplex from Detectival at UK and they have impressed even die hard legends in the industry like Andy Sabisch who has written books on just about any detector model you can think of (I know this because I teach classes with him on how to use XP and Minelab detectors and I have been featured in his latest handbook on the Equinox).
Don't be fooled by the low prices and operational simplicity of these "entry level" detectors. All they are really missing are the tweakable bells and whistles features, not the performance. They are just as capable as these mid-range offerings from the "big boys" with many non-entry level features such as manual ground balancing, all metal modes, multi tones, wet salt beach capability, wireless audio, and in the case of the Simplex fully submersible to 10 feet just like the AT Pro and less susceptible to EMI than the T2 and will have an arsenal of accessory coils to boot. BTW check out the TNET sponsoring vendor sites, $254 actual (not $299 list) for the Simplex ($340 if you want wireless), and the pre-sale waiting lists are already a mile long and "sold out" in some cases. I would be hard pressed to say the value of any additionalmfeatures or marginal performance woukd be worth the addtional hundreds of dollars I would have to pay for a new T2 or ATP or AT Max.
I own an F75, MXT, Equinox, Garrett ATX, and XP Deus and have owned an ATP, T2, and MX Sport - almost all are or were great rigs, but even I am impressed at what Nokta has been able to put together in a $254 package. I know it will keep pace with and in some cases surpass my F75 and perhaps even my Equinox in capability under certain conditions.
The "big boys" Garrett and FT gotta wake up and realize they aren't the big boys anymore, at least not based on sales volume. While they were sleeping and releasing warmed over versions of wingke frequency detector designs they first released in the mid-2000's (AT Max and the Teknetics Patriots series), Minelab ate their lunch with the highly popular and affordable Equinox series detector. You only need to see the high volume of activity in the Equinox forum vs. the Garrett and FT forums COMBINED to realize this is the case and this is a world wide thing, not just a US thing. Having talked to several reputable dealers and industry experts on this, Garrett and First Texas have a lot of catching up to do and there is basically no word from them on what their next big thing is going to be to get their loyal customer bases excited about their products again.
Garrett has the capability and resources to innovate in detector design and have had a long history of doing so, but not lately. I am not sure what FT is doing because they haven't really released anything innovative since tge T2/F75. They have allowed these other companies to just come in and take over. Not a good look for US developed and manufactured detectors, unfortunately.
