• Forum server maintanace Friday night.(around 7PM Centeral time)
    Website will be off line for a short while.

    You may need to log out, log back in after we're back online.

Ace 400 vs AT Pro vs Equinox 600

They are all good machines. Go with either 400 or AT Pro but not the Equinox. You can always sell your 400 or AT Pro later and buy Equinox.

Lots of good finds with 400 and AT Pro. As a beginner, I would not advise the Equinox. You can learn the 400 or AT Pro much quicker than the equinox.

I owned the AT Pro for 3 years and my son uses an Ace 250 and finds just about as much stuff as I do with my Equinox 800. He is a dig everything kind of guy. I have owned the Equinox 800 since March 2018 and am now just getting comfortable with it. This is with hunting with it 2-4 hours weekly.
 
The Atp is easy to learn but won't work in saltwater well.
The Equinox works in saltwater. Its better than the Atp also its not as nose heavy, the Atp with 11 inch coil wears my arm off.
Equinox has great ability to see nonferrous near iron stuff!
Good luck with whatever you choose!
 
I would not go with the ATP simply because you stated you want a machine that will see deep and that rite there in my experience eliminates the AT Pro if deep to you is six inches or less then the ATP is fine but my experience with the AT PRO anything over six inches unless its a big target it will not see I have had an ATP since 2009 coin size objects it will not see if they are deeper then six inches there are much better machines out there that will see coin size objects much deeper than the AT PRO

The ATP is pretty easy to learn and water proof which if you do not ever plan on getting in the water with it is a waste I do not hunt in water or when it is raining so I personally have no need for a water proof detector

The one machine I would consider if I were you would be a Mine Lab X TERRA 705 which has a lot of feature for what one can be purchased for now although it is not water proof at all some of the coils can be submerged though

The 705 does have a pretty steep learning curve
 
I can only speak for myself....I have BOTH the Garrett AT Pro and the EQUINOX 600.....Both are great machines...In trying to make this short I would suggest the Garrett At Pro to a new user for ease of use...Ive had mine for 5 years and have found countless jewelry items and over $4000 in clad. It great on land and in the water.That being said I have had my EQUINOX 600 about 9 months now and this machine is incredible !! For beach hunting hands down the Equinox is the machine. As other posters have stated everything depends on what, where and how you hunt...Everybody has their likes and dislikes. In short though for a NEW user I would go with the AT Pro just for its ease of use out of the box. Great first machine that you can always fall back on. I still use mine especially when im hitting a trashy park....The 5x8 coil on that machine is a deadly combination...Good luck in your decisions....HH
 
I would agree with a lot of the others. If I could start over, I would buy a used AT Pro and learn it well. It is pretty easy to learn and there are lots of used coils to get where you want to go. Best thought, pick one and just get out there. If it's not what you're looking for, upgrade. Most have. It's better to learn a machine well than have the best and be overwhelmed. Have fun!
 
HOLD ON what about the TESORO VAQUERO its $400 and DEEEP when supertuned (negative ground balance) THE perfect RELIC MACHINE!! and CHEAP!
 
Not me. I would buy the 800 and learn it so I wouldn’t outgrow it later. It’s was actually easy to learn for me.

This is what i am leaning towards. Rather then buying the AT pro and losing a few hundred to sell it for an upgrade in a year just go straight to the minelab. I also have other hobbies to pay for so would rather not lose on selling
 
I started with the Ace 400 and did extremely well with it but due to the ground balance and the lack of water-proofing I upgraded to a Nox 800. My buddy swings the Nox 600 and does really well with it, so I would go with the Nox 600 as your 1st choice. I don't have experience with the ATP but all the you tubers seem to find tons of goodies with it!
 
Interesting 3 model choice. I think you could do more research and tell us what your allowable price range is, and what functions or features you think you need.


Obvious no experience. What, specifically, is the type of 'relic' you are in search of, what size do you think it is, and how 'deep' do you imagine it to be?


