Garrett against the field
Garrett AT Pro vs Minelab Equinox 700: Is the Upgrade Worth It?
Quick answer
The Equinox 700 is the more modern machine: simultaneous multi-frequency, submersible to 16 ft, 2.8 lb, at $749.00. The Garrett AT Pro is rated to 10 ft with proportional audio and 40 iron discrimination levels at $459.99. If you already own the AT Pro, a small coil will change more than the upgrade will.
Garrett AT Pro
$459.99Waterproof to 10 ft, proportional audio and tone roll, 40 levels of iron discrimination, MS-2 headphones included and made in the USA.
Best for: all-terrain hunting and shallow water
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Minelab Equinox 700
$749.00Multi-IQ running five frequencies at once plus four single frequencies, submersible to 16 ft, 2.8 lb on carbon fibre, wireless audio included.
Best for: most serious hobbyists who do not need the 900's extra modes
Check price on AmazonOn the published record the Equinox 700 is the better machine, and if you are buying new and hunt wet salt sand it is the one to buy. But the honest answer to the question most people are actually asking, which is whether to replace an AT Pro they already own, is usually no. Most people upgrading from an AT Pro are limited by their recovery speed and their coverage, not by their detector, and a new control box fixes neither.
The AT Pro is the machine a very large number of American detectorists learned on, and it is still a capable one. Garrett publishes it as waterproof to 10 feet, with proportional audio and tone roll, 40 levels of high-resolution iron discrimination, MS-2 headphones in the box and manufacture in the USA. The Equinox 700 answers with Multi-IQ running five frequencies at once, four single frequencies, a 16 ft rating, 2.8 lb on carbon fibre shafts and low latency wireless audio. Those are real differences. They are just not usually the difference between a good season and a poor one.
On this page
What does the Equinox actually do better?
Three things the listings support. It runs several frequencies at once, which is what makes wet salt sand workable and what steadies a machine in mineralised ground. It is published as submersible to 16 ft against the AT Pro 10 ft, which matters for water hunters. And it publishes 2.8 lb with a 24 inch packed length on carbon fibre shafts, where Garrett publishes no weight for the AT Pro at all.
What the AT Pro does that the Equinox does not is proportional audio with tone roll, which is a genuinely different way of reading the ground. The volume and character of the response change with the target rather than the machine reducing everything to a number and a beep. Plenty of experienced hunters read that audio better than they read an ID scale, and they are not wrong to keep doing so. The master target ID chart explains why a number alone is weaker evidence than most people assume.
How do the published specifications compare?
Garrett publishes a thinner spec block than Minelab, which is a habit rather than a statement about the machine.
Garrett publishes 10 ft of waterproofing and USA manufacture for the AT Pro, and Minelab publishes 16 ft and simultaneous multi-frequency for the Equinox 700.
| Model | Price | Frequency type | Stock coil | Waterproof depth | Made in |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Garrett AT Pro | $459.99 | - | - | 10 ft | USA |
| Minelab Equinox 700 | $749.00 | Simultaneous multi-frequency | 11 in | - | - |
Figures are taken from each manufacturer's own published listing and specification sheet. A dash means the maker does not publish that figure for that model, not that the feature is absent.
Where does each machine stand on the published record?
Notice the number of rows where Garrett simply does not publish a figure. That is an argument for reading the manual rather than an argument against the machine.
Minelab publishes a frequency engine, a weight, a packed length and a 16 ft rating for the Equinox 700, while Garrett publishes 10 ft, 40 iron discrimination levels and proportional audio for the AT Pro and no weight or frequency at all.
| Specification | Garrett AT Pro | Minelab Equinox 700 |
|---|---|---|
| Price | $459.99 | $749.00 |
| Frequency | Not published in this listing | Multi-IQ, 5 at once, plus 4 single frequencies |
| Waterproof rating | 10 ft | 16 ft (5 m) |
| Audio | Proportional audio and tone roll | Adjustable tones, low latency wireless included |
| Iron handling | 40 levels of high-resolution iron discrimination | Iron bias and target ID |
| Headphones included | MS-2 wired | Low latency wireless |
| Weight | Not published in this listing | 2.8 lb |
| Packed length | Not published in this listing | 24 in, carbon fibre |
| Made in | USA | Not published in this listing |
From the Garrett and Minelab listings. Garrett does not publish an operating frequency or a weight for the AT Pro, so neither is printed here rather than estimated from other sources.
