New to the hobby, need advice on a good "all around" detector

Simplex seems to be quite a bang for buck. Heard it's not best jn salt water but there are some videos of people having decent luck in the sea and wet sand.

I've read good reviews on both the AT Max and Equinox machines, but when you throw in the beach hunting component in there, the nod has to go to the Nox. The Simplex is waterproof up to 10 feet and works pretty well on wet sand. It's also about half the price of the other machines. Whatever you decide, good luck and good hunting!

Will have to agree for the price the Simplex is hard to beat. No detector will do everything perfectly, some are better than others in certain soil conditions and for finding coin size targets. Also, Nokta will be producing two smaller coils in the next two weeks for the Simplex making it more versatile.

All detectors have a learning curve. The first few hours of operation will get you acclimated to audio responses etc. So if nothing makes sense at this point, its normal. After digging lots of targets and you put in 8-10 hours, things will start to click. So give yourself time in the field with any new detector. The good finds will come.

By saving money buying the Simplex, you could aquire a second accessory coil, pinpointer, digging equipment.....with the extra cash.

Equinox is gonna be the one to buy.
It can handle iron better than the at Max and saltwater.
It's cheaper than the max too.

metaladdict said:

Equinox is gonna be the one to buy.
It can handle iron better than the at Max and saltwater.
It's cheaper than the max too.

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I would have thought Garrett would have dropped the price on the Max some,definitely a little over priced imo

Thanks for the replies guys. I took a look at the Simplex and was blown away that it was less than half the cost of the AT Max or even the Equinox 600. Currently pricing at $254 for the no frills version vs $649 for the 600 and $722 for the AT Max.

For $339 bundle its got wireless headphones and one site will throw in a pinpointer. Almost seems too good to be true and leaves me asking if there is some kind of catch since it has the features I wanted (ie ability to get wet in shallow water)

Are the Max or the Equinox going to be that much better at depth and discrimination to justify the price increase? I am a beginner, really has me wondering if I should jump on it now and get started and aim more high end after I have experience to use more complicated detectors.

Buy once cry once


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TSD101 said:

Thanks for the replies guys. I took a look at the Simplex and was blown away that it was less than half the cost of the AT Max or even the Equinox 600. Currently pricing at $254 for the no frills version vs $649 for the 600 and $722 for the AT Max.

For $339 bundle its got wireless headphones and one site will throw in a pinpointer. Almost seems too good to be true and leaves me asking if there is some kind of catch since it has the features I wanted (ie ability to get wet in shallow water)

Are the Max or the Equinox going to be that much better at depth and discrimination to justify the price increase? I am a beginner, really has me wondering if I should jump on it now and get started and aim more high end after I have experience to use more complicated detectors.

Click to expand...

The Simplex has got good depth. I'm not sure how it stacks up against the Max or Nox, but I think it will be plenty deep for someone just starting out in the hobby. Just remember the wireless headphones are NOT waterproof. The machine can be submerged, but the WHP cannot. You can purchase waterproof headphones, but they are wired. I love my Tarsacci MDT 8000, but I am very happy I got the Simplex too! You can always upgrade later on down the road...

Don't buy the AT Max. Not only is it arguably "worse" than the AT Pro, but it's not going to work well on salt water beaches. So no AC or Jersey Shore beach hunting for you with that machine. And Garrett is likely going to replace it with a far better machine within the next year or two.

As for the Simplex, again, no. You have the money to get the 600 or 800, so why get a cheaper detector that's not the best all around option? It's a great detector, but it's biggest weakness is that it's not ideal for salt water beaches.

If your budget allowed, I'd get the 800. It's arguably the best all around detector for the money. In some situations, it's not the best for gold prospecting...or coin shooting for silvers...or going into deep water. But for the price, you're not going to find a detector that can do as much. Basically, the 800 can do almost any type of hunting very well, but may not be the BEST.

If you can't afford the 800, the 600 is almost as good. The biggest difference is the gold prospecting mode. But it can still do that if you tweak the settings, from what I hear.

Whatever you get, don't forget to buy a good pinpointer, like the Pro-Find 35 or Garrett "Carrot."

