Raymarine A65, Furuno GP7000F, Standard Horizon CP300 or Garmin 4008

[btsah]

G’Day Everyone
Has anyone got an opinion one way or the other about which of the following GPS/sounder combos is the better and why?

Raymarine A65
Furuno GP7000F
Standard Horizon CP300 with sounder add-ons
Garmin 4008 with sounder add-ons

From all that I read and am told, to get a good sounder it should have a separate processing unit/black box to the main GPS viewing module.

Cheers
btsah

[2rods]

I have only used the Raymarine and the Furuno from that list but out of those two I would pick the A65...Great digital sounder, great plotter and easy to use plus the turn knob makes data entry super fast.... and Raymarine service is second to none IMHO:)

[btsah]

Thanks for the reply 2 Rods.

From what I’m hearing RM A65 are about the pick, Furuno has a great reputation but the 7000F is becoming outdated Garmin 4008 is a bit too new and is over priced and no one has an opinion on the Standard Horizon CP300 yet.

Cheers btsah

[gofishin]

I used my A65 for the first time w'end before last. Didn't get much of a chance to play with it that much (social outing) although am very pleased with my decision to get the A65 over the 7000F. Resolution/detail is very impressive, and it is a very easy unit to use & swap b/w screens etc. Sounder seems awesome. However, there is still much to learn, so i guess that means a lot more trips out...;D

[ScubaSteve_US]

Just had some feedback from a commercial install customer here in the US. He has had some issues with the Standard Horizon system I would steer clear of it with the other three as options. He is a very good technical person so his opinion is very good with me. If you are considering radar in the future I would look to the 4008 over the A65. Both are good sounders though. Digital sounders are the way to go the detail is much better than the analog units.

-Neil
Scuba Steve's Marine

[btsah]

Thank you all for your replies, it seems the more I try to sort the harder it gets to choose, hey.

[Simmo2]

. He has had some issues with the Standard Horizon system
-Neil
Scuba Steve's Marine

What were these issues???

[Piscatory Pursuit]

First I have not heard of any issues with the Standard Horizon product. It is not fair to Standard Horizon which is a great company that makes a great product to just throw a statement like that out there without any facts to back it up. It would be interesting to learn any specifics.

If you have room, here is a suggestion to consider. With the A65 you are getting a 6.5 inch screen split between Fishfinder and GPS Chartplotter which makes for some pretty small screens. The A65 combo with a transducer runs roughly $2100 Australian dollars here in the states and that would not include any charts.

Consider going with a Furuno FCV-620 which has a 5.6 inch screen, and a digital sounder plus 600 watts instead of 500 for the A65 and a Standard Horizon CP300 GPS Chartplotter which has a 7 inch screen. This would be the equivalent of buying a 12.5 inch screen combo unit which we all know is very spendy. You can get a 620 and the SH 300 with ducer and charts for roughly $2300.00 Australian dollars here in the states. That is about the same as an A65 with charts. I have never had a customer tell me they bought too large of a screen, only too small.

PM me if you want any details.
Good Luck with your decision.

[btsah]

I’ve sent a PM to Neil from Scuba Steve asking what the issues were with the Standard Horizon in regard to the feedback from a commercial install customer.