Garrett AT Max head to head with the Minelab Equinox 800 in a 24 item test garden. See how deep both machines can go!! Iron test included at the end of video. For fun only!!! Both are great detectors!! Make your own opinions!
As a 1 year hunter, Im more confused than ever..Not because of your testing, but because I thought I was getting better at deciding what to dig and what to leave. I probably left some good stuff in the ground and Im going back to those areas and digging everything!!!! I actually got a lesson out of your comparison review.. Thank you!
I just went from the old school Garrett 200 to the AT Max and you have helped me with using the AT Max. From now on I will be digging all irons also, thanks for your video
I almost don't even care how this turns out...the intro was FANTASTIC!!!! OK...back to the vid... A great exercise...very comprehensive...THANK YOU for taking the time to share your test environment!!! WELL DONE.
I have a Max and have heard a lot about the nox so it was good to see someone who knows both machines do a comparison. I learned I need to dig more deep iron targets with my Max. Thanks.
Max is a great machine! I’ve got one and have used it for 1.5 years. Just got the Nox so I am just now learning the ins and outs of it. Thanks for the view and the comment
I am having a hard time with my max. Old 1800s sites with tonnes of iron. Get signals everywhere. I dug a couple holes in to craters yesterday. Was getting a decent Signal so i dig then the signal is gone. It was a pretty frustrating day.
Maybe I missed it, but what were the Equinox settings? What was your Ground Balance, Iron bias, Mode, Recovery Speed? Use these Park2 Multi, auto ground balance every site, leave ground tracking off, recovery speed trash dependent 5-6 for starters, F2=0, and Horseshoe button engaged 100% of the time. I am pretty confident your results would favor the Nox 100% of the time.
I'm pretty sure you know that AT-Max has got to be ground balance every time you use it on different soil or just about every time you break it out to use it and try it against 800 equinox it'll find stuff that equinox can't even think about finding
Thanks for the great video on both these units ! Dig everything if your feeling it. Of course I'm still using my Fisher 1266X so I'm use to digging everything for the last 30 years since its a nail and relic magnet. Your video comparison helped me decide to step out of the stone age with my Fisher and go with the 800 for me and the 600 for my wife to get her started in the hobby. Thanks from Ga. :)
You didn't ground balance after you turned the Maxx off? I don't believe it saves the ground balance setting after she is turned off. I GB mine each time it's turned off. You have to or it's handicapped
I think having the nails on the surface isn't a realistic test. Isn't a detector going to focus on closest item to the surface? I would have liked to have seen the iron at different depths in relation to coin.
Here's the simple truth no one stands in a spot swinging over the same patch of ground so if it doesn't hit the target the first swing it even the second swing and let you know it's there you are moving on....
Nice test. Im in the market for an upgrade,,,Currently swinging a Garrett Grand Master Hunter CX3...yes its an old one compared to todays machines, but still performs well and never had any problems with it. Garrett makes tough, solid products that stand the test of time, and for that reason I'm leaning Garrett however when I purchase something I want to purchase the best product that works for my application. So, I'm open minded, and shopping for a machine that will give zero problems in the field and last for a very long time. I'm mostly a coin shooter and beach person...old houses, fresh and salt water swimming areas...That being said I would have liked to have seen how each machine accepts/rejects pull tabs and other small aluminum shards...and along with the nail testing separation, would like to have seen the pull tabs on both sides of the coins...thanks for the video, I appreciate the time it took to set things up..
Something seemed off on your Nox here. Pop your coil cover, clean the coil, do a factory reset. Run 0 FE and F2, recovery 4 or 5 is fine. I have had an 800 for 2 years and it crushed my Garretts in the iron. It was like I never dug my areas before. You might consider sending the Nox in and getting it recalibrated if a coil clean and factory reset don't bring it up to par. Send in the coil too, as the coil could be defective . If that was my Equinox, it would go back same day.
i don’t know what issue you saw. works just fine. cool is brand new. There is a lot of interference at that site due to large power lines and radio towers
You can't put the same coil and each detector you can even put a similar coil on each detector one is a multi frequency when as a single frequency is not even close
Hey Travis, i have over 600 hrs with my 800. I would have liked to see iron bias changed and had multiple chances like you did with the max. I use 0 bias and it’s to not cancel non ferrous as bad. Kenny
He also had the sensitivity all the way down on the max . you can see it when he is doing the wedding band (18.37)and cant help but wonder if it was down the whole time.
Appreciate the comparison, but would be curious to see the same test after the targets have been in the ground a month or two. Most machines do not do well with just buried targets, which is why a fresh plowed field is not as good as one that has time to settle after the plowing.
