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Vanquish 540 vs Nokta The Legend

Hello everyone, which one would you choose and why?

Relic and gem hunting on land
You are a 'New Member' here so I will clarify what you meant by 'gem hunting'? Are you referring to jewelry that has gems, such as a ring or pendant with diamonds, rubies, emeralds, etc.?

And since you are new to the Forum are you also new to metal detecting? When you say 'Relics' are you specifying artifacts from something like hunting a Civil War site, or just any odds and ends out hunting yards or parks or sports fields as well as a homesteads and such? A lot will also determine if you are searching places that are wide-open with minimal masking trash, or if you are selecting a very littered site such as a heavily used picnic area with a lot of modern trash, or an old abandoned ghost town site with a lot of iron nails, rusted tin, etc. Then you also get into the search coil used, settings and more.

Here is a broad answer since your question and experience isn't clear:

Nokta / Makro Legend: I have only borrowed on a time or two, used it just a little for some comparisons at the time, but decided i didn't need one. It worked reasonably well, but didn't match or better what I already had for the very dense iron contaminated sites i typically hunted. It does have the advantage or he small round 6" DD coil, but I don't like the rear-positioned rod-mount point on that coil. It does profile automated and manual GB control, as well as a lot of adjustment functions.

Minelab Vanquish 540: I owned three of the 540 Pro Packs when they were released, b ut let them go. Then I got another V-540 Pro Pack w/3 coils and now another to use as a 'loaner unit' for friends and family. I have a Nokta Relic. White's XLT, Fisher F-19 Ltd., a Makro Raver and a couple of Tesoro's so I am equipped for a variety of hunting conditions. But i got the Vanquish 540 for a couple of reasons. Even though it lacks a lot of user adjustments and does have a design glitch with GB for some applications, it is 'simple' yet works well for many hunting needs. I like the deeper coin VDI read-out using the 9X12 coil in wide-open parks. For most of my hunting I keep the 5X8 DD mounted and it does well in typical urban Coin & Jewelry Hunting locations and for 'fringe area' searches of homesteads, ghost towns and other remote locations when out of the very dense iron debris. I like the 7X10 DD as sort of a beiger mid-size coil for Beach Hunting.

Either model could be use for many detecting needs, just not sure what you are after or any detecting experience you might have.

Monte
 
You are a 'New Member' here so I will clarify what you meant by 'gem hunting'? Are you referring to jewelry that has gems, such as a ring or pendant with diamonds, rubies, emeralds, etc.?

And since you are new to the Forum are you also new to metal detecting? When you say 'Relics' are you specifying artifacts from something like hunting a Civil War site, or just any odds and ends out hunting yards or parks or sports fields as well as a homesteads and such? A lot will also determine if you are searching places that are wide-open with minimal masking trash, or if you are selecting a very littered site such as a heavily used picnic area with a lot of modern trash, or an old abandoned ghost town site with a lot of iron nails, rusted tin, etc. Then you also get into the search coil used, settings and more.

Here is a broad answer since your question and experience isn't clear:

Nokta / Makro Legend: I have only borrowed on a time or two, used it just a little for some comparisons at the time, but decided i didn't need one. It worked reasonably well, but didn't match or better what I already had for the very dense iron contaminated sites i typically hunted. It does have the advantage or he small round 6" DD coil, but I don't like the rear-positioned rod-mount point on that coil. It does profile automated and manual GB control, as well as a lot of adjustment functions.

Minelab Vanquish 540: I owned three of the 540 Pro Packs when they were released, b ut let them go. Then I got another V-540 Pro Pack w/3 coils and now another to use as a 'loaner unit' for friends and family. I have a Nokta Relic. White's XLT, Fisher F-19 Ltd., a Makro Raver and a couple of Tesoro's so I am equipped for a variety of hunting conditions. But i got the Vanquish 540 for a couple of reasons. Even though it lacks a lot of user adjustments and does have a design glitch with GB for some applications, it is 'simple' yet works well for many hunting needs. I like the deeper coin VDI read-out using the 9X12 coil in wide-open parks. For most of my hunting I keep the 5X8 DD mounted and it does well in typical urban Coin & Jewelry Hunting locations and for 'fringe area' searches of homesteads, ghost towns and other remote locations when out of the very dense iron debris. I like the 7X10 DD as sort of a beiger mid-size coil for Beach Hunting.