By "general detecting" are you referring to Coin Hunting or Relic Hunting or Gold Nugget Hunting or ???


NO, the Ace 400 should be scratched from your list.

The AT Pro, while not a favorite of mine, would be the one out of the three you selected that would provide you with more adjustment functions and much better audio and in-the-field performance than the Ace 400. One function it lacks is a true Threshold-based All Metal mode.


More details would be helpful.

If you think you can purchase a modestly-priced detector .... or a more expensive top-of-the-line detector .... and spend "... as little as possible at the same time be fairly confident that if i went over the same area with the more expensive detector on this list i likely would not find things missed ..." then you are going to be saddened when I, or any savvy detectorist, will tell you ... IT ISN'T GOING TO HAPPEN!

There are many sites out there that have been searched, frequently, by many, many, many people for the past 50+ years, and I can go out there and find stuff. Anyone could go out and find stuff. Unless you used a true All Metal mode, and worked a dedicated area very slowly and methodically, and removed every piece of metal, both ferrous and non-ferrous, by sweeping left-to-right and right-to-left then left-to-right again ... and then advance the search coil only 1" and no farther, and repeat the left-to-right, right-to-left and left-to-right sweep it again ... and then advance the coil only 1" and no more ... and do that in at least two directions, such as East-to West and then North-to-South ---- twice so that the second total area of coverage was done using a different size search coil --- then you won't come close to your expectations.

Then, once very tired and sore from a lot of target recoveries and spending hours and days to accomplish that over a smaller-size dedicated area ... call me or one of many people I could refer to you and one of us will go in and find something you missed.

I still suggest considering other detectors. Plus, you referred to buying a brand new unit. I would also encourage you to consider a quality-built, high-performance used detector, too.

I've also heard unfavorable comments about the performance of the Minelab Equinox on modern Canadian coins. I have six friends, very experienced, who bought the Equinox 800 and one of them the 600. Only ONE of them still owns an Equinox, and they live here in the USA where we don't use junk-metal coins.

It's 2019 now and I'll start my 55th years of very avid metal detecting in just two months. I have owned hundreds of detectors and used many more in evaluating detectors at every chance so that I can be comfortable and confident in the units I keep in my Regular-Use Detector Outfit. I have 9 different models from 5 manufacturers, and duplicate of 4 models which leaves me with a total of 13 individual detectors in my current Outfit. I Relic Hunt and Coin & Jewelry Hunt ... often.

I do not have any of the models you picked but have owned one of them, did a field test on another, and hunted side-by-side with an experienced EQ-800 user. I use a very proven performance Tesoro that lacks Tone ID or a visual display.

My more trusted models with Target ID include some excellent Relic Hunting devices for dense iron contaminated sites with my Nokta FORS CoRe and FORS Relic units, a versatile White's MX-7, and some models that can work fine in average Relic Hunting places with sparse nail and other ferrous content, but are very good Coin & Jewelry devices with a Fisher F44, Teknetics Omega 8000 and modified White's Classic ID.

My one stand-alone detector that can handle all applications and do so quite handily with ample adjustment features yet it is simple-to-use, and that is the Nokta-Makro Anfibio Multi.

I would suggest you consider a new or 'as-new' condition Nokta FORS Relic or FORS CoRe, or a White's MX-7, or a Makro Racer 2, or a Fisher F44. Even a discontinued Teknetics Omega 8000 which worked well for me as long as nails are more scattered and not too close to cause good-target masking.

This year I have purchased a brand new F44, a practically new FORS Relic, and two gently used Teknetics Omega 8000's, and each of them cost me the same or less than a new Ace 400 ... and they provide me with far better all-purpose performance.

By the way, 'Depth' is often misunderstood and not as important and many think it might be. Oh, and you will need to get one or possibly two additional search coils for best all-purpose performance.

Monte

Very well said!
I just read this for the third time and suggest it should be a sticky
 
Back
Top Bottom