If you had a choice between EQ600 or Single Freq Anfibio

[bigtim1973]

Like the title states, if you had a choice between a single freq anfibio or the equinox 600 which one would you choose and why? I do not need a multi freq anfibio because you can only go with 1 freq at a time and also I am not interested in the eq 800 because I am not planning on nugget shooting. So with that said, I am not really picking the eq 600 because of its multi freq option either but I think it may come in handy and I know that is an advantage over the Nokta anfibio multi already. I am inland or land locked, I relic and coin shoot. I have had some very nice top of the line units over the past 30 years. I am not brand loyal. If a company makes a new unit that I am interested in, I look into that. So with that said, which one would you choose and why? Also which machine did you use the most before you chose the equinox 600 or nokta anfibio? I currently use an F75 LTD with the boost and cache mode but am selling it. I think the F75 is a very good metal detector and I do not have any issues with it other than, I would like to upgrade to a new unit. I detect around old houses and fields. Low EMI interference areas. All input is welcome. Thanks, Tim

 

[bigtim1973]

No input???? What is the matter?? Usually a question like this would bring opinions out of the woodwork. Seems like the traffic at findmall is in a traffic jam.

 

[88junior]

I'd go with the Nox due to it being lighter weight.

 

[bigtim1973]

I am kind of leaning that way. Thanks for your input

 

[laplander]

The 800 hands down and not for the gold prospecting but for the other options.m JMO
Might as well get the 6 inch coil while your at it.
Jeff

 

[Willee - Texas]

If you lived around salt water the choice would be obvious.

 

[Mark kus]

Eqinox 800 you can pick up a almost new one for around $700.00 on here..

 

[bigtim1973]

I still kind of want an Equinox 600. However, I went with the single frequency Nokta Anfibio 14. There are a few reasons why. 1. Easy navigation through the menu settings. 2. I am not near a salt water beach at the moment. 3. I am more familiar with their numbering system.

It is a very heavy duty built unit and I am pleased with the performance of it so far.

I have not ruled out the Equinox 600 though.

I have saw several people complain about the equinox not hitting a coin up on the edge in the multi frequency mode. Now in single frequency mode it will hit that coin.

I still want a 600 model. I really do not need the prospecting model if I do get an equinox.

Eqinox 800 you can pick up a almost new one for around $700.00 on here..

 

[coin-star]

I really like the EQ 600. I think it has something special happening for finding fine jewelry/midtone targets. You just have to "dig it all" as the smaller ID range overlaps on so many targets I have found tiny ear rings with the 11" coil in Park 2.

With that said, I bought the Anfibio also. I like the idea of having a deep detector that I can use with concentric coils. I have many iron laden sites that I know have more targets being masked by iron. I really want to go to these sites with the concentric coils on the Anfibio and see if I can methodically work in sections and pick out some keepers.

I say get both and try and work through your sites with both.

-CS

 

[bigtim1973]

Well just to update this thread a little. I have purchased the Equinox 600 as well as the Anfibio 14. My opinions so far on comparing the Anfibio to the Equinox are as follows.

The Equinox sure can find some very small items. I mean small pencil eraser size and smaller, even way smaller. I will hand it to Minelab for making such a sensitive unit. However, I have noticed that very small items seem to pin point like they are very deep sometimes.

I do not mind the ID numbers fluctuating a bit as long as the tone itself is consistent. The Equinox is a very light weight machine and I can see packing this one on a hike if you had to walk a ways before you get to the spot your going to detect. It will ID better on a target in high mineralized ground conditions in the multi mode than in single frequency. However in multi mode, I find it tends to false more on an iron halo from square nails. The pin point is not the best in the world. I find it a bit tough to pinpoint an exact target location with it on deeper targets. But that is why we have a pin pointer these days. I also wish the controls had actual titles instead of symbols for the function. If you do not have the quick start guide for the explanation of what the symbols mean then you would be lost. But I guess the symbols are for world wide recognition so they would not have to make different languages on the buttons.

I have used both Park 1 and 2 settings along with Field 1 and 2 settings. I prefer to set up my Equinox as follows.

Field 1 Sensitivity 22, 5 tone, Recovery Speed 3 and Iron Bias 0. I also turn my threshold down to a minimum.