Either model could be use for many detecting needs, just not sure what you are after or any detecting experience you might have.

Monte
I'm mainly looking for ancient Roman settlements, jewelery and relics, i.e. hidden items or deposits. There can be places with heavy iron waste, so I thought multi-frequency would work better. The reason I thought so was because a friend of mine performed well in such settlements with the equinox 800. I am an xp orx user.
 
I'm mainly looking for ancient Roman settlements, jewelery and relics, i.e. hidden items or deposits. There can be places with heavy iron waste, so I thought multi-frequency would work better. The reason I thought so was because a friend of mine performed well in such settlements with the equinox 800. I am an xp orx user.
Well, that says a lot. You are not in the USA or similar country where Coin & Jewekry Hunting is common. You are in the UK or elsewhere that provides a lot of field or pasture hunting for former Roman occupation, etc.

Through the years I have owned and used many Multi-Frequency models to include Sovereigns, CZ's, Explorer's, DFX's, Equinox's, Vanquish, and Apex models. They can have a strength here and there but also their own drawbacks. I have also enjoyed equal or better in-the-field performance with many Single-frequency models, or selecting a single frequency with some multi's. The Nokta/Makro Legend is an OK detector, and so is the Minelab Equinox 800. I like detectors that are simple, yet provide functional adjustments and performance afield more than I do a model with what I consider excess adjustment functions.

I currently have a Detector Team of 8 or 9 models that let me pick-and-choose the model, the features, the coils, and the performance I might want for various sites. Of them I have only two SMF's, and one of those is the Vanquish 540. It is a unit I grab when I take on a plowed field or pastureland such as you suggest, and when I do I swap the 5X8 DD and mount the 9X12 DD which has really worked well for me in those environments. Personally, i would grab it before Legend, but that's a personal pick. And I have seen some very impressive videos of folks in the UK using the V-540 w/9X12 DD and their audio and visual responses compared with Minelab's other Multi-IQ, the Equinox 800, and there was little or no difference.

Monte
 
Well, that says a lot. You are not in the USA or similar country where Coin & Jewekry Hunting is common. You are in the UK or elsewhere that provides a lot of field or pasture hunting for former Roman occupation, etc.

Through the years I have owned and used many Multi-Frequency models to include Sovereigns, CZ's, Explorer's, DFX's, Equinox's, Vanquish, and Apex models. They can have a strength here and there but also their own drawbacks. I have also enjoyed equal or better in-the-field performance with many Single-frequency models, or selecting a single frequency with some multi's. The Nokta/Makro Legend is an OK detector, and so is the Minelab Equinox 800. I like detectors that are simple, yet provide functional adjustments and performance afield more than I do a model with what I consider excess adjustment functions.

I currently have a Detector Team of 8 or 9 models that let me pick-and-choose the model, the features, the coils, and the performance I might want for various sites. Of them I have only two SMF's, and one of those is the Vanquish 540. It is a unit I grab when I take on a plowed field or pastureland such as you suggest, and when I do I swap the 5X8 DD and mount the 9X12 DD which has really worked well for me in those environments. Personally, i would grab it before Legend, but that's a personal pick. And I have seen some very impressive videos of folks in the UK using the V-540 w/9X12 DD and their audio and visual responses compared with Minelab's other Multi-IQ, the Equinox 800, and there was little or no difference.