What I don't like about the Garretts is they will give you two simultaneous signals at once. Even when you turn off the iron grunt, you will still many times get two simultaneous signals. They're too chattery. I always liked the Tesoros because you would get one signal clear and crisp.
great video. i'm only 14 minutes in but i don't recall seeing you going through the settings on the machines. The equinox is so versatile and has so many settings to can really dial it in for certain conditions. The problem is it takes time and i'm inpatient and just want to hit the soil. equinox 600 is my machine of choice but i'm still a fan of the at pro but it is my loaner or back up detector.
I can’t believe I edited the settings out. Max was in zero mode. Full sensitivity switched from zero discrim to 30 discrim Nox was Parks 2. Full sensitivity, recovery speed of 5, 0 thresh hold, -9
If you turn the threshold up on the Nox and leave horseshoe button off, the threshold will "blank" on iron signals. Having the iron bias too high will act just like the AT with too much discrim
Great comparison. I don't own the AT Max but I do have the AT Pro. Have you tried the multiple coils that Garrett has to offer like the Sniper coil? I find this coil a lot more useful when hunting nail infested ground. Would love to see this reviewed. I'm probably going to invest in the 800 and re-visit some of my dig sites. Again great informative video.
I had a equinox 800 that I just return, in my eyes it’s to complicated to use had to dig lots of nails and pull tabs, am buying a at max since does have the tab setting and some also have aluminum. I had a bounty hunter that I like more then the equinox 800. That’s just for what I do
Good vid, man. I had the AT-Pro in my Amazon buy list for awhile, and almost bought it. But since I see Gary Drayson, the world famous metal detector guy that's also on that show, Curse Of Oak Island, and he uses MIne Lab, I'm glad you did this comparison, because now I have the Nox 800 in my Amazon list and the Pro is gone.
Why put the two together ,you no the nox 800 would win .but the settings on the nox would take long time to use just for get it I'm a beginner sod you pair nutters the max is SHIT like u said
I like to see them both all out in all metal mode ground balanced and see which detector finds the deepest targets with max sensitivity. I think if you dig all targets in very hunted areas depth is primarily. Patrick
Good efforts on testing the two detectors , just wondering did you have the iron audio turned on or off on the Max, and what setting was your sensitivity set at
I think in the front I stated the recovery speed was set at 5. It was so much to cover in one video. I am afraid it is too long for most to enjoy. Thanks for the comment What speed do you find gives good depth and recovery at the same time. Thanks again for watching and commenting
@@highsheriff Your video was Very good, I did enjoy watching it. But you are more knowledgeable by far on the Garrett than the Equinox. The Garrett is a great detector, each has its place.
@@highsheriff Nox is awesome! I purchased my 800 and 600 back in June and i have already found over 25 rings 4 gold, several silver and a few plated. One class ring 14kt and one with 10 diamonds 14 kt and one 14kt white gold that hit 10/11 on vdi. If you dig the 9 and up to 13 numbers you will dig a gold ring eventually. Nox also produced a 1794 Spanish 2 Reale. What fun!!
Maybe I didn't catch it, but what mode were you running the Max in and what sensitivity? I run mine in Zero mode, sensitivity two from top, zero disc. To me it just didn't sound right? I've ran both machines so this was entertaining, however just seemed like each machine wasn't ran at their peak performance.
Parks 2. Recovery speed 5 nothing discriminated full sensitivity Zero mode on the Max. Full sensitivity and it had a brand new coil on it. I switched back and forth with 30 discrimination to 0 discrim.
@@highsheriff oh ok, the full sensitivity is probably giving you all that unececary feed back. Also did you factory reset after putting on the new coil? If not that is also giving you the in my opinion weird results I was seeing.
Michigan History Hunter yeah probably. I went with full sensitivity because I didn’t want people to be able to say that is why either instrument didn’t go as deep as it should. The full sensitivity also makes it worse in iron in my opinion anyway. Thanks for the view and the comments
My concern is the iron bias and the recovery rate on the Equinox. If the recover rate was set at 2 and the iron bias was set lower like 3-4 then the Equinox will detect deeper. You were messing with settings on the Garrett. But not on the Equinox. Doing the above the Equinox will separate better also. Doug
Good video but one question- you made adjustments on the Garrett but didn’t on the 800. Sometimes on my 800 just switching to field mode confirms questionable hits.
With the Max, when its giving you those iron signals on the silver, is it reading the correct depth? If so we can at least say if we get a 10 or 12 inch iron signal, dig it. But if we get a 2 or 4 inch iron we can ignore it.
Man you just tackled a big subject with a wide brush. There are so many variables in this. You did a great job overall but there are so many ways to tweak each machine. Especially that Equinox. So now you have a test Garden, I recommend you do certain tests. For example, test the Equinox in all-metal mode with fastest recovery speed against the AT Max in all metal mode. And then try each with iron discrimination on. Also you may want to swing the Equinox over your deepest coin and back down the recovery speed in increments to see what it does to the target. I think this could become several videos between these two detectors. Great job so far.
