Ask Merrill & Friends!
I just joined the Forum so my apologies if this was asked/answered before. I was watching one of Merrill's videos the other day, the one where he's questioning Minelab's claims that the Manticore is 50% more powerful. He mentioned that the FCC has a power limit that Detector companies can't exceed. He also said that Detector companies, due to competition, wouldn't intentionally make a lower powered detector to sell, so they would always be pushing the power limits on any detector they make.
Initially, the Manticore caught my eye but then I turned my attention to the Equinox 700. For the last 10 years or so, I've been swinging a Minelab Sovereign Elite on the beach, so I've had to infer based on audio only, and am used to not having a lot of bells & whistles. Although I'm finally in a position in my life where I can buy any detector I want, I vividly remember and still have "scars" from my poor days, lol, so I'm not going to spend more money just for the sake of having a more expensive detector. Value & common sense is more important to me.
I've pretty much decided that the Equinox 700 more than meets all of my needs, but just for grins, I decided to check out the X-Terra's, since they'll billed as waterproof as well, and I love beach hunting and wading into the water. When I came across the X-Terra Elite, I was checking out the specs and darn if they didn't look identical to the Equinox 700. I pulled up the specs on both detectors, compared them line by line and the only difference I could see was that the Equinox 700 had the graphite shaft, and the X-Terra Elite had the standard shaft.
Since both the Equinox and X-Terra are waterproof, use Multi-IQ technology, the specs for both look identical, and since Merrill suggested that Minelab would be pushing the power envelope for all detectors they make, I started wondering if the Equinox 700 & X-Terra Elite were basically the same detector, just with different shafts. The X-Terra Elite retails for $479 or so, the Equinox 700 lists for $749, so roughly a $300 difference.
I would still plan on getting the Equinox 700 and possibly pick up the X-Terra Elite as my 2nd/backup detector, especially since they look to operate the same and can use each other's search coils.
So, my question is, are these both basically the same detector, just with a different shaft?
If so, that could be handy information for someone who wants an Equinox 700 but might not be able to afford. They could save $300.00 by picking up an X-Terra Elite and have basically the same detector, minus the graphite shaft.
Can anyone confirm if, other than the shafts, that these 2 are the same detector? If they're not, what are the differences I missed?
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