Vanquish/Deus II thoughts

[1983shj]

Good Morning Everyone,

I had detected on and off (very occasionally) in the past with a 20 year old Laser B3 which broke, I then bought a Vanquish 340 and for the past year or so I've really gotten into detecting in a big way, I quickly upgraded to a 440 as I preferred the extra discrimination segments and in-built pinpointer. I've had some good finds including quite a few hammered, silver seal matrix, buckles etc though still hunting for the elusive Romans....

I know the Vanquish is frequently highly rated even against top end detectors, and I only field detect so I'm not worried about needing a waterproof machine, but I have a nagging itch telling me to go for a Deus..... I've read so many conflicting reports and don't want to spend all day fiddling with settings - I love the turn on and go aspect of the Vanquish but wondered if I really would "find more" with a Deus II. The near £1000 difference in price is quite considerable but I also can't help thinking "well there has to be a reason it's more expensive".

Having watched Alexander dig up all manner of superb finds with his Deus I am beginning to wonder if the Vanquish is good but not THAT good. Basically, I don't want to play with settings all the time so it is purely a question of performance without needing a PhD in the detector's settings.... Everyone's thoughts would be much appreciated!!

Kind regards



Sam.

[Easylife]

Most detectors will find most and all are pretty much switch on and go now as the factory presets are very good. I would not compare finds to Alexander as he sold his soul to the devil, whilst the rest of us usually find scrap.

[Metalurgy]

Both the D1 and D2 are very different beasts to minelabs machines so perhaps you may want to consider the Nox 600 as both an easier learning curve and less strain on your finances?
One of the problems with this hobby is to fall into the grass is always greener trap,which I have
The finds need to be there to have a chance of finding them and then you need to find them,easier said than done sometimes.

[Oxgirl]

Sam it is up to you and how you feel. Will a D2 find you more? Possibly but it’ll be a small % difference and a whole new learning curve.

Alex finds great things for three reasons. Firstly he knows his Deus inside out and exactly what it is telling him. He has way over ten years detecting experience and has honed his detecting technique so he goes very low and slow. Thirdly he has access to incredible land, and lots of it, with the time to detect frequently.

Detecting is a funny business. You need a decent machine but the most important magic ingredient is supreme confidence in what you are doing and where you are detecting. I know, for me, the detecting world changed when I stopped wondering if the field over the hedge would be better, stopped fretting if my settings were right and instead just relaxed and concentrated on where I was and my technique.

So you need to ask yourself if you can be happy with what you have or if you can’t let go of that nagging feeling you need a better machine? If you can’t, then buy a D2 but be prepared for 6 month (more likely 12 month) learning curve that’ll be painful and frustrating. You’ll should end up in a place where you know the technology is as good as it gets and you can then just enjoy the machine for a lot of years.

Not a simple answer but one I hope gives you food for thought.

[mattjb]

If it’s the deus 1 you are considering then there are plenty of second hand ones about.You can buy one give it a go for while then if it doesn’t work out you could get your money back when you resell it. I changed from an old explorer to a D1 lite and it’s a hell of a lot lighter, and finds plenty. I picked up using it quickly.The ability to pack it down to a small size is also very handy.
A D2 is obviously a big outlay so that has to be considered. Obviously what any machine will find is down to the quality of permissions to a certain extent.

[mattjb]

Sorry, just reread your post to see it is the d2 you are considering!

[HammeredDeus]

I started with a Simplex and then - like you - got the bug (badly) and decided that if was going to spend hours wandering around hunting for goodies I might as well invest in the best machine I could afford (the self-justification process may be flawed...) - so I then got a Nox and most recently a D2.

1) On my main permission - permanent pasture on heavy weald clay - my newer machines have found some things I (perhaps) missed with the Simplex, but not that many.
2) On the beach, the Simplex was not at its best, although I had a lot of fun with it. The Nox, and more recently the D2, have made beach-hunting a real pleasure (if hard work - lots of digging!).

My conclusions are:
a) It depends on where you're hunting. If you're going on the beach, or perhaps hunting on 'difficult' ground inland, then one of the simultaneous multi frequency machines (Vanquish, Nox, Legend, D2) is probably worth it, assuming you can afford the extra.
b) The grass is probably always going to be greener, but a good single-frequency-at-a-time machine will find most of what's there on land (Simplex, Anfibio, D1, Orx, what-have-you).
c) It is easy to underestimate the importance of the quality of the land, of the effects of ground conditions, and of the skill/understanding/technique of the person swinging the machine.