Enjoyed your video. One advantage of the Equinox is that when you get in iron you can adjust the recovery speed. I do hunt I recovery speed 5 but when I start hearing heavy iron I switch to 6 or 7. You must have some tough soil. In my test garden Park 2 recovery 5 will slam a 12 inch dime. But the VDI is single digits. Park 1 gives a better VDI but audio isn't as good.
As a garrett fan, the Nox 800 just did a little better, great comparison. Dunno if i will buy the Nox just yet, or save a little more for the XP Deus. I love Garrett's started with the Ace 250 then the EuroAce then the ATPro and now the AT Max. But really considering stepping over to something new.
Opinion question. Is it worth have a second machine thats a different brand to utilize it in different situations or is it better to stick with one brand for familiarity?
@@tbled52 Depends on your situation. I have a Garrett AT Gold. I can't run it in Salt water hence my desire for a Nox as a second machine. I know there is the Garrett Apex which seems to be good for salt water however it's not waterproof. That's a big NO for me. If I'm going to be around water I want my machine to be waterproof. Common sense IMO. So Nox it is. If I was just running my machine in fields, parks and dry land I would stick with what I know. I may look into an Apex or a Max in that situation.
When you have discrimination turned up to 30, can't you just press the iron audio button to here 0 - 30 without having to turn the iron discrimination all the way down and then back up to 30 again?
A good reason to have more than one unit for conditions. I have the AT MAX, E800 and the Gold Monster 1000. It's amazing the differences I find solely based on soil conditions regardless of how I try to filter around them.
Today I fetched my Whites 4900D Pro Plus from the garage, cleaned 10 years of dust, and put fresh Duracell C's in it like always... and it didn't work for first time in 35+ years. Welp, it's time for a replacement so I dove in to researching the latest and greatest thinking all this new high tech stuff was gonna be light years ahead of my first 'tecter.... after watching this video (and the last 8 hours of scouring the web) I learned something that surprised me. That old 4900 is gonna be hard to beat (except for the lack of underwater capability). If anyone knows where I can get my Forty Niner rebuilt please let me know.
You where using the Max total wrong.. for all you new guys that just got to your max. Do not leave the iron grunt on.. only us that function when your double checking a target... by leaving the grunt on you will miss targets point blank but if it's off you hit them.. the guy that did the video did a good attempt at comparing the too but doesn't fully know how to use the max.
I totally agree I have the max and this guy is using the max wrong .. I bought the 11x12 superfly coil on my max and I bought the lithium rechargeable batteries for my max and this metal detector is a beast and it’s behaving way more better with the nel superfly coil on top of that the max is much more lighter with this new coil .. But ya I agree what your saying.. anyone with the at max should upgrade there coil with the newest nel superfly 11x12 coil it’s a perfect coil for this metal detector ..
I dont suppose you have any Australian coins. I currently have a AT pro but after 6 years i need to reset every time i turn as it on. So i am trying to save t o upgrade. However i dont know if i should go with the AT MAX aas i am use to the AT PRO OR go the Nox 800. Any advice or if any of of you followers are in Australia and could help me. Since i am on a disability pension. ITS going to take a few months to save that type off money. But i can't afford to waste and buy t lhe wrong machine for Australian conditions and coins. Thanks for any help or advice. Regards Andy
I would've like to have seen a buttons control explanation on each machine. I also feel that the coils have alot to do with it. Both seem to be awesome machines but I must say that I like the tone sounds and the recovery best on that AT max.
Damn, watching this and thinking going to have to go back over some fields. I have rejected signals on iron grunt and now thinking I may have missed stuff!
Ground looks very dry, and the coins were just planted. This will make a HUGE difference in detection depth. Coins that have settled in the ground for years, decades, or a century will create a halo effect that will allow you do get a solid hit with a much deeper coin. I have dug half cents and dimes at 10+ inches with a tone that would blow your earphones off! I'm running a Whites DFX for reference but am looking to acquire an AT MAX. Happy hunting!