Monte
Location is a very important part of deciding what detector to use. With that being said not everyone can afford 9 detectors either. Jmo the legend is a great deal for the money as it can be multiple detectors in one. The vanquish although good only has SMF, as you stated not always the best option to use in a location.
The legend can operate in both SMF or
Vlf, single frequency use with the option of choosing 4,10,15,20or 40 khz so in a sense is 6 detectors in one for around $500 right now.
The legend is also waterproof vs the vanquish is not so the legend is a better choice on the beach. Definitely if you are going near or in the water. Nothing worse than water splashing on your detector weather it’s a wave or simply rinsing it off cleaning and it fries the circuits. Not covered by warranty, which that’s another benefit 3 year warranty with legend vs two with vanquish. For about the same price now with the new lowered price of the legend personally its what i would choose. i have when the legend was $700 paying more for the added features its a no brainer now but again thats just me
 
DigDog, no argument with anything you said. As for how many detectors, I have owned 2 or more since '71/'72 and generally 4 to 10. I have 8 now and vow to not have more than 10. Why? Because I like them, especially with certain coils for various tasks, and none are high-dollar units so I have bought or traded for most of them... affordably.

The N/M Legend is a good detector with a lot of pluses. However, if I got another N/M unit it would be the Anfibio-Multi which I had and it works well. I don't need a waterproof detector, but if I added one more it would be the Simplex +.
 
DigDog, no argument with anything you said. As for how many detectors, I have owned 2 or more since '71/'72 and generally 4 to 10. I have 8 now and vow to not have more than 10. Why? Because I like them, especially with certain coils for various tasks, and none are high-dollar units so I have bought or traded for most of them... affordably.

The N/M Legend is a good detector with a lot of pluses. However, if I got another N/M unit it would be the Anfibio-Multi which I had and it works well. I don't need a waterproof detector, but if I added one more it would be the Simplex +.
I agree. Contrary to what others believe though I don’t think you need a higher end $1600 detector to find alot of stuff .
More features doesn’t necessarily mean alot more finds, just more things to play with and be preoccupied
 
I agree. Contrary to what others believe though I don’t think you need a higher end $1600 detector to find alot of stuff .
More features doesn’t necessarily mean alot more finds, just more things to play with and be preoccupied
To be sure, and so I have felt for a long time. It doesn't take a cheap detector, but there are, and have been, a lot of 'affordable' and mid-priced detectors that have served us well and continue to do so. That's why I enjoy using what I own ... they work and work well.

Monte
 
Location is a very important part of deciding what detector to use. With that being said not everyone can afford 9 detectors either. Jmo the legend is a great deal for the money as it can be multiple detectors in one. The vanquish although good only has SMF, as you stated not always the best option to use in a location.
The legend can operate in both SMF or
Vlf, single frequency use with the option of choosing 4,10,15,20or 40 khz so in a sense is 6 detectors in one for around $500 right now.
The legend is also waterproof vs the vanquish is not so the legend is a better choice on the beach. Definitely if you are going near or in the water. Nothing worse than water splashing on your detector weather it’s a wave or simply rinsing it off cleaning and it fries the circuits. Not covered by warranty, which that’s another benefit 3 year warranty with legend vs two with vanquish. For about the same price now with the new lowered price of the legend personally its what i would choose. i have when the legend was $700 paying more for the added features its a no brainer now but again thats just me
I do not search on the beach, there are ancient Greek and Roman settlements in my area and I search on land for them. I am very satisfied with the device I use xp orx x35 28cm coil, but because we provide rigging under difficult conditions, orx can sometimes be insufficient and minelab equinox 800 seems to be more deep and efficient. According to equinox, I wanted to turn to an expensive, cheaper alternative.
 
If I'm understanding your site conditions correctly, I think the XP ORX is among the very best machines for finding relics in higher concentrations of iron bits and pieces.
I think the only advantages offered by the Vanquish, for those conditions, would be more stable target ID numbers and situations where the soil is more mineralized.

While I don't own a Vanquish 540, I do own a Vanquish 440 (actually it is my wife's machine). I do own a Legend, Anfibio multi, Apex, ORX, Deus (1), and Equinox 800.

For me, I'd take the Legend over the Vanquish - especially in iron littered areas.

I think the only advantage the Vanquish offers, over the Legend, is a sometimes slightly more stable target ID and a much simpler user interface. IMO the Legend is far superior in every other way.

Of the machines I own, I find the two most fun machines to be the Apex and the ORX.
I find the two most capable machines, in general, to be the Legend and the Equinox: although in certain situations (lots of iron bits and pieces) I'd rate the ORX/Deus as the top performers, and then just barely.

