Equinox 800 vs ctx 3030

[Mr. Carolina]

How things change. Only last month I only read what a piece of crap the CTX was. Leaks like a sieve . Cost a fortune to repair. My coil went bad. Heavy as a boat anchor. Need a harness to lug it around. No upgrades in five years like they promised. My screen went black, my screen got lines in it and I'm selling this thing when the warranty runs out. Now Minelab offers a new machine and suddenly the CTX is the greatest thing going. No way a $900 detector can compete with my CTX. Well you better hope not or you won't be able to give that CTX away much less sell it. Although I do use target trace always, GPS not at all. Way points, nope. Combined , nope I'm a two tone co. 37 down 38 up. Dig it all. I hunt gold at the beach so this machine has my name written all over it. I think all you looters in Virginia should steer clear of this new technology and keep on swinging those Excal's and CTX's. Andy hurry up with my Equinox 800.

 

[Decanfrost]

So Speed surpasses the 3030.Wonder if they can turn that up on the ctx if so probably wont be until after launch and a saturated market.Do feel regardless the 3030 needs an update.Cant see the top line staus bar....Soooooo small.

 

[bklein]

Advances in microcontroller design since the CTX was conceived along with simpler mechanicals can justify/explain the lower cost.
I was getting pretty bored with the CTX posts - we really need a meaningful firmware upgrade to keep the talk going. It will be interesting to eventually see how the user experience is with the E.

 

[MEV]

Minelab i can't believe what i AM looking!!!!! Equinox is a lot faster than ctx 3030 , equinox has better discriminación! I.want my 1600 dólares back!!!!

 

[mrwilburino]

There's a bunch of machines that are faster than the ctx, it wasn't built for that purpose. It looks like the Equinox will be a submersible single/multi-frequency answer to the Deus and others in that category. If it also had the ID capabilities of the CTX, Minelab would just about own the VLF market. No way they would be selling it for $900. Remember, this is Minelab we're talking about.

 

[lse450cc]

YOU ARE PAYING FOR GPS , TARGET TRACE ,IT CAN' T DO WHAT THE 3030 CAN DO.

 

[dewcon4414]

BUT if MLs game is to put this thing in the water...... something the Deus cant do, get some of the CTXs out of the water, and some what replace the Xcal as a wader rather than give us an Xcal III.... this could work. Target trace and GPS would rarely be used on the beach. I agree....... thats a HUGE difference in price so common sense tells me its lacking something.

Dew

 

[DolanDave]

I feel bad for everyone that purchased a Minelab Gold Monster 1000 that just came out, as one of the Equinox 800 frequencys are the same in the 40khz frequency range, but it can do a lot more....
Dave

 

[Bryan V]

I feel bad for everyone that purchased a Minelab Gold Monster 1000 that just came out, as one of the Equinox 800 frequencys are the same in the 40khz frequency range, but it can do a lot more....
Dave

I'm not bothered at all. I have the Monster, and have preordered the 800.. The beauty behind the Monster is its simplicity, power and ground handling..
The first nugget found with my Monster was in literally 30-45 seconds. Turn it on. Wait for the two beaps and start swinging. It's a beautiful thing.
Almost no setup, no ground ballence, no threshold to keep smooth. No ID numbers.. It's a unique machine.. Very addicting..
I see the Equinox as a good companion to the Monster where I might want to use a bigger coil and maybe search for bigger nuggets in tailing piles for instance.
Because I was so impressed with the Monster, it made the decision to buy an Equinox very easy....Minelab knows their stuff when it comes to handling bad ground and the
ultra light but tough build quality of the monster makes it a great tool for the type of hunting I do.
the Equinox would probably make for a better All Around nugget hunter with its better coil and frequency selection.
I just can't imagine not owning the Monster at this time though.

I'm trying to get down to the Monster, E-Trac and now Equinox 800. Everything else is for sale.

 

[AgileMJOLNIR]

The Equinox in no way will replace a CTX they are in different leagues. However I can see this making a great addition to my CTX.

 

[IDXMonster]

The quote on the several other blogs and Facebook posts is that this will be Brandon's #1 detector over the CTX 3030 . . . does anyone really believe that the same company that builds and still sells the CTX 3030 as well as the E-Trac will release a detector at 1/3 the price that outperforms either of the two models that are still selling well?

Minelab - like all other manufacturers - is looking at what is being released and release that they need to compete. Wireless is the only way people will want to go so having that option on the Equinox as well as the AT Max is a must. Quest Metal Detectors developed their detectors a few years ago and the Equinox looks quite similar in form to that and the Quest has wireless built in . . no module required.

