Marcum LX7 vs Lowrance Elite 5 Chirp

[bronvike21]

My head is ready to explode on trying to decide which unit to get. Fish all sorts of water from 8 feet for perch in SD to 120 feet for Lakers in CO. The GPS would be nice but not a deal breaker. Has anyone used both and have a comparison.
Thanks

[3300]

that's got to hurt!
i can't help you any, all i have is what made sense when i was in your shoes.  i decided on lx7 because it can be changed into the lx9 and i did that too. also because of all the different charts and configurations you can make to have it your way instead of one way only. also because they can add features to it later that will be even more useful should it happen and the others can't offer that. i chose lx7 because it is so versatile in every way that none of the others make sense to buy and be stuck with what "you see is what you get" concept. i like options and lots of them, in fact the more the better.
i would have to re-reaserch that one you think you want to be able to try to answer your question any better. i'm pretty sure tho that nothing has changed about it.
the gps isn't any good for the lakes i fish. might want to make sure it is for your lakes if it means any thing to you. i can take any gps and make way points to return to hot spots w/o a contour map. like kyle said, use your smart phone. try the app and see if that's what you want on a fish finder. that's what marcums new rt-9 is all about. so no need for to own it.
sounds like the lowrance doesn't have a camera option, like the lx7 does.


good luck!

[Kyle_J]

You could get the lx7 then if you have a iphone/android device you can get the navionics app and use your phone as a gps.

[boder]

Long time lowrance user here. Used an x67c for years then upgraded to a elite5 chirp last year. Thought i would like the gps feature, wrong navionics app on phone is better for me. Only time i would see the gps coming in handy is if it is mounted to a vehicle or atv. Thought elite5 would be better then the x67c, wrong. Screen does not scroll fast enough especially in the deep water trying to fish lakers. Interference rejection didnt work worth a darn. The x67c did everything better except color options and screen size. Thought maybe i got a defective unit so i contacted lowrance and they told me to do an update. hopefully the updates helps but we may not have ice by the time my 1 year warranty expires then i will be SOL. Marcum has two year warranty and they are made in the USA.

Bought an lx6s to try this year but can not give any review of it yet, as there is not ice within a 5 hour drive of here that i know of.

[Rockfish24]

I own an LX7 and an HDS 5.  If your fishing inside a hut the LX7 hands down.  The one downfall of this unit is glare off of the screen on bright days and even with a matte anti reflection screen shield its still an issue.  The Lowrance has a much better screen however there is lag time on the response.  My HDS sits on the handlebar of the sled/atv for the GPS and the ice pack for it is collecting dust.  If a unit ever hit the market with the instantaneous response time like the LX7 and a high end screen like the Lowrance unit for fishing in the sun it would be at the top of my list.

[matzilla]

Rockfish the Helix units are realtime with the best screen on the market.

Keep in mind the Elite-5 is only 200khz machine while the Marcum is dual beam.

The Lowrance softpack is probably the best there is - very nicely designed

[3300]

I own an LX7 and an HDS 5.  If your fishing inside a hut the LX7 hands down.  The one downfall of this unit is glare off of the screen on bright days and even with a matte anti reflection screen shield its still an issue.  The Lowrance has a much better screen however there is lag time on the response.  My HDS sits on the handlebar of the sled/atv for the GPS and the ice pack for it is collecting dust.  If a unit ever hit the market with the instantaneous response time like the LX7 and a high end screen like the Lowrance unit for fishing in the sun it would be at the top of my list.

nice first post and thanks for joining us!

thanks for the heads up about screen glare. i just ordered a few to try out for my lx9 and we have been talking about glare in PM's. there was some talk about spraying a anti-glare onto the screen. no posted results yet.

i don't recall it being an issue except if i try to take a picture of the screen. i do know the snow shield makes it harder to read the screen with sunglasses on.
my 52" tv is plasma and like a black mirror. my laptop is 17" and also like a black mirror. i can always tilt or turn the screen to reflect the glare to some where other than my eyes is what i now about glare on my items i use all of the time.
i thought about stacking anti-glare screen protectors when they get here. i ordered four of 13" laptop ones i can cut to size after making a template. it makes me nervous not haveing that screen protected with the snow cover off.