Those are my settings for relic hunting and so far so good. I have not made any interesting enough finds to show anything off yet but I am sure in time they will come.

It is a good unit and the build quality is better than First Texas products. I do like the unit but I wished it came with a hard copy manual instead of having to download one. I had to watch a few videos just to see how to do the simple things like ground balancing. The quick start guide included with the Equinox does not show how to do a ground balance.

The Anfibio is a much heavier unit to swing. About 1.7 lbs more than the Equinox. Now I must admit though, as far as recovery speed, set up, build quality and also ease of use, the Anfibio 14, which is the model I have purchased, wins in those categories. It holds a target ID better at depth and it is easier to rule out iron falsing in trashy areas too. The pinpoint also is a lot better than on the Equinox. The Anfibio also has a much more traditional style of control labeling too which makes it faster to set up with as well.

Other than that, that seems to be about it from my own perspective of my thoughts between both units.

I posted this as these are my views and an honest opinion of both units from my perspective. I like both and can see an advantage on certain conditions with both machines. I do not live near any salt water beaches so I cannot say anything about either machines settings for that but, from what others have posted and what I have read online, it looks like the Equinox may have an advantage.

But both units have good things going for them. I guess that is why I was drawn to each unit when I was trying to make a decision. I like Minelab and I like Nokta. I have actually gotten kind of bored with the American made models. I have used or tried just about all of them except for some of the new Whites and Garrett units and now I am only drawn to the units made outside of the USA. I do not know what it is but, it seems like something is lacking in our own country and the machines made here are being out classed by units with more bang for the buck made overseas. Maybe that is why Tesoro has fallen off of the wagon totally now. I think that is sad because they were an all time favorite name brand of mine but, at least there are some awesome units being made right now.

Anyways, just my 2 cents for whatever it is worth. Someone may find this interesting to read. HH Tim

 

[Nauti]

That was quite an interesting read.Firstly,multi frequency v single frequency.......multi frequency only really gives an advantage on areas of severe mineralisation such as wet sand on a saltwater beach.A long time ago when multi frequency was new,a certain company got an advert withdrawn from another company which proved that there was no advantage to multi frequency technology apart from the scenario mentioned above.This is certainly true over here where the top single frequency machines are the most popular on our ancient sites in heavy iron contamination.They are no deeper than the top single frequency machines either these days.
Secondly,i have owned many machines from different manufacturers and i sort of see where you are coming from.My favourite ever machine was American.....a Nautilus.....and a whites M6 was another brilliant machine....my favourite ever beach machine was a Whites BH id and that beat the minelabs on my beaches.However,European manufactures are coming up a lot of different models these days giving us a very wide choice.This is not to say American designs are no good,they are brilliant machines that are better than most,in my experience anyway.......it's just that people are always looking to new designs and most of these are coming from Europe nowdays.It's such a shame about Tesoro but i think they needed to produce a machine that was "trendy" to keep sales up.Tesoro machines were more than capable of keeing up with the latest high tech offerings its just that most detectorists are too tempted by all the latest bells and whistles which in reality do not improve finds rates.

 

[Mega]

@bigtim1973,it would be interesting on your views of using the Nox 600 and the Anfibio 14 on a near single freq basis ie Nox 600 at 15khz and of course the single 14khz of the Anfibio,albeit not totally the exact same freq but near enough.Of course the ergonomics are a personal choice but it would be interesting to see how they fair on a head to head similar freq basis rather than multi and single.

 

[bigtim1973]

Yes it is a little out of the ordinary to compare 2 slightly different units. Even the manual states that the Equinox in multi mode will ID the best and will be the best overall search program. But in certain conditions single frequency can be an advantage. We have all saw the video of the coin on edge thing in multi mode vs single frequency. So I do believe in my style of hunting that I like single frequency better. I have always wanted to try a Nautilus but I always found the control box very large. The M6 is a good unit. I agree on the American made units. They were some of the best in their day. One of them is going to make something again here in the USA and it will be the next best thing for a while until another one comes up.....and so on.