What actually limits an AT Pro owner?
This is the part that costs us a sale and is still true. Before you spend on a new machine, price the three things that are more likely to be the problem.
A small coil, a pinpointer and a slower sweep cost a fraction of an Equinox and address the three things that actually limit an AT Pro owner on hunted ground.
| The real limit | What fixes it | Price |
|---|---|---|
| Targets masked by iron on old sites | Garrett 5 by 8 DD coil | $164.95 |
| The same, on a tighter budget | Mars Sniper 10 by 6 | $112.50 |
| Not enough ground covered per hour | NEL Hunter 12.5 by 8.5 | $142.00 |
| Too long spent recovering each target | Garrett Pro-Pointer AT | $109.99 |
| Giving up at hour two | LimbSaver sling | $20.23 |
| No audio under water | Garrett submersible headphones | $149.99 |
All six of these together cost less than the difference between the two machines on this page. That is the argument, and it is worth sitting with before ordering anything.
When is the Equinox genuinely the right upgrade?
When you hunt salt water beaches, because no single-frequency machine handles wet salt sand well and that is a physics problem rather than a skill problem. When your inland soil is severely mineralised and your AT Pro will not run at usable sensitivity. When you want to go deeper than ten feet under water. And when weight matters to you, because Minelab publishes 2.8 lb and Garrett publishes nothing, which usually tells its own story.
If you are buying your first serious machine rather than replacing one, the Equinox is the more future-proof purchase, mostly because of the coil ecosystem behind it. Read the 700 against the X-Terra Pro before you commit, because the cheaper Minelab shares that ecosystem.
When should you keep the AT Pro?
When you hunt inland, which is most people. The AT Pro reads iron well, its proportional audio tells you more about a target than an ID number does once you learn it, and Garrett publishes a 10 ft rating that covers wading and creek work comfortably. A machine you can read fluently is worth more than a machine with a better spec sheet, and fluency takes a couple of seasons to build and one purchase to throw away.
Spend on coils and on sites instead. The coil coverage and sweep time calculator will show you how much of your permission you have honestly covered, and the answer is usually humbling. The dig time budget calculator does the same for recovery.
Sources
- Garrett AT Pro owner manual and product listing
- Minelab Equinox 700 and 900 instruction manual
- Garrett AT series coil specifications
- NEL Hunter and Mars Sniper coil product specifications
Frequently asked questions
Is the Equinox 700 deeper than the Garrett AT Pro?
Neither maker publishes a depth figure for a defined target in defined soil, so no honest comparison is possible from the published record. The Equinox runs several frequencies at once, which helps most in mineralised ground and on wet salt sand. On mild inland soil with a coin-sized target, the difference between two competent machines is smaller than the difference between a slow sweep and a fast one.
Should I sell my AT Pro to buy an Equinox?
Only if you hunt salt beaches, need more than a 10 ft water rating, or your soil is beating the machine. Otherwise spend a fraction of that money on a small coil and a pinpointer and work your best site again slowly. Most people who upgrade report the same finds in the same places, because the ground and the operator were the constraints rather than the electronics.
What frequency does the AT Pro run?
Garrett does not publish an operating frequency in this listing, so we do not print one. The AT Max listing does publish 13.6 kHz, and the AT Gold publishes 18 kHz, which gives you the shape of the family. If the exact figure matters for your decision, the current Garrett owner manual for the AT Pro is the source to check rather than a comparison chart.
Can both machines be used in water?
Yes, within their published ratings: Garrett publishes 10 feet for the AT Pro and Minelab publishes 16 feet for the Equinox 700. Neither works with wireless headphones under water, because radio does not travel usefully through it, so both need a wired submersible set for real water hunting. Budget for that separately, because neither listing includes one.
Researched, not professional advice. This page is compiled from published specifications, manuals and owner-review consensus, not hands-on testing. Target ID numbers, depth figures and settings vary with soil chemistry, moisture, target size, depth, orientation and firmware version, so treat every figure here as a starting point and verify it against your own machine's manual and your own ground. As an Amazon Associate we earn from qualifying purchases.