so for outside fishing remove the snow shield and wear light colored sunglasses like you do for shooting, they are for reducing glare. i think my prescription glasses have anti-glare built in too. i have some amber ones that are great for low light fishing or any thing outdoors i got from fishusa. i also bought the dark gray ones at the same time for full sunlight days, but i keep the amber ones on for the marcum.

just turn the brightness up and use the black back ground color to make it high contrast is all i do and don't have problems with it. i can see if you leave the default color of sky blue as the back ground color and try to see blue lines on top of that no doubt. here's a link that shows how they come with blue back ground color and you can see the black back grounds on the vertical charts (makes it high contrast) vs the blue on the graph (makes it low contrast). it  a LOT harder to read the graph because of the blue back ground color chosen.
http://www.iceshanty.com/ice_fishing/index.php?topic=319913.20

you do know about marcums RT-9 right?

[Rockfish24]

Maybe I'll give the helix a try one day. I have heard the hummingbirds have good interference rejection compared to the lowrance units but I haven't seen it myself.

[Rockfish24]

Yes I've heard about the rt-9 but I haven't seen one ye except online. Looks like a sweet unit. I also own a showdown which is what I use outside of the hut. The main reason I bought the lx7 was because I like being able to run a zoomed in showdown view plus the full water column.

[river rat78]

Since you are going to be fishing deep water look at the units that have dual beam. If it doesn't have dual beam then don't even take a second look at that unit.

[hawk56]

On the LX 7 glare. I use my showdown mostly when out if the hut hole hopping. The glare is terrible on the 7 turning it helps. But I replaced the shield. Those night vision visor screens ones amber ones grey. I thought the grey one would work best but the amber one is better. I measured to the edge of the screen and used a rounded counter top used my heat gun and bent the visor turned it around bent the other it clasps onto the head. I suppose I could have cut it and fastened it to the stock shield. The strap sucked also took it to a seamstress who added stich pattern near the top of the bag. I can now shoulder carry it carefree.

[Dog-duster]

I own both the LX7 and the Elite 5x(pre-CHIRP) and I am the exception who likes my Lowrance better. The LX7 is great but I like the color palette better on my Lowrance. The tuning is more cumbersome on my Lowrance but it's still not a deal breaker for me. I also like how I can view both jigs on my screen on 20 FOW where I can't even on wide beam with the LX7. The bigger screen is nicer on the LX7 but the smaller screen on my elite allows me to add on other handy gizmos that the LX7 has zero room for. I really don't need GPS on either unit so that's a push in that category. I find the transducer arm on the LX7 feels flimsy and breakable when I'm hole hopping. I made one out of titanium and carbon fiber for my elite that is longer and plenty robust but still light.

For me the bottom line is that it took a lot of tinkering and building but I really like my elite more than the LX7 and I built the Elite as my spare or loaner finder. JMO

[3300]

i like the arm. you make spares?

i saw that fish finder for 299$ with bonus give aways that included a map chip and sun cover. i seen it on a store shelve too after seeing how cheap it is. i thought about it, but i know its not for me. no IR is the biggest thing. plus i want narrow 8 degree beam and a smart sonar engine that can tune out out plankton or keep them on the low so i can see my jig for night fishing.

thought about buying it for the kayak, but again, it's not for me because i cast towards shore/weed beds and structure.

[Dog-duster]

Thanks 3300, I only made that one so far but I'm building a copy of that whole setup for a buddy right now. His will need arms so if I think of it I'll make another along with it. I don't have any more titanium but I think I'm going to draw and machine some skeletonized aluminum arms for the next try. Do you have a way to clean up the excess carbon and epoxy if I send you a raw set?

[3300]

not sure what it would take. if an angle grinder or bench grinder or vibra tool or wire wheel would do it, i can clean it off.
hope your friend got the sonar for 299$

[3300]

congrates to bronvike21 for his new lx7!

[Dog-duster]

I'm not sure what he gave for it.

If I get an extra set made I'll drop you a line on here.