Out of the machines I own, when hunting in iron littered areas, the Vanquish would be my last choice. Not that it isn't capable, I just find it to be less capable (in iron) than my other machines.
 
If I'm understanding your site conditions correctly, I think the XP ORX is among the very best machines for finding relics in higher concentrations of iron bits and pieces.
I think the only advantages offered by the Vanquish, for those conditions, would be more stable target ID numbers and situations where the soil is more mineralized.

While I don't own a Vanquish 540, I do own a Vanquish 440 (actually it is my wife's machine). I do own a Legend, Anfibio multi, Apex, ORX, Deus (1), and Equinox 800.

For me, I'd take the Legend over the Vanquish - especially in iron littered areas.

I think the only advantage the Vanquish offers, over the Legend, is a sometimes slightly more stable target ID and a much simpler user interface. IMO the Legend is far superior in every other way.

Of the machines I own, I find the two most fun machines to be the Apex and the ORX.
I find the two most capable machines, in general, to be the Legend and the Equinox: although in certain situations (lots of iron bits and pieces) I'd rate the ORX/Deus as the top performers, and then just barely.

Out of the machines I own, when hunting in iron littered areas, the Vanquish would be my last choice. Not that it isn't capable, I just find it to be less capable (in iron) than my other machines.
I agree, have to look at the prices as well for me anyways. If i had the money would just buy them all
Being Vanquish and legend with price drop are almost the same or close enough you get so much more for the money with the legend. Nox is a good detector but if its worth nearly twice as much is up to everyone individually.
If prices were equal probably would have got the Nox.
The apex and legend also close in price and again i think you get more with the legend between the two. Not sure how much a Orx goes for though
 
If I'm understanding your site conditions correctly, I think the XP ORX is among the very best machines for finding relics in higher concentrations of iron bits and pieces.
I think the only advantages offered by the Vanquish, for those conditions, would be more stable target ID numbers and situations where the soil is more mineralized.

Out of the machines I own, when hunting in iron littered areas, the Vanquish would be my last choice. Not that it isn't capable, I just find it to be less capable (in iron) than my other machines.
We don't agree on everything, but ....

I do feel the ORX would be a great unit to have for hunting those Roman sites referred to. I have had some, as w3ell as some Vanquish 540's in the past, and the ORX is quite capable in the dense iron contaminated sites, but I found the V-540's 'edge' to be better VDI on deeper targets, and those are usually when Coin Hunting, not Relic Hunting.

Also, out of the models I have in my Detector Outfit, while I really like my Vanquish for some applications, especially freshwater Beach Hunting or deep-target old park Coin Hunting, it is also the last unit I would grab to take on a dense Iron Nail or other ferrous-contaminated site.

None are perfect, so pick those that you like to complement others.

Monte
 
We don't agree on everything, but ....

I do feel the ORX would be a great unit to have for hunting those Roman sites referred to. I have had some, as w3ell as some Vanquish 540's in the past, and the ORX is quite capable in the dense iron contaminated sites, but I found the V-540's 'edge' to be better VDI on deeper targets, and those are usually when Coin Hunting, not Relic Hunting.

Also, out of the models I have in my Detector Outfit, while I really like my Vanquish for some applications, especially freshwater Beach Hunting or deep-target old park Coin Hunting, it is also the last unit I would grab to take on a dense Iron Nail or other ferrous-contaminated site.

None are perfect, so pick those that you like to complement others.

Monte
Monte out of curiosity have you tried the legend and your thoughts
 
Monte out of curiosity have you tried the legend and your thoughts

Yes, just a couple of times, briefly. I did some short comparisons with four others using some of my detectors, their detectors, and my Nail Board Performance Test and three 'tests' they use. We all hunt dense ferrous contaminated sites so we used small coils.

We all agreed the 6" Legend coil felt awkward due to the rear-positioned rod mount. We also agreed that the Legend had the worst performance of any units we compared on the Nail Board and two of their tests.

Additionally, I have my personal bias consideration, and that is a manufacturer should work through their detector design in order to introduce a new model that is truly ready-to-go. Yes, there might be something a little 'off' compared with other detectors, but they ought to work well ... and be simple enought to learn and get into use. In short, I am not a fan of update after update after update. Too many adjustment functions on some of these modern units interact with other adjustments and that means too much tinkering to try and get things right. Not for me.

