Great Thread and some solid Points made.
Just want to clear a few things up.
1. Deus has had auto ground balancing for a long time, its called tracking though. It follows the changes in ground and gives you 1 point of positive offset to the ground conditions based on 00-99 scale. In programs 1-9
Most ground runs in the 80's but having said that it was 75 in one section of a park I was in Yesterday.
As a gold machine in Program 10 it has 1 push auto ground balancing with NO offset. The pinpoint button becomes the "Ground grab" button and you can retune every swing if you need to. It takes about 1-2 seconds.
It also has tracking in this mode as well as manual and "GROUND NOTCH" where you can actually Discriminate the ground out like a target you don't want to hear.
Overall there 4 options to balance out the ground depending on its harshness.
2. Deus's Life is completely dependant on the user. Every part is replaceable on the remote and the headphones. Its a bit like a car in that MOST of the bits can be replaced in the case of failure. Including LCD screens, batteries, circuit boards and all the housings. The remote has about a dozen bits that can be replaced separately.
I have never heard of one dying unless it went for A swim or suffered an accident like getting run over. (have had both happen to people in Aus)
One thing I see every single day in Forums and on Social media is what I call Detector envy and it affects a lot of people. They know the machine they have works they just want the next one up the ladder as they are sure this will lead to more finds etc. They come to a point where they actually lose confidence in their current machines as they are focused on what the NEW one may be able to do.
So they go out buy the next machine and find that they make no extra finds really and its about the same experience. Most go backwards for a few weeks/months at least while the head gets tuned into the new beast.
Why I like XP Deus so much is that it ENDS detector envy, once you have one your confidence goes up as you know you have a good machine and you can take the time to learn it as there won't be a new one coming out to make yours "obsolete". (A horrible term by the way)
If and when XP launches improvements to the machine they give them to you at no charge so you don't have to re-learn the machine just learn the subtle changes. This gives the operator as long as they want to learn the machine and wring every scrap of performance out of it.
I have had my Deus 2 years and I still find tweaks and changes that make dramatic improvements to my hunting. Each time I go out I get a little better and that is compounding over time to the point of arrogance. I am supremely confident in my gear because I know it inside and out, quite literally as I repair them here in some cases. I don't want a better machine I just want to know my current machine better and I have all the time in the world to do it.
With manufacturers releasing new machines with new tones, new features, new ways of using you need to go back to school every couple of years rather than just compound your knowledge into knowing your machine better.
Imagine how good you'd be with the 705 if you had 5 years experience with it or more? You'd out hunt most CTX owners that have had their machines for less than a year or 2. Look at the 5000 Users that have had them for 5+ years they just kill it!
(I've had my 5000 for about 3 months and I am HOPELESS! with it, but I don't care because I know that in time I will learn that thing and as its pretty close to the top of the tree with the aftermarket coils I have, I won't be selling it to find more I will be learning it to find more.) I run it with my deus in the goldfields to clear up rubbish and shallow stuff so I can dig cans and broken picks at massive depth with the 5000, works a treat!
My Main point is this: I know when I sell someone a Deus That's pretty much it. I don't have a hope of selling them another machine. Sure loads of my customers buy more coils, pinpointers and accessories but they NEVER buy another machine off me. (with the exception of a few CS4PI's) Sure my customers numbers are nothing like this equinox will be but to those that have the Deus and are getting to know it, are having a ball and making some excellent finds in ground they have been to time and time again.
Take the time to learn your gear rather than to constantly upgrade, in the long run you'll spend less, find more and enjoy the hobby a lot more.
Happy Hunting Folks.
Clegy
P.S this is the blog post I did on Minelabs launch, I truly was impressed as a marketer, as a detectorist...
http://aussiedetectorist.com.au/201...-where-credit-is-due-congratulations-minelab/
P.S.S See you at Laanecoorie I'll be there a week early to have a detect in the area. My marquee is cammo so you might have to look pretty hard. LOL