Over the ear headphones are the most common type of headphones used for metal detecting. Although I have no complaints about the overall performance of Minelab’s ML 80 headphones, I do find that wearing them on hot summer days can be a little uncomfortable.
Bluetooth earbuds for the Minelab Equinox
I ended up purchasing a pair of AUKEY Wireless Headphones, Key Series B80 Bluetooth 5 Earbuds for my Equinox. I have been using them on hot days and I absolutely love them! I did, however, find the whole process of purchasing Bluetooth earbuds for the Minelab Equinox to be a little confusing to say the least. Here’s the problem; for performance reasons, Minelab recommends using aptX Low Latency (aptX LL) bluetooth headphones or earbuds with the Equinox in order to reduce audio lag. Not all bluetooth headphones / earbuds feature aptX LL. This greatly reduces the amount of headphones / earbuds for you to choose from. Also, the Minelab Equinox is a Bluetooth version 4.2 device and many new wireless headphones / earbuds are Bluetooth 5.
The various metal detecting forums on the Internet are chocked full of horror stories regarding third party Bluetooth 5 headphone / earbud pairing issues with the Minelab Equinox. This of course added to the confusion because some Bluetooth 5 headphones and earbuds seemed to work flawlessly with the Equinox where others did not. So I did a little digging, no metal detecting pun intended!
Bluetooth and the Minelab Equinox
The Minelab Equinox is a Bluetooth 4.2 device. The Bluetooth 4.2 standard makes provisions for backwards compatibility with Bluetooth 4.1 and Bluetooth 4.0. Therefore, all bluetooth 4.x headphones and earbuds should be fully compatible with both the Minelab Equinox 600 and 800. As a reminder, you will want to be certain to purchase aptX Low Latency headphones or earbuds to use with the Equinox in order to avoid audio lag.
Bluetooth 5 headphones and earbuds should also be compatible with the Minelab Equinox, but there’s a catch. By design, Bluetooth 5 is fully backwards compatible with Bluetooth 4.x. However, it is up to each individual Bluetooth 5 device manufacturer to ensure backwards compatibility with Bluetooth 4.x. If a vendor chooses to forego backwards compatibility that is their prerogative, however they cannot (or at least should not) use the official Bluetooth trademark logo in their product advertising. In a nutshell, there are very specific requirements as spelled out by the Bluetooth Special Interest Group that a vendor must meet in order to use the Bluetooth logo and other official marketing material in their advertising.
If you purchased Bluetooth 5 headphones or earbuds to use with your Minelab Equinox and are having trouble with pairing, the issue most likely resides with the headphones / earbuds and not with your Equinox. Always double check that the Bluetooth 5 headphones or earbuds that you intend to purchase for your Equinox are backwards compatible with Bluetooth 4.x. You’ll also want to be sure to only buy headphones or earbuds featuring the official Bluetooth trademark. Even if you’re purchasing Bluetooth 5 headphones or earbuds for your Equinox, you still want to be certain to only purchase aptX Low Latency headphones in order to avoid audio lag.
AUKEY Wireless Headphones, Key Series B80 Bluetooth 5 Earbuds review
As I had stated above, I purchased a set of AUKEY B80 earbuds to use with my Minelab Equinox during the summer months when it gets too hot to wear the factory Minelab headphones. The AUKEY B80’s are extremely lightweight and comfortable to wear, have an 8 hour playtime, and are IPX6 water and sweat resistant. The AUKEY B80’s are Bluetooth 5, aptX LL earbuds that are fully backwards compatible with Bluetooth 4.x devices such as the Minelab Equinox. I love that these earbuds have over the ear ear hooks and are connected via cable. This will make it extremely difficult, if not impossible for me to lose them while I am out metal detecting. The AUKEY B80’s come with different sized ear tips so that they should be comfortable for most people to use.
Pairing the AUKEY B80’s with my Equinox 600 was a breeze!
- With the earbuds powered off, simply press and hold the power button on the earbuds until they start blinking.
- Turn on the Minelab Equinox, and press and hold the wireless audio button until you hear a double (low to high pitch) beep.
- It will take about 30 seconds for the AUKEY B80’s to pair with the Minelab Equinox.
For the most part, I have nothing but good things to say about the AUKEY B80’s. I am a little concerned about the potential for bug spray to “eat” the soft rubber material that parts of these earbuds are made out of. Time will tell, and I can always of course apply the bug spray and then wait a few minutes before putting on my earbuds. Also, these earbuds do not block out as much surrounding noise as the Minelab ML 80’s do. For me, this is a good thing because I sometimes felt as if Minelab’s factory headphones blocked out too much outside sound which made it difficult for me to be aware of my surroundings. I would also like to point out that you can only pair one set of Bluetooth headphones or earbuds with the Minelab Equinox at a time. This isn’t a deal breaker for me because it takes mere seconds for me to pair a set of Bluetooth headphones or earbuds with my Equinox.
If you’re looking for a pair of aptX low latency earbuds that are compatible with the Minelab Equinox, you’ll definitely want to consider checking out the AUKEY B80’s!
Can you help? I bought same earbuds, Aukey B80. Connect instantly to my Equinox 600, but will not connect to my 800.
Did Factory reset. Reset the headphones. Not using the WM08.
Called Minelab, they said they should connect, no problem. No solution from them. I feel there is something internal with the 800, since it was somehow “preset” for the WM08 module.
The 800 flashes the wifi icon, then the BT icon, but never connects on the 800.
Why no problem on the 600?
No problem with the ML80’s on both machines.
Nancy, I’m not aware of any issues with the Aukey B80s and pairing with the Equinox 800. I did however find the following on another forum;
“If you’ve already done a factory reset on your machine, then performing the steps outlined on page 56 of the manual should work fine to pair the earbuds to the Equinox. The only other tips I can provide is to make sure that your stock headphones (or any other nearby bluetooth devices) are off when you attempt to pair the earbuds, and keep in mind that when you activate the wireless button on the side of the Equinox control panel to begin pairing, you’ll have to wait 15 seconds for the Equinox to stop looking for the WM-08 module before it will begin looking for a Bluetooth device. Those 15 seconds can feel like a long time, so make sure you aren’t giving up too fast. Lastly, make sure you are properly putting the EP-B80 earbuds into pairing mode…press the center button long enough that the light on the earbud controller alternates between green and white.”
Thank you so much for posting this! I was having difficulty finding this information and have now purchased these headphones to go with the Nox 800 based on your detailed info. Happy hunting!
Am getting ready to buy the Nox 700, and was wondering if these will work with it as well? With the summer upon us, I dread having to use the over the ear headphones.
Many thanks,
Lewis