My old and trusty LMS 332C I have on the bow finally bit the dust! I mainly use it for finding brush piles and crappie fishing these days.
I can't quite stomach the expense of a LiveScope unit, but would love to have a little more than just sonar.
Opinions? Suggestions?
I haven't had any recent experience with anything other than Garmin, so I can't offer any comparison knowledge. I've neglected my boat electronics for several years, mostly due to an equally expensive hobby. I've been watching for sales even though I'm still not financially ready to pull the trigger on anything new. Garmin direct still has the Garmin LVS34 LiveScope Plus on sale as well as their graphs. I think BassPro is passing along the same sale prices. If I were to upgrade my electronics just on the bow today, it would cost me about $2500.
If you primarily Crappie fish, I'd say bite the bullet and get Garmin FFS.
It's a game changer for brush pile Crappie fishing.
There is a new FFS that was at I-Cast this past year that links up to a phone or iPad. I think it's called Ping. Not sure if it has actually made it to market yet, but they were saying it should be "70% cheaper" than Livescope. Personally, I'm skeptical until I see it in person. I also think the phone/tablet screens are hard to see in the sun, especially when the screen starts auto-darkening if it's hot outside.
Humminbird has their new MegaLive 2 about to hit shelves. If it's like the previous version it won't use the "black box" and that cuts down on cost. The first MegaLive was not very impressive compared to Garmin or Lowrance in my opinion though. I'm running Humminbird stuff on my boat and still bought a Garmin setup for Livescope. The MegaLive seemed to lack the detail that the competing units have. Maybe the new version will be better.
As it stands right now, I'm in agreement with the others that have said bite the bullet and get the Garmin if you have to have FFS.
The Lowrance Eagle Eye 9 is a lower cost way to have some live imaging with some downward live and some forward live views. No black box to install to support the transducer.
https://www.lowrance.com/lowrance/type/fishfinders-chartplotters/eagle-eye-9-live-amer/
Research all the options but IMO forward facing sonar is as easy as having a bucket full of crappie at the end of your dock. Truly makes catching crappie as easy as a video game set on easy mode.
The only thing I'd say is to get the biggest screen that you think you can reasonably afford. Size matters in screens...