The build quality is fine for the Equinox. Not every single machine is going to be perfect. I've never heard of a systemic and wide spread issue with the Equinox now that it's been out for a while and any issues can be addressed by Minelab. Remember you're ALWAYS going to hear about at least one problem with any product. Even enterprise-level, mission critical hard drives will fail in servers...it happens. The most reliable guns will jam. The safest rockets will explode...and so on. Now, if you made a post about Equinoxes, and you saw post after post after post about build quality, then yeah, that's a problem. The most serious issue I've heard about it is with the shaft getting loose or something.

Regarding travel and beach use, having a compact lever lock shaft like the XP detectors and Simplex is nice for airlines and luggage. When I started, the XP ORX was recommended to me, and I couldn't be more pleased with it. XP controls aren't waterproof, however there is a water kit for them (to enclose control as well as extend coil antenna).

The nox shaft is 3 piece, not bad when broken down. Most upgrade shafts with lever locks are single piece upper section and can make luggage packing or shipping a bit more of a challenge. Collapsible upgraded shafts are out there, just not as cheap.

Equinox! The other detectors you mention are only single frequency. A multi-frequency machine will fare much better in any mineralization such as a salt water beach.

Good luck!

The Simplex with its single tone in beach mode didn’t work out for me. Not enough discrimination feedback tone wise.
The Nox 600 would be my choice based on my experience with the Equinox 800.
My preferred detector is the XP Deus on the dry and damp sand terrains. In the shallow water and wet sand it’s the Nox.
I’ve had zero issues with my Equinox 800 and I was an early adopter.
Good luck on your choices.

TSD101 said:

.....the Equinox 600 & 800.....

Click to expand...

Other than the gold mode, the far greater ability to customize the audio is what sets the 800 apart. Make sure you understand the difference in advanced audio options between the 600 and 800. I would guess many people don't understand those differences before making a choice. You can still do a lot with the 600 audio...more than most detectors. But, if you like to tinker, then get the 800.

The 600 also lacks a user save slot. The 800 has 1. (They should have given the 800 3 slots and the 600 could have had 1.) As is, with the 600 you pick a default search mode and then modify it. When you want your default search mode back you have to reset that mode. With the 800 you can copy any search mode to the user slot and then modify it. As a result, you can set up two search modes based on the same starting point, and then toggle back and forth.

If you think you'll stick pretty close to the default modes and go hunt, then you won't miss the reduced custom audio options or the user save slot.

A few other things have limited adjustment compared to the 800 (e.g., iron bias recovery speed, screen brightness). You can still adjust them, but not "fine tune" them as much. You'll likely never miss it if you have the 600.

It's not a big deal to completely disassemble and reassemble the Nox for car or plane travel. You just need to bring along a hex/allen wrench for the bolts that fasten the control panel to the shaft.

I have a lot of hours on mine and the only build quality issue was the padding on the arm cuff. It fell off pretty quick.

I've never dunked my control panel, but it has a 3 year warranty. If I don't make it to the beach before it runs out then I'm going to dunk it in my bathtub.

I agree with the person above who said there's no evidence of a widespread, systemic build quality issue. Minelab has sold a ton of them and they are hugely popular on both beaches and dirt.

Some things to consider ..
Are you really ready to go full bore .. or want to take baby steps to make sure this is what you really want
Simple turn on and detect .. Or you want to spend time adjusting the program settings.
I have the Simplex+ .. Equinox 600 .. AT Max .. VX3
I picked up a used Fisher F75 ..I am almost enjoying it the most .. Trigger pinpointing .. Depth VDI when you pinpoint .. Turn on .. Ground balance .. Detect

Just waiting for XP in France to eventually release their version of a simu Multi Frequency machine. I've been using the XP Orx for several months now for coin shooting on land. Build quality is good, lightweight and easy to swing many many hours. The ability to hear the nuances of items in ground is a plus, wish XP would put out a concentric coil for city searching and easier pinpointing trigger switch like on the Fisher F75.....but separation is excellent especially in a reactivity of 2.5. The reason I didn't go for the Equinox.......I like the audio and nuances on the XP better, menu item choices, build quality higher, 5 year warranty like the Fisher, lighter weight to swing longer and don't live near a beach. For a beach use only machine may choose the Equinox, Apex, Vanquish or similar simu multi frequency machine.

Welcome from Central MA!