Sounder/Plotter combo $1500 budget

[mjc85]

Good evening,need to upgrade the old setup to something a bit more modern and high tech. Generally fish estuary and offshore to 45-50metres max.

Have a budget of $1500, have been doing a little reading and it seems as if the better choices would be a Lowrance Elite 9 Ti or Garmin Chirp 95SV

Looking for suggestions and a bit of help from the experts on what would be the best unit within my budget?

Cheers
Mitch

[chocolatemoose]

both good systems in their own right. that 95SV is packaged initially with a GT52HW transducer . a 250w high frequency wide beam. particually useful in shallow waters. does start to loose punch when you get deeper. whilst 45-50mt isnt a puddle it is shallower than some offshore work. so your within the range there.
the Totalscan transducer features some pretty trusted and tried "but simple" elements from the lowrance parts bin. the same 83/200khz elements from their HST transducer that has been around longer than denim jeans. though its 83khz is a rather wide beam its half the frequency of the GT52 and returns a less crisp target defining image.. it does pump down deeper and pick up more fish.

so its a bit of a coin flip in a way
The Lowrance will be a box ticker and give more features for your dollars. the Garmin will have easier to use features.

Moose

[mjc85]

Thanks Moose. So would your pick be one of these units to meet the budget?

I have a Furuno FCV585 which I would also run when offshore for a "second opinion" but my plotter recently died and I'd like the extra benefits of Side view and Chirp

Cheers
Mitch

[chocolatemoose]

i would be looking at the Lowrance elite 9Ti