Should I Buy A Nexus, Deus 2, Equinox 900, Legend Or Manticore?

Should I Buy A Nexus, Deus 2, Equinox 900, Legend Or Manticore?

The above question I has been asked a lot recently, fundamentally you are the only person that can make that decision. All the machines mentioned above are fantastic, each have their strong points and their weak points, the perfect machine doesn't exist. Here's my perspective on things, all the latest tech machines are user friendly, they take care of a lot of things themselves and you obviously have the option to modify certain aspects to improve the performance for the terrain that you're hunting on. I mentioned it before, it's in the mainstream companies interest to make their machines as user friendly as possible. 

They have their benefits compared to Nexus, for instance you can create your own programs which people really like to do. Secondly most of the machines can operate without having to ground balance and you obviously have VDI and multi tone options that give you more information about the targets you're hitting on, these are all great features and I understand why people love using them. Another aspect is ergonomics, let's take the Deus 2 as an example, it's obviously light and a joy to swing and this can be a huge plus because you get less fatigue. Then you have the fact that they're waterproof so if you're a beach hunter and want to get in the water you're free to do so, all of them are very versatile to pretty much every hunting situation. 

Regarding multi-frequency, the majority out there see this as a huge step forward meaning, 'that in theory' you're going to be hitting on a wider range of targets. Now for me I only really see multi-frequency as a benefit in regards to more reliable and stable VDI down to about 8 - 9 inches, the Deus 2 maybe a little more. From what I've seen it also appears to perform very well on the beach compared to some single frequency detectors. Again all these features are great and add to an all-round 'user friendly' experience for the operator.

Nexus is a completely different animal to all the above, now I use the word animal because Nexus is something that has to be tamed and this can be tricky for some, especially if you've only ever used a digital machine. Many that use Nexus make a living out of treasure hunting and they're very secretive, then you have a small group of hobbyists that want to benefit from their performance like me. Those that grew up using analog tend to grasp the operation a little easier. Nexus detectors have been made for one thing and one thing only and that's to find metal in the ground. There is no automation, no option to create programs nor an abundance of tonal settings, the current set of machines aren't waterproof - 'watch this space' and with the larger coils aren't as ergonomic as the machines mentioned above - what you're getting is a precision instrument designed to find metal in the ground.

To run Nexus so you get the maximum performance you need to ground balance and when soil conditions change you need to modify it accordingly. Due to there being zero filters on the machines you have to combine the ground balance with the correct coil height to eliminate the ground noise further. There's always going to be some noise from the ground because they're precision tools. There will be some situations where ground balance can be tricky, for instance on freshly ploughed land 'due to the active soil' or when using high frequency coils in wet conditions. Both these situations can be dealt with easily by using a little bit of mineral control, it's just a case of learning the machine, when I say 'learning the machine', I mean really learning it inside and out. I've put ridiculous hours in on all my Nexus machines, hunting, testing and just messing around and by doing this I now feel confident but it took a long time to get to that stage and I'm still learning.

So taking into account everything I've mentioned above regarding their operation, what benefit do you get from using Nexus? firstly you're getting a completely unique hand built bespoke detector made with the highest quality materials - the V3 now comes with a lovely carbon shaft. I can say with confidence that they are the deepest VLF/IB detectors on the market, digital platforms will never touch their capabilities in this regard. Secondly the discrimination on both ferrous and non-ferrous targets shallow to extreme depth is 100% correct, discrimination of deep iron has been/is the Achilles heel of most machines out there, not Nexus, this is where it excels. They don't run multi frequency, you have to change the coil to change the frequency, but, because Nexus has no VDI display multi-frequency is irrelevant. Due to all the coils being made by hand and wound individually to the stated frequency of operation you're getting the best possible performance out of each coil that you use. 

All the coils have a purpose, you have both single and dual and both low and high frequency, all the low frequency coils, including the 10' Inch DD are deep seeking and isolate targets very well. The high frequency coils are unrivalled in their ability to unmask and they also punch deep. I've demonstrated how well these coils can phase out trash like bottle caps and foil and still unmask very well, not only that, you can still pick up tiny gold and silver.

On the V3 you have the VCO tone option that adds another level to the machines unmasking ability because the audio will highlight a nonferrous target in iron when the RGB might not indicate anything. Add to that the ability of the VCO audio to ID correctly both ferrous and non-ferrous targets at extreme depth, you're getting one hell of a detector. But ... all the above can only be achieved by applying your mind and taking the time to learn the machines operation.

Is this a sales pitch? No it isn't I'm simply stating what can be achieved with a Nexus and what makes up the machines performance.

So to go back to the original question - Should I Buy A Nexus, Deus 2, Equinox 900, Legend Or Manticore?

If you're looking to get into metal detecting and you've never done it before don't buy Nexus because you will only get frustrated. If you want a super user-friendly machine with all the bells, whistles and gimmicks don't waste your money. If you want a convenient easy machine you don't need to think about, don't buy Nexus. If you want to race around swinging at 100 MPH, don't bother either. If you're hung up on VDI numbers, don't bother, if you're impressed with air tests I'd probably pass because Nexus detects deeper in the ground than in air. If changing coils to change the frequency seems like too much hard work, then forget it. And finally if you want a detector that can create cool programs that you can give catchy names like "The Magnet" then forget it.

If you don't fall into any the above then Nexus might be for you.