[fred]

I'm with the rest of the herd on this one. Understanding how any machine works is essential as it's the fine tuning that enables you to get comfortable with it and to adjust it to perform on your particular sites.

In my opinion the D2 is certainly the best machine available for beaches but we don't yet have enough experience to know just how good it is going to be on land. It's definitely ok and I think (and only think) that it will eventually come good. I very much doubt that the final concensus that emerges about how to set it up will be for any of the switch on and go options. That isn't really a worry as the D2 isn't actually a very complicated machine, it just seems that way when you first start using it.

If you are looking to upgrade from a 440 immediately then a Nox is likely to be the easiest and most cost effective step up. I'd always advise going for an 800 if you can. You have to learn the same things as a 600 anyway but afterwards it's a bit more versatile. Noxes are not exactly switch on and go machines either but at least there is enough experience out there to dull the learning pains a bit.

[Charles Abbeyville]

Good Morning Everyone,

I had detected on and off (very occasionally) in the past with a 20 year old Laser B3 which broke, I then bought a Vanquish 340 and for the past year or so I've really gotten into detecting in a big way, I quickly upgraded to a 440 as I preferred the extra discrimination segments and in-built pinpointer. I've had some good finds including quite a few hammered, silver seal matrix, buckles etc though still hunting for the elusive Romans....

I know the Vanquish is frequently highly rated even against top end detectors, and I only field detect so I'm not worried about needing a waterproof machine, but I have a nagging itch telling me to go for a Deus..... I've read so many conflicting reports and don't want to spend all day fiddling with settings - I love the turn on and go aspect of the Vanquish but wondered if I really would "find more" with a Deus II. The near £1000 difference in price is quite considerable but I also can't help thinking "well there has to be a reason it's more expensive".

Having watched Alexander dig up all manner of superb finds with his Deus I am beginning to wonder if the Vanquish is good but not THAT good. Basically, I don't want to play with settings all the time so it is purely a question of performance without needing a PhD in the detector's settings.... Everyone's thoughts would be much appreciated!!

Kind regards



Sam.

Well, as you have not actually purchased another machine yet I would strongly suggest the Deus 1. I am a Deus fan but IMHO the cleverest thing about the Deus 2 is the advertising. I know some folk will disagree but that's life. Alex has made the comparisons and is still using the Deus 1. We have tried the Deus 2 against other machines and I quickly sold it and am back to the brilliant Deus 1. Just saying

[JohnDeus]

The Deus is a switch on and go machine straight out of the box

[fred]

The Deus is a switch on and go machine straight out of the box

It certainly is but some of the settings in the factory presets of the Deus 2 may not actually be suitable for normal use.

[Oxgirl]

It certainly is but some of the settings in the factory presets of the Deus 2 may not actually be suitable for normal use.

I am going to disagree here as quite a few of the land settings work very well without any tweaks. I can’t speak for the beach ones though

[JohnDeus]

It certainly is but some of the settings in the factory presets of the Deus 2 may not actually be suitable for normal use.

I misread the title i didn't realise it was Deus 2

[Easylife]

Well you could use any preset program anywhere and find stuff, although certain ones will be more suitable and maybe find more. Then some slight tweaks may even make things brighter! Refinements for extra depth or target separation are what really count if that suits your land?

[Easylife]

I believe that simultaneous multi-frequency will out perform any single frequency in most scenarios, though single is handy to use if EMI is a great problem. So the question is maybe "Will one SMF detector find more than another?", generally not although there may be exceptions? A Nox 600/800 would be a logical upgrade. I have great confidence in my Nox 800 and what it is trying to tell me on the deep iffy targets, whether iron or a non-ferrous right next to it, though I normally use the 15" coil. But I also decided to try out the D2 and 9" coil so quite a change of coil size to adjust to. I ran a D1 for several years so the D2 is not quite so alien. Even if the D2 performs on land overall the same as the Nox, I still quite like using it with the remote on my belt to make it just a light whippy stick! The extra cost is unlikely to find any more targets though it does tend to run pretty quiet, but in a good way. The D2 is very nice to use, probably not a game changer though! If you have nothing better to spend your money on then get one, otherwise get a Nox.