Marcum or Showdown?

[63110]

Hey guys hope you might be able to help me out.  I am buying a flasher this season and have decided on the Marcum LX-3 or the Showdown LCD.  I have ruled out the Vexlar and Hummingbirds.  The Marcum seems to be the class of the field in the flasher market, but the Showdown has gotten my attention.  I almost ordered the Marcum tonight until I went the the IS electronics forum and read some Showdown posts.  

I fish a lot of smaller lakes and ponds in Iowa less then 25 feet deep.  I have gone to Minn. and fished Lake Winni fishing perch 40-60 feet of water.  I have not fished with either unit the only unit I have used is the FL-8SE.

I have a few questions about both units that I am hoping you guys can help me out with.

-Does the Marcum interfer with the vexlar FL-8.  I have read that the Vexlar IR does not cut out the marcum due to it's high power output.  I have a buddy that fishes with me in the same shack and I can hear him b***hing already and I haven't even bought one yet.

-Does the Marcum "burn" the fish in shallow water due to it's higher power output?

-How does the 20 degree transducer preform in shallow water 10-20 feet?

-Are all the new Marcum LX-3's have the true color?  Have read were some guys have sent theirs in to get the tc upgrade.

-Are all the new Showdowns the 5.6 version?  If not how does a guy find out?

-Has Showdown seemed to fix the 1st year bugs with this years model?

-How do you guys with either product like them?  Pros and Cons on both would be great if you have fished with both of them...

Thanks for you help guys!  New to the site and love it.

[sig]

I can answer part of you question,, All NEW SHOWDOWNS comming fron the manufacture have the upgrade installed.  I would ask if you are buying on ebay etc.  I purchased from Cabalas and it has the upgrade. By the way Showdown is produced by Marcum now.
Cheers Sig

[knutty]

I have a VPG (Old Showdown-with updates)  and fish next to an FL8 regularly and next to a Marcum LX1.  I very rarely get any interference from those two units.  The FL8 rarely has interference from my showdown.  The Marcum has a little more interference at times.  Especially if we get multiple units going in a small space.

When I bought my unit I paid around 220 for it.  Got the update to the 3.2 for free.  It sounds like they will charge around $50 for the upgrade to the 5.6.  I don't know that the new technology is worth that extra cost.

I have been very satisfied with my Showdown after owning it now for 3 full seasons.  Lots of features.  Fairly low cost.  The only thing that would make me possibly trade it or purchase an additional unit is to get the dual beam transducer.

Knutty

[icejunky]

Im a Vex user, so Im impartial to this question....if Vex was not around and I was buying a flasher I would go with the Marcum everyday over the showdown...

I perfer the circle presentation, and three colours are better then shades of grey...

[jpicks]

I owned 2 showdowns, and they both went back (they were lemons).  When they were working though, I wasn't a big fan of them.  I've since switched to a marcum vx-1p, and havent looked back.  The lx-3 is the next step up from mine.  I've used one, and they're an awesome machine.  The big selling point for the showdown vs the marcum (that the manufacturer claims) is that you can read the water column vertically.  Truth be told, I prefer the circular design of the flasher, and I much perfer have different colors instead of different shades of black and grey on the showdown.

[run320083]

I fish with a lx-5 and one of my friends fishes with the showdown. The showdown is a good machine and will deff help you catch more fish. That said when fishing in decently thick weeds the lx-5 was hands down the better machine to use. He still caught fish with the showdown but had a tougher time reading the fish.

[esox_magnum]

The more power of the Marcum won't burn fish I use a 2000 and 2500 watt LX-5 in the Iowa GreatLakes and anywhere else I may roam and hands down the best flasher I have owned. I know a little about shallow weedy waters. Use mine in 6' or less in the murky parts of the lake and catch plenty.

[63110]

Esox have you fished with guys using vexlars.  Can their IR knock out the marcum's interference?

[esox_magnum]

I fish with  every Vex on the market without issues, 18'20's do better than the 8's and 12's but its not normaly an issue.

[63110]

Thanks esox. That is my major concern. Got three buddies that that I fish with that have 8's.  Are all this years 3's and 5's the true color.  The 3 is stretching my budget wish I could get the dual transducer, but can't up grade to the 5. How does the 20 degree preform.  Don't have many weeds were I fish mostly soft bottoms under 25 feet.  May have some timber or brush piles.  Maybe some man made rock piles too. Is the 20 okay?

[esox_magnum]

I run mine 99% in the 8 degree but the 20 is fine. Narrower beam helps in weeds and brush and helps eliminate dead spots on sharp drops. All Marcums are the True Colors. Reason I run in narrow so much is I only want to see the bait I'm working, deadstick takes care of itself.

[rodrunner]

I absolutly love my lx-5...I use both the 9 and the 20 degree ducer..I can tell u one thing right now.. if you wish u could get the lx-5 but dont hhave the coin..just wait 1 more yr and get the 5..fact is if you buy the 3 wishn u had the 5, everytime u go out you b kickn urself in the rear..that said,,im sure the lx-3 will suit ur needs

[esox_magnum]

I have fished with the LX-3 a few times, good units but after using my LX the SFL on it is well worth the money IMO. I know Vex claims a good target seperation but in our own tests between the FL-20 and the LX-5 the LX wins every time. We did our experiment in 17' of water flat mud bottom where we could see what was down there by sight fishing. The LX marked fish with the zoom and SFL in operation the Vex in zoom mode didnt that were hugging the bottom.

[wallydiven]

i only fish with a duel ducer!!!!!! ya never know!!!

[ICE KID]

the showdown has a higher output than any marcum( 2500 vs. 8000) so if any unit were to "burn" the fish it would be the showdown, which I don't think it would any way

[Hollywood703]

I had a old VX-1 and absolutely loved it.. but did get some interference from the Vex's when fishing within 10 ft or less, my buddy's lx-5 seemed to never get interference, hence the reason for my upgrade to the lx-5 this year......Honestly I would rather see you buy a vex than a showdown...and Im a Marcum guy through and through....even though its owned by marcum.....the Vex I believe is a superior product to the showdown, but the LX-5 is superior to everything else out there currently.

Any Flasher/fish finder is better than no flasher.....and regardless of what you choose, you should have much better success than fishing blind.

I'd rather go out with a $50 walmart special Hummingbird Matrix 1 (or whatever the el-cheapo LCD is)then not have anything at all.....