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minelab ctx 3030 vs minelab equinox 800

MrLostAndFound

Senior Member
Joined
May 17, 2019
Messages
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In the future
I am being gifted a new metal detector (Lucky Lucky Me)
And am thinking minelab ctx 3030 or minelab equinox 800
I see there is a major price difference but that is not of concern.

Does anyone here have both? I am running an AT Pro at the moment and have had lots of fun with it. I just feel I have maxed it out already and keep thinking I might be missing things. Ontop of that I feel I can do better in the ocean and wet with a new unit. I have been spending most of my hunting time at the beach.

All input is welcome.
 
I have an 800 and love it. I transitioned to it from the AT series. I don't think you can go wrong with the 3030 though, if cost is not an issue. I don't think many CTX users are switching to the 800. It might depend on what type of hunting you are doing.
 
I have an 800 and love it. I transitioned to it from the AT series. I don't think you can go wrong with the 3030 though, if cost is not an issue. I don't think many CTX users are switching to the 800. It might depend on what type of hunting you are doing.


How soon after the switch did you feel the benefits? Why did you make the switch? Do you still have your AT? Do you think you will ever want to upgrade from the 800? Was the 3030 on your watch list when you got the 800?
 
How soon after the switch did you feel the benefits? Why did you make the switch? Do you still have your AT? Do you think you will ever want to upgrade from the 800? Was the 3030 on your watch list when you got the 800?

I was happy with my AT Max. I had used it for about a year, I think. I bought the 800 because I thought it would be fun to add to my arsenal and learn a new machine. I did take it to places that I had hunted pretty hard with the AT Max and did find other coins pretty quickly. I recently sold my AT Max to a friend of mine because I hadn't touched it since I bought the 800. I've done really well with the 800 the last 6 months. Have I done better than I would have with the AT Max? I'll never know. I'm sure most of what I have found would have been found with the AT Max too. I AM getting better though. Learning the nuances of this 800. I like the 50 tones and the info it can give you if you put in the time to learn the language. I'm putting in more study tme with this 800. Burying targets etc. The 800 just seemed like a nice machine to give a try. At the time, I didn't even consider the 3030. I did consider the Etrac, just based on a few hunters on here that knock it out of the park on silver coins with the Etrac.
 
One of my hunting buddies uses a 3030 and we often compare targets with my Nox 600 or 800. During these comparisons I have yet to run across a target that the Nox could not hit or identify at least as a low, medium or high conductor and usually by experience name correctly before digging whereas the 3030 will definitely identify targets beautifully but it does not hit deeper low conductors nearly as well as the Nox. It often misses some deep low conductors completely in our comparisons that the Nox hits easily. These tend to be small lead/gold targets and on down into the iron range at 7" or more. That is why I don't feel these two detectors should really be compared closely. The 3030 is an awesome mid to high conductor detector and the Nox is especially good at mid to low conductors particularly in mineralized dirt. Plus my buddy recently had shoulder surgery on his CTX3030 swinging arm.................... He is definitely thinking about getting a Nox just because of the weight of the CTX3030.

Jeff
 
Get Both

Both are great machines', at the beach i been using the 800, on land the CTX3030 , the 800 with the 15 does good at the beach, but the CTX with the 17 does good to, if you get a CTX wait for the free 17 inch coil special, i haven't seen any specials on the NOX yet, after ML finally sells one to everyone, :lol: , when the sales slow down, than maybe a special wright before the next best comes out :lol: I like both machine's, the lightness of the 800, and the CTX collapsible shaft CF, happy hunting, Earl
 
I run both. My CTX i use a lot less, but find a lot more gold with it. Also as far as, say interference from a power cable at a pier, or coming out of a building from hidden transmitters, the Nox is hard to block the interference. The CTX i have no problem blocking it out. On the deep stuff at the beach it is hard to get a good number reading with the Nox. The CTX is 400 times better at it deep. But i am a beach hunter. The CTX is a lot heavier than a Nox with a modded carbon fiber shaft. First thing you do when you buy a Nox is get rid of the stock shaft. So hopefully whoever is getting you one will add that to the purchase. I use the old Nox shaft to prop open a door now. That thing sucked. After flooding my CTX screen i no longer water hunt with it. Easier to come to grips flooding an $800 machine than a $2500 one. I did like the CTX in the water when it was under warranty though. And they used to have to repair CTX's as a priority while everyone else got moved to the back of the line back in the day.
 
I currently own both the CTX and the Nox 800. I've also owned an AT-Pro in the past. However, I don't do any beach hunting so take this for what it's worth.

For the type of hunting I do, the CTX is my favorite machine of the three.

Pros: IMHO it is unmatched when it comes to coinshooting. Unmistakable tones and rock solid FE-CO TID even at depth. Those things along with the Target Trace feature provide the OP with more info about the target than any other machine I've used. This is a big benefit when time is a concern, if you're hunting a spot where you want to limit the number of holes dug, or if you just want to recover the maximum number of good targets per holes dug. This is HUGE for a lot of us older hunters who have bad knees or back!

Cons: Its a little bit on the heavy side (even though it balances well), not as good as some other machines for small low conductors, and it requires a slower sweep speed when hunting in thick iron or trash.


The Equinox is what I reach for when I'm relic hunting or trying to pick out the last few good targets from heavily hunted sites.

Pros: Light weight, fast recovery, lower price point, hits high and small low conductors equally well.

Cons: Compressed TID scale, numbers tend to bounce around a bit, and the OEM shaft can become wobbly after some heavy use. You'll definitely dig more trash with this detector vs the CTX. BUT, it can snag some handicapped targets that might not be seen by the 3030 and other machines.

IMHO the Nox 800 is definitely an upgrade from the AT Pro. The CTX is an upgrade from the Nox if you're primarily a coin shooter. For beach hunting I have no idea.
 
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I've had them both and both are great machines.

I do give the edge on deep coins in the packed dirt to the CTX, while the 800 kicks the CTX on low conductors like gold. Can't go wrong with either one.

I'd say if money is no object go CTX.
If you tend to hunt a lot of tot lots/beaches for gold go Equinox.

TID(Target ID) is more accurate on the CTX because it has like 1500 target ID segments to the NOX's 50.

Again, you won't regret either IMO.
 
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