The Legend came out lacking features, desired function, and it seemed like too many 'testers' were too eager to say good things and not really test and work with N/M to make it right before release.

You asked for my thoughts and they left me 'uninterested' in the unit so I wiped it off my consideration list.

Monte
 
Yes, just a couple of times, briefly. I did some short comparisons with four others using some of my detectors, their detectors, and my Nail Board Performance Test and three 'tests' they use. We all hunt dense ferrous contaminated sites so we used small coils.

We all agreed the 6" Legend coil felt awkward due to the rear-positioned rod mount. We also agreed that the Legend had the worst performance of any units we compared on the Nail Board and two of their tests.

Additionally, I have my personal bias consideration, and that is a manufacturer should work through their detector design in order to introduce a new model that is truly ready-to-go. Yes, there might be something a little 'off' compared with other detectors, but they ought to work well ... and be simple enought to learn and get into use. In short, I am not a fan of update after update after update. Too many adjustment functions on some of these modern units interact with other adjustments and that means too much tinkering to try and get things right. Not for me.

The Legend came out lacking features, desired function, and it seemed like too many 'testers' were too eager to say good things and not really test and work with N/M to make it right before release.

You asked for my thoughts and they left me 'uninterested' in the unit so I wiped it off my consideration list.

Monte
It was probably rushed out prematurely
But seems the majority of the updates were to try to please and make everyone happy with their personal preferences, as you said desired functions.
They probably put it out as one detector and users wanted all the additional adjustments. Hence all the updates.
Im not a big fan of too many features and adjustments, i like to keep it simple like an old tesoro, not even vdi, but others will argue all the extra adjustments is what makes it better and more informative. Just me its too much tinkering and distracting. But the nice thing is you don’t have to use all the adjustments just cherry pick the ones you want and can use it as a turn on and go if you so desire.
Seems as if you just did some very brief basically air tests, not being to familiar with it, not sure if that is really a fair comparison to do but something nonetheless. Curious as to when you did the comparisons, what software versions as each update was supposed to improve the performance as well.
I know you are just giving me your opinion based on whenever you briefly had it to use
 
DirDog, the few times I checked out the Legend was all this year and last checked out a Legend in August. We all set the detectors as we would use them for mainly Relic Hunting a ghost town or homestead and let others handle them using the owner's preferred settings. I am not sure which update any of them had except mine. I use a Garrett Apex with believe the 2nd update, a Minelab Vanquish 540 with the Iron Audio Volume update, and a stock, non-updateable Tesoro Bandido II µMAX, Makro Racer (original), Fisher F-19 Ltd. and F-75+.

As I said, I do not know anything about any other model updates the others had, but I do know that with many detectors they did an update and it was lacking, in some ways, created strange performance with other functions, and called or an additional update or two to correct the update glitches. Oh, one N/M Simplex + had the update to add the newer Park 1 mode.

Yes, some of the 'tests' were with targets on-the-ground, but we also located a few naturally lost targets to compare side-by-side before recovery. Although most of the detectors did have visual Target ID and audio Tone ID, I typically rely on an audio response, and some of hew others also rly on the audio sound/quality more than a visual display. i the end, there isn't any reason for me to get a newer model from any manufacturer I can think of, other than maybe a Gold Nugget Hunting unit from Garrett if i get more mobility back. Otherwise, my current eight detectors are simple yet very functional and provide me with ample performance for places I will go.

Monte
 
DirDog, the few times I checked out the Legend was all this year and last checked out a Legend in August. We all set the detectors as we would use them for mainly Relic Hunting a ghost town or homestead and let others handle them using the owner's preferred settings. I am not sure which update any of them had except mine. I use a Garrett Apex with believe the 2nd update, a Minelab Vanquish 540 with the Iron Audio Volume update, and a stock, non-updateable Tesoro Bandido II µMAX, Makro Racer (original), Fisher F-19 Ltd. and F-75+.