If the Equinox was a hybrid of the unique BBS or FBS circuitry, that would have been stated in the literature. After all, White's has had multi-frequency for nearly 20 years starting with the DFX and carried over to the V3i / VX3 platforms.

The launch was hyped for months much the way the AT Max was which is yet to ship. The videos from the UK on the Minelab show that the features are not fully locked in which means that release to the public is down the road. It is a solid marketing strategy since people will now hold off buying what is available to see what might be available - human nature.

Knowing Minelab since the origins of the company, I am certain it will be a solid performer but if you are expecting it to replace your E-Trac or CTX 3030 or make finds comparable to those two units at the price they are marketing it at . . . well, take a deep breath and reground yourself.

Andy

Thank you for being the voice of reason! I'm sure(relatively sure)that it'll be a great companion machine to others. To sell an FBS unit to finance this new unit in my mind would be premature. When statements like " better than the CTX" are made that very well may lure people into making a mistake that they don't know they're making. Well said Andy.

 

[bklein]

Minelab needs to give the CTX a firmware upgrade to keep it current and keep the talk going in the forums. If they don't I don't see it succediing in today's marketplace. It will be a great used detector and a threat in the field but new detectors that do very well will be more common and probably find great stuff. Detectors will gain discrimination feaures we haven't even thought of and it is because of advances and cost reductions in chip designs and associated code capabilities. New chips have DSP functions along with easy to integrate wifi/bluetooth/sensor options. The net effect is cheaper detectors that do quite well and means more guys hitting your favorite beach and finding the good stuff.

 

[treasure_hunter]

The quote on the several other blogs and Facebook posts is that this will be Brandon's #1 detector over the CTX 3030 . . . does anyone really believe that the same company that builds and still sells the CTX 3030 as well as the E-Trac will release a detector at 1/3 the price that outperforms either of the two models that are still selling well?

Minelab - like all other manufacturers - is looking at what is being released and release that they need to compete. Wireless is the only way people will want to go so having that option on the Equinox as well as the AT Max is a must. Quest Metal Detectors developed their detectors a few years ago and the Equinox looks quite similar in form to that and the Quest has wireless built in . . no module required.

If the Equinox was a hybrid of the unique BBS or FBS circuitry, that would have been stated in the literature. After all, White's has had multi-frequency for nearly 20 years starting with the DFX and carried over to the V3i / VX3 platforms.

The launch was hyped for months much the way the AT Max was which is yet to ship. The videos from the UK on the Minelab show that the features are not fully locked in which means that release to the public is down the road. It is a solid marketing strategy since people will now hold off buying what is available to see what might be available - human nature.

Knowing Minelab since the origins of the company, I am certain it will be a solid performer but if you are expecting it to replace your E-Trac or CTX 3030 or make finds comparable to those two units at the price they are marketing it at . . . well, take a deep breath and reground yourself.

Andy

Thank you for being the voice of reason! I'm sure(relatively sure)that it'll be a great companion machine to others. To sell an FBS unit to finance this new unit in my mind would be premature. When statements like " better than the CTX" are made that very well may lure people into making a mistake that they don't know they're making. Well said Andy.

 

[treasure_hunter]

The quote on the several other blogs and Facebook posts is that this will be Brandon's #1 detector over the CTX 3030 . . . does anyone really believe that the same company that builds and still sells the CTX 3030 as well as the E-Trac will release a detector at 1/3 the price that outperforms either of the two models that are still selling well?

Minelab - like all other manufacturers - is looking at what is being released and release that they need to compete. Wireless is the only way people will want to go so having that option on the Equinox as well as the AT Max is a must. Quest Metal Detectors developed their detectors a few years ago and the Equinox looks quite similar in form to that and the Quest has wireless built in . . no module required.

If the Equinox was a hybrid of the unique BBS or FBS circuitry, that would have been stated in the literature. After all, White's has had multi-frequency for nearly 20 years starting with the DFX and carried over to the V3i / VX3 platforms.

The launch was hyped for months much the way the AT Max was which is yet to ship. The videos from the UK on the Minelab show that the features are not fully locked in which means that release to the public is down the road. It is a solid marketing strategy since people will now hold off buying what is available to see what might be available - human nature.

Knowing Minelab since the origins of the company, I am certain it will be a solid performer but if you are expecting it to replace your E-Trac or CTX 3030 or make finds comparable to those two units at the price they are marketing it at . . . well, take a deep breath and reground yourself.

