I had HDS 9, gen 3, units before my Helix mega units. I never had images this clear either. (I had lss2 transducer) the higher mega frequencies and chirp are a huge difference. I liked the Lowrance 2d sonar better though, but I knew coming into it that it would be that way. Several people said I would not be happy with the "down grade in units" but I'm actually very happy. Sure I miss the touch screen and another thing or two... but I didn't use all the features the HDS units offered anyway. I was more concerned with getting the most out of the images on the screen, and I couldn't be happier. Nothing against Lowrance at all, this unit and features just fits my needs better. And I try to learn more about it everyday and every trip.