That was quite an interesting read.Firstly,multi frequency v single frequency.......multi frequency only really gives an advantage on areas of severe mineralisation such as wet sand on a saltwater beach.A long time ago when multi frequency was new,a certain company got an advert withdrawn from another company which proved that there was no advantage to multi frequency technology apart from the scenario mentioned above.This is certainly true over here where the top single frequency machines are the most popular on our ancient sites in heavy iron contamination.They are no deeper than the top single frequency machines either these days.
Secondly,i have owned many machines from different manufacturers and i sort of see where you are coming from.My favourite ever machine was American.....a Nautilus.....and a whites M6 was another brilliant machine....my favourite ever beach machine was a Whites BH id and that beat the minelabs on my beaches.However,European manufactures are coming up a lot of different models these days giving us a very wide choice.This is not to say American designs are no good,they are brilliant machines that are better than most,in my experience anyway.......it's just that people are always looking to new designs and most of these are coming from Europe nowdays.It's such a shame about Tesoro but i think they needed to produce a machine that was "trendy" to keep sales up.Tesoro machines were more than capable of keeing up with the latest high tech offerings its just that most detectorists are too tempted by all the latest bells and whistles which in reality do not improve finds rates.

 

[bigtim1973]

@bigtim1973,it would be interesting on your views of using the Nox 600 and the Anfibio 14 on a near single freq basis ie Nox 600 at 15khz and of course the single 14khz of the Anfibio,albeit not totally the exact same freq but near enough.Of course the ergonomics are a personal choice but it would be interesting to see how they fair on a head to head similar freq basis rather than multi and single.

Well Mega, you asked for it and although this was a short hunt it kind of shows that they seem to be neck in neck with one another IMO.

Now I went to a new site I have not hunted before. I walked the same pass with each machine. It took about 30 minutes per pass. I started out with the equinox in single frequency of 15. I must say i did not find anything I would consider a keeper on the first pass. Now this is not an overall impression in my book of which one is better. I dug all targets that would lock on ID and also no mixed audio. I did not dig any iffy signals. It was just a comparison between the two and I do believe on this hunt they were neck and neck with one another. It was one pass with each machine and the path was about 35 yards long. I did not make more than one pass with either unit on the test itself. The second picture is the finds made with the anfibio 14. I found three jean style buttons, old can lid, spoon and fork on the way back to my truck so you could take all of that out of the picture and only the 9 items between the old spoon and the can lid, three jean buttons and small buckle. My computer is acting up and I wanted to just take one picture of the anfibio finds on the same path but for some reason imgur was not working this morning.

So on the same 1 time pass on each machine, the equinox found 13 items total and the anfibio found 9 items total.

I did go back to the same place later that day and walked the same path with another metal detector and I did not find anything left over from either one. Kind of interesting IMO.

I did find 1 good little relic with the anfibio after the equinox was shut down on the same one time pass. This was in the exact same path but I believe the equinox would have found the old rosette had I swung the equinox over it. But all in all on this little hunt they were neck in neck with one another as far as type of finds, depth and time detecting on the same path. I did not dig any deep items so far with either one at this site yet.

A real test would be to go and walk the same path with one of the units unil you do not hear any more signals from that detector you started with. Then go back with the other unit to see if you could find anything left. Maybe I will do that one day.

The third picture is just a close up of the old lead filled rosette. I think it is an interesting relic and am glad to have found it as it does not matter which unit found it. All of the coins were in the silver cut off period of the 1960's. I cannot get close to the house yet as the grass is just way too high. But the house was built in the 1930's and I was told by the owners that there was an old log cabin there previously. So I am anxious to get back over there.

 

[Mark kus]

I still kind of want an Equinox 600. However, I went with the single frequency Nokta Anfibio 14. There are a few reasons why. 1. Easy navigation through the menu settings. 2. I am not near a salt water beach at the moment. 3. I am more familiar with their numbering system.

It is a very heavy duty built unit and I am pleased with the performance of it so far.

I have not ruled out the Equinox 600 though.

I have saw several people complain about the equinox not hitting a coin up on the edge in the multi frequency mode. Now in single frequency mode it will hit that coin.

I still want a 600 model. I really do not need the prospecting model if I do get an equinox.

Eqinox 800 you can pick up a almost new one for around $700.00 on here..

The thing that's nice about the nox is you can hunt in a single frequency except in beach mode..

