you indicate that the eq 600 is the '"superior" detector, yet you own the really terrific 540 pro-pack.i also own the pro-pack,and believe that "for the value" delivered, the 540 pro-pack is a better value than the eq 600 in my "MILD" ground. my savings were $225.00 over the eq 600,AND I got an extra coil. granted,the eq 600 has better adjustability than the vanquish 540,however,after using the 540 extensively in "my mild" ground,it is my belief that the vanquish product is a "match" performance wise to the 600, again, in "lightly mineralized soil"
(h.h.!)
j.t.
The above is your opinion. If the 540 Pro Pack is working well for you, your hunting style and your hunting sites, that is great. I have definitely enjoyed the Vanquish series at some of the places I hunt. They are fun to use, very deep detectors with outstanding non-ferrous target ID accuracy.
I have never owned the 540 Pro Pack. I am not fond of the ML80 Bluetooth wireless headphones and I don't see the point in my paying extra for the Pro Pack to get them. I like several after market compatible Bluetooth headphones and earbuds that work well with the 540. I bought a 540 (not the Pro Pack)with a 25% off discount to test it with the full expectation that I would sell it later and did. I do own a 440. I like the weight of the Vanquish series better with the 10" coil. That detector is not going anywhere.
I am not going into a blow by blow comparison of the 540 Pro Pack and the current Equinox 600 bundled deal that includes the ML80s for the normal $649 Nox 600 price.
I will say that the Vanquish 540, 440 and 340 will not ground balance well in most of the places I would use them which are for local parks, sports field areas and freshwater beaches due to moderate to high mineralization. I have to make some awkward adjustments to the search modes and I can't use the all metal horseshoe button without negative consequences. If I do, every target sounds like it has iron around it and I get constant -9 ground noise just swinging the coil over "clean" ground.
Partly due to this mineralization and partly due to the much slower recovery speed (compared to the 600) I have experienced many multiple targets in close proximity near the surface that sound like one target which includes several coin spills.
Also due to iron mineralization, slower recovery speeds and the very limited iron bias settings, iron targets near the surface will mask other targets nearby more easily than with the 600.
Finally, the Vanquish are not setup to excel at smaller than small coin sized non-ferrous target detection. Part of that is the choice of frequencies which Minelab isn't telling us about. The Vanquish series are very quiet with little or no EMI issues. However, this seems to also be from Minelab deliberately limiting its transmit/receive gain as opposed to the very chatty (in comparison) Equinox. So, from extensive testing and field experience, there is no mode on the Vanquish series even using the excellent 8" coil that can come close to matching the small target (micro jewelry, small gold nuggets, partially masked or poorly oriented larger/deeper targets) detection capabilities of the Equinox 600 or especially the 800. It will match the sensitivity of several 15 to 19 kHz single frequency detectors that I have owned and tested.
I owned an Equinox 600 from the moment they were released and used it for over 3000 hours. I know what it can do from very basic to extreme detecting scenarios. I have also owned and used the Nox 800 and all three Vanquish models and have put plenty of hours on them. I believe I know what I am talking about when I recommend the Vanquish series for more normal types of detecting where targets are not tightly packed and iron trash is not much of a factor along with having mild soil conditions. If those are your conditions, you should do well with the Vanquish. The Equinox 600 can hunt under those circumstances equally as well. The Equinox 600 however, is capable of handling just about any other moderate to extreme detecting scenario you can think of and it will do that very well too.
So, Nokta Makro have a well-established history of making excellent metal detectors that rarely skimp on build quality (except for their wireless headphone build quality and the Simplex lower shaft flex). I hope their SMF detector will continue with that trend and be even better than the Equinox at least in that department. Whether their SMF technology will equal or surpass what is in the Equinox and to a lesser degree in the Vanquish.........we'll see.