I use Parks 2 with modified sounds and tone breaks set to my likings. I have my iron volume on a 2 and everything else set At 25 I use 6 recovery speed and -9 on the discrim Sensitivity at about a 23
Eli Fallin I wonder if that defeats the purpose of a multi frequency machine? You will be good at finding high conductors but you will miss a lot of low conductor relics like buttons and such
My father is considering getting into metal detecting we are going to buy him one for Christmas this year 2021 after watching too many videos on which machine to buy I have decided to get the at pro Garrett. A beginner detected change my mind the at pro seems to be the more friendly beginner machine less things to worry about set in the coin mode and go then he can learn off that. That's the problem with videos like yours you assume people have knowledge of metal detectors most do not I looked at all metal detectors and it seems to me the Garrett at pro is the way to go I'm looking for a machine where you can learn what he's looking for the at pro seems to have the best advanced features with novice wisdom
im deciding between the max and nox but im leaning towards the nox because it does the beach really well and gold prospecting. From what ive heard and seen the max is ok on beach but basically can't gold prospect at all. Am I doing the right thing by getting the nox because im going to be going to old gold mines and the beach. Thoughts?
I say this with love owning both machines plus the 80 pro there is no way that equinox hits a tenant's nickel and not a tenant's quarter I would like to see what settings you're using with the equinox judging by the Klux I hear I would say your iron bias is not set to where it needs to be also where is your discrimination and Recovery speed These 3 things greatly affect Deph. Testing these both side-by-side just like you did and in the field I can tell you that the equinox picks up things at depths that the AT Max doesn't even think about.
The audio alerts alone are enough to make me pick the Nox over the AT Max. That horrific Max tone is grating on the ears. It would cause me to cut my detecting adventures short just to give my ears a break. Disclaimer: I don't own either one.
I would say all around the Nox is a better machine. However the Max is probably a better water machine because the Nox has leakage issues Both machines are very good. The Nox is better in heavy iron and the Max is better or at least more dependable in the water
"I don't think I want an overpriced over hyped Garrett metal detector that grunts on silver!" Otherwise I'm all in on the AT Max! This video unintentionally exposes Garrett and sets their hokey metal detectors back into the toy class analog stone age. Right now the quest for silver coins has never been greater and I do not want a metal detector telling me a 90% silver coin is iron! Please tell me... Is the AT Gold gona grunt on gold! Garrett if your metal detector can't tell the difference between silver and Iron... how's it gona tell the difference between iron and gold!
if you are doing silver might want the eq in 5k and hear them light up.. also you didnt mention at the beginning what recovery speed you were using. Just saying there are settings there to play with, and you played with discrim on the garret.
Hello, I am your subscriber and I need your advice, I now have a Nokta impakt, and I want to buy a second metal detector, what would you advise between these two Minelab EQUINOX 600/800 or a new ACE APEX, please tell me. Thank you
I love my Nox 800. The Apex is probably a good machine but not water proof. If you have $900 go with the Minelab. For the money the Apex is probably a good detector. Simplex is also a good reasonably priced machine. The Nox 800 is hard to beat
Multifrequency machines such as the Minelab will outperform single frequency machines such as the Garrett. You typically have to dial the sensitivity back on the single frequency machines to get them stable in wet saltwater sand.
Rowan, in my opinion, this test is totally unfair because you didn't show the setting for each machine before the test. Second, never-ever compare a test using difference coil size. This ATMAX that you used had 9-1/2" vs. EQ coil which is larger. That gives to EQ800 over the ATMAX an advantage going deeper and reading better any target.
Just a stock comparison between the two “as you bought them instruments”. I told the setting in the comments. I should have done that in the video. It was just for fun
Actually the 9 1/2 should have gave the max an advantage in the iron. The problem was the max making deep coins sound like iron not the lack of detection depth.
I agree with you because I own both machines and I upgraded my max coil with the new Nel 11x12 superfly coil and I upgraded my batteries with lithium rechargeable batteries and the max became a hole different machine night and day improvement also it’s how u use your settings on top of that .. the nox is a good machine as well but with the nox am scared to use it under water as many people complain about the nox drowning under water I love both metal detectors ..agin updated the coil and batteries made a big big difference in the max also I don’t run my max with the iron on I only use the iron when I need too I also run my max most of the time threshold on -4 and I also run my sensitivity most of the time at 7 when am at a big park then I run the sensitivity at 8 and this metal detector can read deep targets.. the at max factory coil can’t compare to the nox’s coil .. my first metal detector was the Garrett ace 250 and I found good targets but when I updated the coil to a 9x12 coil the ace was finding a bunch of good targets anyone with a max should update there coil and you will see a huge improvement.. so far my favorite coil for my max is the nel 11x13 superfly coil it’s much lighter then the stock coil and reads much more deeper targets and it’s behaving way more better when it locks to a target it locks … and battery’s is a must lithium lithium and lithium rechargeable batteries or the famous lithium battery pack for the max I own the brick and AA lithium batteries for my max the machine’s performance is much better running on lithium batteries.. those 2 upgrade on the max will be very very huge improvement.. agin I have both the nox and the max and I love the max a little bit more because you can swap batteries ..
Your volume is too quiet to understand what you’re saying with my iPhone. Yours isn’t the only channel but most of my favorites definitely have more volume available