 

[juit]

Anfibio

 

[Beep'n]

Like the title states, if you had a choice between a single freq anfibio or the equinox 600 which one would you choose and why? I do not need a multi freq anfibio because you can only go with 1 freq at a time and also I am not interested in the eq 800 because I am not planning on nugget shooting. So with that said, I am not really picking the eq 600 because of its multi freq option either but I think it may come in handy and I know that is an advantage over the Nokta anfibio multi already. I am inland or land locked, I relic and coin shoot. I have had some very nice top of the line units over the past 30 years. I am not brand loyal. If a company makes a new unit that I am interested in, I look into that. So with that said, which one would you choose and why? Also which machine did you use the most before you chose the equinox 600 or nokta anfibio? I currently use an F75 LTD with the boost and cache mode but am selling it. I think the F75 is a very good metal detector and I do not have any issues with it other than, I would like to upgrade to a new unit. I detect around old houses and fields. Low EMI interference areas. All input is welcome. Thanks, Tim

When I coin shoot in modern trashy areas such as a park I have found it fairly easy to differentiate a bottle cap or pull tab from coins with the Nox. I'm not saying the Nox is perfect but percentage wise I have found it easier to use in my park example. I have two single frequency detectors that I have a harder time with. I typically need to use some sort of technique to try and not dig caps and tabs. I'm curious how the Anfibio does in this type of situation?

 

[jmaclen]

I had to make this choice when the Nox, Anfibio/Kruzer and the Whites MX7 came out almost at the same time. I really liked all three. I live in moderate to high mineralization and high EMI area for coin/jewelry detecting and high mineralization for gold prospecting. I needed a detector that could keep its numerical target ID and tone ID accurate as deep as possible, handle EMI and handle high mineralization. The Nox 600 did those the best for me and still does. I really liked the Mulit Kruzer (which is very much like the Anfibio Multi but lighter) but it was not as stable in high EMI and high mineralization. The MX7 with Detech coils was excellent except for depth loss in high mineralization. I still have the Nox 600 and 800 (great for gold prospecting) the Whites MX7 with Detech coils (got rid of the stock coil.....) and I liked the Multi Kruzer so much I swapped it for the Gold Kruzer which is great for tiny gold prospecting and micro jewelry.

Jeff

 

[nenadgbeepin]

Here's a few feature differences not often mentioned.

Positives for the Anfibio:
- has a much wider Target ID scale
- rated to 5m, Nox to 3m
- has 3 and 4 tone options which the Nox doesn't
- certain modes that work on VCO audio, the Nox 600 has only beep audio
- adjustable back light, the Nox600 only has one level (Nox800 is adjustable)
- back-lit keypad
- 14 kHz for the Anfibio is a good general purpose choice, (or 19kHz version) but you need to go the Multi to get the 3 freq options
- has a collapsible shaft
- an optional external AA pack
- plenty of optional coils to chose from.
- can pair to the PulseDive pin-pointers
- Anfibio has Gen/All-Metal mode, 600 doesn't, 800 does.
- Anfibio control box will screw straight on a Kruzer s-bend shaft, for those who prefer an S-bend.

Positives for the Nox600
- it can pair any bluetooth headphones you wish. Anfibio will only pair to Nokta headphones, or the new wireless module.
- Nox has adjustable recovery - it is preset on the Anfibio depending on Mode
- Auto Noise Cancel
- Lightweight, but balance/feel is often a personal thing
- MultiIQ works very well on wet sand
- Choice of Multi, or 3 single frequencies
- No s-bend shafts available, but it wouldn't be too hard to adapt. A few after market straight shafts are available
- Multi language screen protectors to explain icons until you learn them
- Does allow direct plugging of headphones with 1/8" jack (depending on the design/moulding....some may not fit)
- 3yr warranty

Possible negatives for both:
- Both use a not commonly available connection to charge, which is understandable for waterproofing - so don't lose your charge cables!!
- No solid coils available for working rough terrain, where spoked coils are a pain. 9x5" Nokta/Makro coil does have a solid scuff plate option.
- To direct plug common 1/4" headphones, you need to use an adaptor cable

 

[hairymonsterman]

I saw an online poll recently asking if you were to get a detector as a gift which would you choose between a Nox, Deusx35 and a Anfibio multi.
The Nox won easily even though the Deus was far more expensive, the Anfibio barely registered, i think it was about 1 in 10 for it, the Deus about 5 in 10.
It certainly seems people were deciding on overall performance vs price.