Quest Do Multi-Frequency With Style – Say Hello To The New Quest V80 & V60!
Quest metal detectors have always been able to bring out machines that perform superbly well and do it with more panache than other brands. Their bright orange livery is unmistakable and whilst not exactly a household name in the UK, they are pretty well known throughout Europe and Asia.
But Quest is not all about style over substance. They produce some of the best machines on the market. Their X10 Pro is still the best bang for your buck budget detector out there, and the Q30+ is the best single-frequency machine I have ever used on the beach. It handles wet sand mineralization with ease.
However, technology marches on, and other brands all now have simultaneous multi-frequency machines in their lineup. Hence, it was only a matter of time before Quest engineers developed their own version of this technology. And it has arrived or will do soon, in the form of the V80 and V60 HYPERQ™ machines.
V80 Spec:
- Frequency (kHz) – 5, 10, 15, 20, 40, 60 HYPERQ
- Programs – Park, Field, Beach, Gold, Cache (deep) + 20 User slots.
- Tones – 2, 3, 5, 99
- Gold Mode – Special Gold Theme.
- Iron Volume – 9 levels
- Fe/NonFe Bias: Yes
- Recovery Speed – 1 to 9
- Noise reduction: manual, auto
- Ground balance: Auto + manual pumping
- Power – 1 to 5
- Display: 2.7″ B/W LCD, 400 x 240 pixels
- Battery: 5600 mAh
- Wireless Headphones – WireFree Pro Bluetooth
- Coil – 11×10″ and 9×5″ Blizzard II
- Telescopic stem – Carbon Fiber Round
- Waterproof Loudspeaker, Detachable
- Haptic feedback vibration
- Fully submersible to 5 meters.
- Flashlight
- Fully Submersible
- Rechargeable
- Firmware Upgrade: Yes
- Weight 1.40kg (3lb 1 oz) with Blizzard 11 Coil
- Stem collapses down to 58.42cm (23 inches)
V60 Spec:
- Frequency (kHz) – 5, 10, 15, 20, 40, HYPERQ
- Programs: 4 (Park, Field, Saltwater, Gold) + 9 custom.
- Tones – 2, 3, 5
- Gold Mode – Special Gold Theme.
- Iron Volume – 5 levels
- Fe/NonFe Bias: Yes
- Noise reduction: manual, auto
- Ground balance: Auto + manual pumping
- Recovery Speed – 1 to 5
- Power – 1 to 3
- Display: 2.7″ B/W LCD, 400 x 240 pixels
- Wireless Headphones – WireFree Air Bluetooth
- Coil – 11×10″ Blizzard
- Telescopic stem – Aluminium Round
- Waterproof Loudspeaker, Detachable
- Haptic feedback vibration
- Fully submersible to 5 meters
- Flashlight
- Fully Submersible
- Rechargeable battery 5600 mAh
- Firmware Upgrade: Yes
- Weight 1.40kg (3lb 1 oz) with Blizzard 11 Coil
- Stem collapses down to 58.42cm (23 inches)
Both machines use Quest’s new HYPERQ™ technology to transmit frequencies between 5 to 60 kHz simultaneously. This wide range in transmitted frequency makes for a superbly versatile machine. Note that both the V80 and V60 have the same set of frequencies in HYPERQ™ multi-frequency mode but the V60 loses the 60 kHz in selectable single-frequency mode.
In terms of appearance, the V80 and V60 control boxes look very similar to the Quest G80 control box, minus the large plastic housing at the back.
What Is HYPERQ™
This is what Quest says about their HYPERQ™ technology:
The HYPERQ™ platform is able to deliver multiple frequencies, including signals up to 80kHz, simultaneously to find fainter targets deeper with higher precision in difficult conditions. This is possible due to its use of a high-performance microcontroller with a 480MHz speed Cortex-M7 STM32H750 series, as well as a low latency and low noise 4 channel 768kHz sampling rate ADC5140 from Texas Instruments.
Higher processing speed. The V80 machine is able to generate and transmit frequencies of 5, 10, 15, 20, 40, and 60 simultaneously, thanks to its powerful microcontroller unit (MCU) and analogue-to-digital converter (ADC) unit. Additionally, this combination allows for the processing of multiple targets simultaneously and quickly reporting the most valuable results.