Andy

Spot on Andy, Equinox was not designed to replace the 3030 or ETrac detectors, it was designed to compete with and win the mid range detector sales like the Garrett AT Pro. Down the road they may use some of the features and technology from Equinox in future detectors but no way is Minelab putting out a detector for $600-$900 to compete against their $1500-$2500 detectors. The only detector I can see it replacing may be the XTerra series, depending on it's current sales volume. Minelab stopped production of the Sovereign series because sales volume fell below the level required to justify the production line.

 

[sprchng]

The quote on the several other blogs and Facebook posts is that this will be Brandon's #1 detector over the CTX 3030 . . . does anyone really believe that the same company that builds and still sells the CTX 3030 as well as the E-Trac will release a detector at 1/3 the price that outperforms either of the two models that are still selling well?

Minelab - like all other manufacturers - is looking at what is being released and release that they need to compete. Wireless is the only way people will want to go so having that option on the Equinox as well as the AT Max is a must. Quest Metal Detectors developed their detectors a few years ago and the Equinox looks quite similar in form to that and the Quest has wireless built in . . no module required.

If the Equinox was a hybrid of the unique BBS or FBS circuitry, that would have been stated in the literature. After all, White's has had multi-frequency for nearly 20 years starting with the DFX and carried over to the V3i / VX3 platforms.

The launch was hyped for months much the way the AT Max was which is yet to ship. The videos from the UK on the Minelab show that the features are not fully locked in which means that release to the public is down the road. It is a solid marketing strategy since people will now hold off buying what is available to see what might be available - human nature.

Knowing Minelab since the origins of the company, I am certain it will be a solid performer but if you are expecting it to replace your E-Trac or CTX 3030 or make finds comparable to those two units at the price they are marketing it at . . . well, take a deep breath and reground yourself.

Andy

Thank you for being the voice of reason! I'm sure(relatively sure)that it'll be a great companion machine to others. To sell an FBS unit to finance this new unit in my mind would be premature. When statements like " better than the CTX" are made that very well may lure people into making a mistake that they don't know they're making. Well said Andy.

Voice of reason? The only "reason" a person needs to buy an Equinox is if they have desire to get one. It's their hard earned money they can spend it however they chose,,,kind of like going to Bootcamp.

 

[IDXMonster]

The quote on the several other blogs and Facebook posts is that this will be Brandon's #1 detector over the CTX 3030 . . . does anyone really believe that the same company that builds and still sells the CTX 3030 as well as the E-Trac will release a detector at 1/3 the price that outperforms either of the two models that are still selling well?

Minelab - like all other manufacturers - is looking at what is being released and release that they need to compete. Wireless is the only way people will want to go so having that option on the Equinox as well as the AT Max is a must. Quest Metal Detectors developed their detectors a few years ago and the Equinox looks quite similar in form to that and the Quest has wireless built in . . no module required.

If the Equinox was a hybrid of the unique BBS or FBS circuitry, that would have been stated in the literature. After all, White's has had multi-frequency for nearly 20 years starting with the DFX and carried over to the V3i / VX3 platforms.

The launch was hyped for months much the way the AT Max was which is yet to ship. The videos from the UK on the Minelab show that the features are not fully locked in which means that release to the public is down the road. It is a solid marketing strategy since people will now hold off buying what is available to see what might be available - human nature.

Knowing Minelab since the origins of the company, I am certain it will be a solid performer but if you are expecting it to replace your E-Trac or CTX 3030 or make finds comparable to those two units at the price they are marketing it at . . . well, take a deep breath and reground yourself.

Andy

Thank you for being the voice of reason! I'm sure(relatively sure)that it'll be a great companion machine to others. To sell an FBS unit to finance this new unit in my mind would be premature. When statements like " better than the CTX" are made that very well may lure people into making a mistake that they don't know they're making. Well said Andy.

Voice of reason? The only "reason" a person needs to buy an Equinox is if they have desire to get one. It's their hard earned money they can spend it however they chose,,,kind of like going to Bootcamp.

I did say "reason" here Sprchng...let's not get unhooked just yet. I don't know how you are perceiving what I said but let's clarify so no trains get derailed...Andy is stating in a roundabout and polite way that a well known detectorist who gets a lot of press also said in a roundabout way that the CTX may be inferior to the new Equinox. It also seems that Andy is saying "Hey,let's let this play out a little bit and see how the machine performs before everyone starts selling off their Etrac or CTX with the expectation that the Equinox will eclipse them both in the ways that really count". That's a bit of paraphrasing there but that's what I got out of it. And that,indeed,to me,sounds "reasonable". Quite frankly for Brandon to come out with what he supposedly said to me is a bit hasty. People count on testers and those closely related to the manufacturer to give honest and scientifically repeated information,not just hype to move merchandise and take people's hard earned money. Andy can clarify if needed and I can assume we are still friends?

