Hey Guys , Anyone have experience with the lowrance elite 9 and hds gen 9 If so  Is there a big difference between them and if so could you explain thank you . 

Biggest diffrence ive seen is the hds will talk (share waypoints and transducers) to other units and the elites are stand alone only.

An HDS with the extra sonar module produces way better images than an Elite. Hands down better, and it is much more responsive. And if you are considering an HDS Carbon the screen quality and touch is more reactive. But then again, there is a huge price difference. If you don't mind paying more, or want a unit that will be comparable to the best for a number of years, get the HDS. If you can, go look at them instore. Demo images are almost always a tad better than what most people get, but even on the demo images the difference is clear. 

 

An Elite isn't a bad unit. My buddy I go fish with every other week has one and I like using it. I personally went with a Garmin since it was cheaper and I liked the traditional sonar, but would be happy with an elite. 

 

You can't go wrong on your decision here, but you can spend a ton of money. 

 

I'll also throw a recommendation on the new Humminbird Solix 10. It has the best down and side imaging available. But I've never found the traditional sonar to be that great. 

3 hours ago, bugbee77 said:

An HDS with the extra sonar module produces way better images than an Elite. Hands down better, and it is much more responsive. And if you are considering an HDS Carbon the screen quality and touch is more reactive. But then again, there is a huge price difference. If you don't mind paying more, or want a unit that will be comparable to the best for a number of years, get the HDS. If you can, go look at them instore. Demo images are almost always a tad better than what most people get, but even on the demo images the difference is clear. 

 

An Elite isn't a bad unit. My buddy I go fish with every other week has one and I like using it. I personally went with a Garmin since it was cheaper and I liked the traditional sonar, but would be happy with an elite. 

 

You can't go wrong on your decision here, but you can spend a ton of money. 

 

I'll also throw a recommendation on the new Humminbird Solix 10. It has the best down and side imaging available. But I've never found the traditional sonar to be that great. 

Thank you Think I am going with hds

I questioned the same thing, and found a couple of short videos on Youtube discussing this.