Auto noise cancelling. The high-speed processing capability enables us to run high-accuracy automatic noise cancellation with just one click. It will select the quietest channel for the upcoming detection in just 10 seconds.
Functions:
Both the Quest V80 and V60 offer the same set of frequencies to the end user in HYPERQ™ mode. With selectable frequencies from 5 kHz through to 60 kHz on the V80 and 5 kHz to 40 kHz on the V60.
The wide, bright, sun-readable screen with its white-on-black display provides greater levels of contrast than most other machines and is very clearly laid out. The brighter the sun, the more readable the screen becomes! There is even a clock that sits at the top centre of the screen. All the information that any detectorist needs is available on-screen at all times.
Underneath the main target ID sits the target possibility meter. This gives a guide to whether the target under your coil is ferrous or non-ferrous.
Anyone familiar with Quest machines will probably feel at home quite quickly with the V80 and V60.
Build Quality:
Quest has put a lot of thought into these machines. They have listened to their customers and gone with an array of options that make life easier for the user rather than the manufacturer. The fully collapsable circular tube shaft, carbon fibre on the V80 and aluminium for the V60 is great to see. The fold-flat design further helps with transportation.
There is the now familiar rubber surround for the control panel and the rubberised control buttons which are firm but easy to operate. The fully waterproof and submersible control box will be a welcome feature for divers. Although at a rated depth of just 5 meters this will be one for the shoreline and river detectorist rather than the wreck divers out there.
Unlike previous machines Quest has gone for versatility for wireless audio. Both the V80 and V60 have Quest’s own low latency wireless audio built-in but the V60 and V80 also support APTX Low Latency Bluetooth. This means you are not tied to Quest wireless headphones. However both machines come with Quest wireless headphones. Wireless Lite for the V60 and he premium “PRO HE” version for the V80.
There are two coils available for the V-Series machines. The Blizzard11 which is an 11″x10″ and the Blizzard9 which as the name suggests is a “9×5″ similar to the current 9″x5” Blade coil. Coils from the X10, Q30 and Q60 are not interchangeable with those of the V80 and V60.
Pricing & Availability:
These were correct at the time of publication.
V60 – $599/€599/£679.
V80 – $699/€699/£699.
V80 Bundle – $799/€799/749
The V80 and V60 are available to purchase now.
Conclusions:
It is always a little difficult to draw any concrete conclusions about machines that are not yet widely available. However, as someone who has been using Quest machines since 2017 and who is very familiar with the company and its wide range of products, I think it would not be too much of a stretch to say that the V80 and V60 are going to be machines that are worth the wait. The build quality will be good and the performance should be superb. It looks like they got the pricing just about spot on at the time of launch but a lot depends on what the competition are doing. On paper at least, Quest should have a huge success on its hands.
No Legends here, just good, solid tech in a well-thought-out package. That is what Quest is all about.
Links:
Quest Metal Detectors Facebook Group
Spinadisc Metal Detectors (Quest Sales & Distribution UK)
https://www.facebook.com/groups/treasurehuntingworld
Glad Quest finally got these out. Thanks for the write up, Saul.
I think these are going to be great machines. They do need to pitch them at the right price though. It is a crowded market and they do need to be aware that Quest is not as well known as say, for instance Minelab. So if they are going to sell the V60 at the same price or higher than the new Equinox 700, people may go for “tried and trusted” over what for many will be an unknown. I can’t wait to try one though!
I think they should put this right in the Nokta LEGEND price range…any higher and people will chose minelab Nox
It depends a lot on whether the Legend stays at its current price or reverts to the “normal” retail price. The V60 and V80 will be very good machines but people tend to gravitate to the known brands and the ones with the biggest marketing budget. Nokta Makro are very proactive in promotion, and it works. Minelab has a great image, cultivated over the past couple of decades. XP has this almost “elitist” vibe going on and their machines are hugely popular. But where is Quest? Who knows anything about the people behind these machines? Most of what is out there is negative, and relates to court cases and poor customer service. What has Quest done to turn that image around? This is the thing that determines where people spend their hard earned cash. They need to feel engaged with the brand. But so far, there is precious little to engage with.