 

[Tony N (Michigan)]

BUT if MLs game is to put this thing in the water...... something the Deus cant do, get some of the CTXs out of the water, and some what replace the Xcal as a wader rather than give us an Xcal III.... this could work. Target trace and GPS would rarely be used on the beach. I agree....... thats a HUGE difference in price so common sense tells me its lacking something.

Dew

The Deus can go under water.

 

[Wayfarer]

The quote on the several other blogs and Facebook posts is that this will be Brandon's #1 detector over the CTX 3030 . . . does anyone really believe that the same company that builds and still sells the CTX 3030 as well as the E-Trac will release a detector at 1/3 the price that outperforms either of the two models that are still selling well?

Minelab - like all other manufacturers - is looking at what is being released and release that they need to compete. Wireless is the only way people will want to go so having that option on the Equinox as well as the AT Max is a must. Quest Metal Detectors developed their detectors a few years ago and the Equinox looks quite similar in form to that and the Quest has wireless built in . . no module required.

If the Equinox was a hybrid of the unique BBS or FBS circuitry, that would have been stated in the literature. After all, White's has had multi-frequency for nearly 20 years starting with the DFX and carried over to the V3i / VX3 platforms.

The launch was hyped for months much the way the AT Max was which is yet to ship. The videos from the UK on the Minelab show that the features are not fully locked in which means that release to the public is down the road. It is a solid marketing strategy since people will now hold off buying what is available to see what might be available - human nature.

Knowing Minelab since the origins of the company, I am certain it will be a solid performer but if you are expecting it to replace your E-Trac or CTX 3030 or make finds comparable to those two units at the price they are marketing it at . . . well, take a deep breath and reground yourself.

Andy

Thank you for being the voice of reason! I'm sure(relatively sure)that it'll be a great companion machine to others. To sell an FBS unit to finance this new unit in my mind would be premature. When statements like " better than the CTX" are made that very well may lure people into making a mistake that they don't know they're making. Well said Andy.

Voice of reason? The only "reason" a person needs to buy an Equinox is if they have desire to get one. It's their hard earned money they can spend it however they chose,,,kind of like going to Bootcamp.

I did say "reason" here Sprchng...let's not get unhooked just yet. I don't know how you are perceiving what I said but let's clarify so no trains get derailed...Andy is stating in a roundabout and polite way that a well known detectorist who gets a lot of press also said in a roundabout way that the CTX may be inferior to the new Equinox. It also seems that Andy is saying "Hey,let's let this play out a little bit and see how the machine performs before everyone starts selling off their Etrac or CTX with the expectation that the Equinox will eclipse them both in the ways that really count". That's a bit of paraphrasing there but that's what I got out of it. And that,indeed,to me,sounds "reasonable". Quite frankly for Brandon to come out with what he supposedly said to me is a bit hasty. People count on testers and those closely related to the manufacturer to give honest and scientifically repeated information,not just hype to move merchandise and take people's hard earned money. Andy can clarify if needed and I can assume we are still friends?

Brandon just very publicly doubled down on his claim that the EQ is “better” than the CTX. Deeper, just as stable ID, and his preferred machine over the CTX. Take his statements for what you will, but he is definitely going out on a limb here. Hope he proves to be right. Who wouldn’t want a new detector model that could beat the CTX and open up old sites again. Technology marches on, and if they’ve topped the CTX, then hooray for Minelab, they’ll corner the detector market and advance the art of making detectors.

Here’s his statement from earlier today:

http://www.findmall.com/read.php?107,2398030

 

[mrwilburino]

Saw this same thing when the Racer came out. Was hinted at by early testers to be deeper, faster, and would ID as well as anything else out there. Probably a lot of money generated in pre-orders. People eventually realized that it was a good machine that did some things very well, and a decent bargain in its price range, but not the game changer that some made it out to be. What we're seeing now is racer hype on steroids. The real test will be when it gets in the hands of people who are not affiliated with the detecting industry in any way.

 

[IDXMonster]

Saw this same thing when the Racer came out. Was hinted at by early testers to be deeper, faster, and would ID as well as anything else out there. Probably a lot of money generated in pre-orders. People eventually realized that it was a good machine that did some things very well, and a decent bargain in its price range, but not the game changer that some made it out to be. What we're seeing now is racer hype on steroids. The real test will be when it gets in the hands of people who are not affiliated with the detecting industry in any way.

Thank you for saving me the typing! The people saying it's great and the company cannot be related. Period. That's just a pretty obvious conflict of interest in terms of the buyer....
Again,I'm sure it will be a very good machine,Minelab hasn't let me down yet!