As I said, I do not know anything about any other model updates the others had, but I do know that with many detectors they did an update and it was lacking, in some ways, created strange performance with other functions, and called or an additional update or two to correct the update glitches. Oh, one N/M Simplex + had the update to add the newer Park 1 mode.

Yes, some of the 'tests' were with targets on-the-ground, but we also located a few naturally lost targets to compare side-by-side before recovery. Although most of the detectors did have visual Target ID and audio Tone ID, I typically rely on an audio response, and some of hew others also rly on the audio sound/quality more than a visual display. i the end, there isn't any reason for me to get a newer model from any manufacturer I can think of, other than maybe a Gold Nugget Hunting unit from Garrett if i get more mobility back. Otherwise, my current eight detectors are simple yet very functional and provide me with ample performance for places I will go.

Monte
I'm curious about your thoughts on the xp orx, would you recommend the x35 28cm coil or the 9 hf coil?
 
This is my personal opinion. I have been wrong before and I have been right before.

I have both. To me, the Legend is heads above the Vanquish. For coin hunting, both are about equal in SMF but 4khz in some instances gives the advantage to the Legend. For low conductors like small Romans and cut coins in low to moderate mineralization, I would imagine 20 or 40 kHz single frequency would be better, something the Vanquish lacks. If you are a beginner, the Vanquish is simpler, but you are limited to 3 tones on the 340 and 440 and 5 tones on the 540, which I have. The Legend can be adjusted from 1 to 6 tones as well as 60 tones and pitch. I don't like where the tone breaks are on the Vanquish and the higher tones are too high of a pitch for my liking. This is easily remedied on the Legend. VID numbers are somewhat more stable on the Vanquish but there are 33% less numbers on it. If you only had 10 numbers it would be even more stable. The Legend can be ground balanced, the Vanquish cannot. In places with problematic EMI, the Legend can be switched to single frequency to quiet the machine and keep it stable, something the Vanquish lacks. It does not have a gold mode or threshold based all metal. If caught in heavy rain, there is a huge advantage to the Legend. The Vanquish's cover keeps some rain off but don't drop it in the water. The Legend seems to me to be much better built. For nail and iron contaminated areas, my Deus and Tesoro Outlaw are both better than the Vanquish. To me the Vanquish is for a quick trip to the park for some coins. For relics, coins, gold, and everything else, the Legend is hard to beat. It can be adjusted to be what you want it to be, just like the Deus. If I had to choose which to keep between the Vanquish and the Legend, it would be the Legend. Both for their price are probably the best available, I just think the Legend is a much better deal.
 
I'm curious about your thoughts on the xp orx, would you recommend the x35 28cm coil or the 9 hf coil?

Getting opinions on detectors and coils is tough for a responder unless they know more about intended use, ground mineral environment, and type of site and anticipated type of trash. Therefore, having owned three or four ORX devices and all the elliptical or 9" coils, I will offer my views for my needs.

I really liked the ORX w/5X9 elliptical HF DD coil for hunting old sites I worked that had abundant Iron Nails, and the 'fringe areas' of ghost towns, homesteads, pioneer and military encampments, etc. I had my two favorite custom programs saved and was good-to-go. I also had the 9" X-35 DD coil and the 9" HF DD coil and used them for urban Coin Hunting in parks and some yard hunting. I did a little freshwater Beach Hunting but very little. The X35 coil was OK, but I preferred the HF coil due to the Frequency choices it provided.

Do I have one now? No, and here us why:

** A year ago I decided to trim out a lot if detectors and make adjustments to have no more than 10 models, if that.

** Due to worsened health and mobility, I had to shift from 85% Relic and 15% Coin Hunting to 15% Relic Hunting, if that, and 85% or more time to Coin Hunting. I favored other models for Coin Hunting.

** Even though I do use some detectors or headphones or wireless transmitters that need periodic charging, I did not like having to charge a control unit AND headphones AND search coil of one model that had a coil that ran down faster than the other two components.

Things just didn't suit me and my hunt style and sites. Still, for many I do believe the ORX is a very good detector for many applications, but some detectors had to go and I had a few favorites that had to stay and a little room for a few more. No room for an ORX.

Monte
 
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