This should start a shitfight. One detector, 1500 budget. Best Marlborough area detector. Which one and why.
What is your main type of detecting?
MK
Hi MK. 99% gold. Creek bedrock and up on the banks- no wide open tussock stuff.
OD if you visit the Minelab site or my website you will see the Equinox 800 in the Treasure detector group and the Gold Monster in the Gold group of detectors. The pro’s for the Gold Monster are that it comes with 2 waterproof coils, has automated operation and runs at 45kHz and is optimized for Gold.
On the other hand the Equinox 800 is fully waterproof which could be a plus for some operators and although the 11" coil is standard a 6" is available at extra cost. The Gold mode on the Nox 800 uses 20 or 40 kHz… So both machines could be OK but if you’re mainly looking for gold why not use a gold detector.
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I don’t want much- a fully submersible Gold Monster with wireless please! The only thing that concerns me about the Monster is losing sensitivity at depth- used a Gold Bug 2 for a while and my mates Gold Bug pro would see grammers deeper than the Bug 2, whether that’s down to the higher khz or not I don’t know. I am leaning towards the Monster but wireless and fully waterproof is tempting…
Toss a coin. They will both do the job on small/tiny gold.
The Gold Monster with 5" coil
The Nox 800 will give you a lot more options for all detecting situations. The 11" coil on the nox is deadly on small/tiny gold for its size.
But the open web design not that ideal for prospecting. Getting caught up on rocks & the like. But now the 6" coil is out & it is a real challenge to the Gold monster & its 5" coil.
That is tiny.
You are spoilt for choice but the Nox 800 does give you more choices. When using the 800 in Gold Mode 1 or 2 as well as operating at either 20 khz for bigger deeper gold, or 40 khz for smaller/tiny gold it can also be run in Multi IQ which operates in 20 khz & 40 khz simultaneously. Some magic voodoo stuff happens in Multi IQ & is my prefered setting. In the Park, Field or Beach Modes you can run in either 5, 10 or 15 khz separately. Or again, in Multi IQ you can run all three frequencies simultaneously. A real bang for the buck detector with all the features it has. Opens up a lot of detecting opportunities. The Nox 800 is truly a multi purpose detector that does excel at both prospecting & coin & relic detecting. Doing it all very well. Where as the Gold monster is geared for gold only. I don’t even sell them but I do use both & the Nox is opening a few eyes. More so now the 6" coil is out for gold.
Good luck out there
JW 
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Dammit buddy youre making this really hard lol! Call it- heads or tails!
To be honest…if I could only have the one detector…I would go the Nox 800. Purely for all its features & performance. Also has VDI number readouts. It also has wireless headphones as well as a lead you can plug into it & plug that into the detector. Not waterproof for diving but the Nox is waterproof to 3 meters as MK said. You should get the 6" coil for gold. It is an extra but worth it.
JW 
3 metres is plenty for the sniping I do. Ive seen what you can do with the Nox John and its bloody impressive. VDI is a good thing too but I don’t like my detectors with too many adjustments cos Im a bit thick and prefer simple lol… This requires a bit more single malt- I mean thought!
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Yes the Gold Bug Pro will see bigger gold deeper than the GB2 purely because it operates at 19 khz & the GB2 at 71 khz will see tiny gold that the Bug Pro wont but shallower. That is the frequency trade off & also coil size trade off. My GB2 has the little 6 x 3.5" sniper coil. A bullet proof coil that is rock solid & pings very tiny gold due to its 71 khz…
But it will finder bigger bits a swell.
Cheers
JW
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Hi Overdog,
That is exactly the question I was going to ask!
My only reason to go for a GM is from everything I’ve read it is “turn on and go”.
Like you I’ve no experience in gold detecting so looking for something easy.
On the other hand the nox being FULLY waterproof is what I’ll need in the near future when I drop the GM into the river!
Thanks
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Hi ya O-D,
Some good advice there
Me been looking at both pretty closely the past month,The Nox is sure hard to beat for the bang you get for ya buck, maybe around $ 500 dearer than the GM by the time you purchase the 6inch coil,
The fact that the Nox is water proof is a massive plus, nearly lost the xterra twice over board over the year’s,
The Nox looks to be a ok machine on the beach which is another plus for me, one thing that does bug me a little with the Nox is the battery, user manual by memory says may need replacing in two years, and only has one year warranty, I guess it will have to be installed by tech agent along with a fee?? ;anyways looks to be a top machine,weather looks good for a hunt this weekend,CHEERS and will post any finds if I get lucky, X-Terra Steve
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Oh yeah-drowned my first Bug up the Wangapeka! 99% of my detecting is for gold-very rare I go for anything else so I think Ill go for the monster. With the small coil for the nox bringing the price up to 1700 against 1200 for the Monster that swung it for me.
Just need to sell the Subaru and Ill be away!
Look forward to seeing what you dig up buddy!
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Bit of Nox 800 with 6" coil gold finds from a couple of days ago.
Pretty small. 17 pieces for .41 of a gram. Off a scrape & detect area of rotten schist bedrock.
This area had been gone over with the GB2 & the Gold Monster with its little 5" coil & I was getting no more. Bring on the Nox 800 with its “new” 6" coil & it is game on again. This was in Gold Mode 2 & Multi IQ setting, which is operating in 20 khz & 40 khz simultaneously." & as we are so lucky with our insanely mild ground I am also able to run it in full max sensitivity. Many overseas can not do this & so wont get the same result. Ok…it is small/tiny gold but gold none the less & gold my other high frequency VLF’s weren’t getting. The Nox is opening a few eyes with its abilities. Cheers.
Good luck out there
JW
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How far down might it penetrate to detect a gram nugget John?
Who stocks the 6 inch?
I will be bringing some more with my next stock order.
If you wish to order then please contact me here;
DetectNZ - Minelab Equinox 800
Chris.
we already have them in stock and they have been selling well with very good feedback from our customers.
www.dredgenz.co.nz or www.minelabdetectors.co.nz
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Just look at John’s finds and you will be impressed. He’s bloody good with his detectors and coils. For ordering the coils just give us a call, we take credit cards or you can pay by direct credit.
www.dredgenz.co.nz
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Hi .I have both I had the monster from day one realese in nz and it hits some seriously small gold love the simplicity . I mainly hunt bedrock but recently got the nox 800 and even more recently got the 6 inch coil .and it will hit everything the monster does and its completely water proof I run prospecting 2 run lowest recovery and lowest on iron bias gives maximum depth .also the bigger coil is light and can throw it in a pack and if you want to go for a relic hunt or some old tailings you have multiple options to know what your digging … .its a bit more complex than the monster but once you learn it it really is amazing … before I brought the nox I spoke to minelab about the prospecting mode and they said it was built off the monsters platform just with multi frequancy . With either you cant go wrong monster is a simple turn on and go but one flaw with it is dont run in sens or sens+ the minute you hit hot rocks or minerilisation it will dumb the detector down and you can miss gold even worse is it can mask out gold … I found out hard way lol so run in max manual can be bit noisy but you will know a target from and ground noise same with the nox. But in my opinion you get beter bang for your buck with the nox will do everything the monster can do specialy with the 6 inch coil this gold is what I have found with both and some with gpx and sdc but all that tiny tiny stuff was nox and monster . If you want I can whack up a video comparing both on gold
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