AT Max or Nox 600

Yooper Rich

Senior Member
Joined
Mar 21, 2019
Messages
272
Location
Nisula, MI
Hey Gang,
I'm am familiar with MDing but been awhile since I owned one and see the advances in this field have made some pretty good strides. I am coming down to two machines. Either the AT Max or the Nox 600. Mostly a Relic/Coin guy as there are many old homesteads {one on my 40 here}, Copper Mines here. There are also deposits of silver. Soil is mostly sand or sand/clay mix. I live in Michigan's U.P. at the bottom of what we call the Copper Country Also interested in extra coil or two. What coils would be a good fit for these machines in this area.
 
Full disclosure, I've never used either of these machines, so take it for what it's worth, I will kind of sum up some thoughts

ATM, will probably have the most after market coils available to you at a lower price. The ATM is also a hotter machine versus the ATP, and many have had a few challenges with it being more chatty. You may be able to tone it down with sensitivity but that may defeat the purpose. I personally think the AT series is too heavy to be as un balanced as it is. I would guess virtually 80% of the weight or better is at top of the wrist and forward.

The Nox, may be unbalanced as well but lighter, so not as nearly noticeable. You can find and add the same wireless headphones to match up with the 600, from Amazon. But not minelab branded. I suspect the Nox is faster, as I it's more current technology, not as many coil options however the ability to switch between multi IQ and single could be a big advantage. I've held the 800, and honestly seems a bit more fragile.

I'd probably probably lean towards the Nox but just based on my experience with the ATPRO and what I've read.

However I would expect both to sound off on about 9p% of the targets. The key is to learn hour detector. If you were to put two users competing against the other I suspect the person who knew his machine better would consistently have the better finds regardless of which machine was used.

Just my opinion
 
I had an AT Max and later got a Nox 600. Personally I prefer the NOX. However the AT Max is solid and has great wireless headphones. I found silver with it and my only complaint is the weight and I felt like it was sort of noisy and clippy. Looking back I probably could have lowered the gain and played with discrimination a little more.

The Nox 600 is super sensitive and in trash it benefits from lowering the gain also. In some I have operated as low as 6-7 gain. I have been giving it some time and I have started understanding the strengths and weaknesses of the modes. Basically I am benefiting from
time and experience.

I really think both machines are good and and pretty easy to use but still have room for user growth. My preference is the NOX but I don’t think you could go wrong with either.

-D
 
Had both... took the At Max into a well hunted Civil War spot. Found 12 bullets that day. Then took the 600 in the same spot...one bullet that day. But only you can decide which to choose. Good luck.
 
I wonder though .. what if you took the EQ out FIRST would your results be any different :?:
I don't think so. I thought the Equinox was supposed to be deep. Went back to the same spot yesterday on a short hunt with the Anfibio, I dug up three bullets, at good depths, plus what looks like a rosette at 15". Not knocking the Equinox, just not for me, but every detector I've taken in there has found some deep bullets, and STILL is producing.
 
Hanover, not sure what more you used, but I would say try Park 2 or Field 2 if you are inclined to give the Nox another try. Those modes seem deepest and most sensitive to me.

-D
 
I have been hunting for a long time and owned many detectors. I have had Whites and Garretts and always liked Whites more. With that being said I bought the NOX 800 last year and it is my favorite for multiple reasons. I mostly hunt parks, beaches, yards and fields with the NOX and like the different settings each place I hunt. As said before to each his own and if you can try each one out first. My vote is for the NOX.
 
Hanover, not sure what more you used, but I would say try Park 2 or Field 2 if you are inclined to give the Nox another try. Those modes seem deepest and most sensitive to me.

-D
I used the field 2 mode which was recommended to me by a well known dealer/civil war hunter in my area, who I purchased from. I've used White's, Nautilus, Tesoro, just to name a few, first time out in this spot I might add, and all did very well. Current detector is the Anfibio Multi and it has done well, first time out also, same spot. Second time around, same spot, I dug what looks to be a rosette, @15" deep, no exaggeration, in front of a Confederate trench. I like trying different detectors and the Equinox didn't impress me so I traded it towards the Anfibio. Not knocking it but it's not for me. Here's a few pics of the rosette...minus the bullets I found. 3 hr hunt by the way.
 

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I've owned both. I still have the Nox 600. The AT Max could not handle the mineralization in my area very well. The Nox gives excellent tone and target ID on 8+" coin sized targets with the 11" coil and 18 out of 25 sensitivity. It is too mineralized here to crank it up much higher. In milder soil it might go deeper but the stock coil is only 11". Get the 15" coil if you want to go much past 1 foot. Or get an Anfibio or a Pulse Induction detector. The Anfibio's cousin the Multi Kruzer did not do well in the mineralization here either. The AT Max did not do well on targets past 5". The Nox 600 is a bit wrist heavy. The AT Max is very nose heavy even with the 5X8" coil. The display on the Nox is much easier to read for me anyway and I prefer the audio on the Nox. All are very good detectors in the right soil conditions but the simultaneous multi frequencies on the Nox make it better for more varied and difficult soil conditions.
JMHO from experience.
Jeff
 
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