Hey, All,
I am getting in the market for a decent scope for audio projects. My price range is in the $400-$650 range. I am thinking 50MHz to 100MHz should be fine for my immediate needs (next 2-5 yrs). I have been surfing away and reading. I did want to ask you all for input on brands.
1) Siglent - there are several on Amazon for between 300-450.
2) Rigol - similiar pricing to Siglent
3) Owon - these seem to good to be true. Cheap Chinese 'scope?
4) Hantek - very similiar pricing to Siglent/Rigol
5) Tektronix - are they still the worth the price premium? I have used Tek in college and the Air Force. Tough, reliable 'scopes. Still worth the added $$ for the name?
I am still reading up on capabilities of today's newer 'scopes and I am learning a ton. My immediate needs will be for Power Supply design, phono preamp design, and power amp design. Any feedback on the above brands and guidance from your experiences are very much appreciated.
I am getting in the market for a decent scope for audio projects. My price range is in the $400-$650 range. I am thinking 50MHz to 100MHz should be fine for my immediate needs (next 2-5 yrs). I have been surfing away and reading. I did want to ask you all for input on brands.
1) Siglent - there are several on Amazon for between 300-450.
2) Rigol - similiar pricing to Siglent
3) Owon - these seem to good to be true. Cheap Chinese 'scope?
4) Hantek - very similiar pricing to Siglent/Rigol
5) Tektronix - are they still the worth the price premium? I have used Tek in college and the Air Force. Tough, reliable 'scopes. Still worth the added $$ for the name?
I am still reading up on capabilities of today's newer 'scopes and I am learning a ton. My immediate needs will be for Power Supply design, phono preamp design, and power amp design. Any feedback on the above brands and guidance from your experiences are very much appreciated.
Because your audio projects it can be a temporary engagement, I will propose another way around.
This is to get a true well performing Oscilloscope with no major loss regarding resale value.
This translate that you have to look at very modern ones, GW Instek GDS200 is a true fresh and portable, and isolation to ground will never bother you, as long it operates due it own battery.
This is to get a true well performing Oscilloscope with no major loss regarding resale value.
This translate that you have to look at very modern ones, GW Instek GDS200 is a true fresh and portable, and isolation to ground will never bother you, as long it operates due it own battery.
I am on the same quest.
My first try was to order a PICOSCOPE 2205A from Newark but they completely bollixed the order and sent me an unidentified device that seems to be a thermal probe. I obtained a RMA and have shipped it back. They said that it was the last one they had, but it wasn't even that! So much for dealing with amateurs.
My second attempt has been to order a Owon VDS1022I 25 MHz USB PC Oscilloscope from Amazon and it is supposed to show up next Tuesday. I will try let you know what happens later on next week.
If you propose a budget 12-bit VS a true work horse at 8-bit, I will select the second.
If my budget is at 4000~6000$, then it would worth to buy more bits than plain bandwidth.
Last edited:
Kiriakos sells this stuff, or is on commission and should not be pushing it in a DIY forum.
Go to a surplus store or ebay and find a Tektronix 465. 100MHz. Old scope you can get cheap. It was the work horse for decades. Find a good one and it'll last for decades.
I have one, loving it.
http://www.ebay.com/sch/i.html?_fro...ektronix+465.TRS0&_nkw=tektronix+465&_sacat=0
I have one, loving it.
http://www.ebay.com/sch/i.html?_fro...ektronix+465.TRS0&_nkw=tektronix+465&_sacat=0
Last edited:
Interesting idea, Alan. I do like the old analog scopes. I used Tek 'scopes many years ago in the Air Force (avionic tech on radar systems). Thanks for the idea.
There is no better budget scope than the Rigol DS1054Z. Its the biggest selling scope at present. Although it's a 50MHz scope there is a simple software mod that unlocks 100MHz and other advanced features.
New Rigol DS1054Z oscilloscope - Page 1
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ETCOhzU1O5A
If you join the eevblog forum you can obtain a discount code that will reduce the price even further at this supplier...
Rigol DS1054Z Digital Oscilloscopes - Bandwidth: 50 Mhz, Channels: 4, Sampling Rate: 1 GS/S | TEquipment.NET
I bought one a couple of months back to replace a 12 year old Tektronix DSO. The Rigol is unbelievably good.
New Rigol DS1054Z oscilloscope - Page 1
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ETCOhzU1O5A
If you join the eevblog forum you can obtain a discount code that will reduce the price even further at this supplier...
Rigol DS1054Z Digital Oscilloscopes - Bandwidth: 50 Mhz, Channels: 4, Sampling Rate: 1 GS/S | TEquipment.NET
I bought one a couple of months back to replace a 12 year old Tektronix DSO. The Rigol is unbelievably good.
I am no expert on equipments, but if the industry using any of them, there got to be a very good reason. You can talk about features and all, but when come down to it, it's consistency and reliability that are more important.
My experience is you need to buy one that is working. If it works, it will last. We bought like 10 of them in a lot, some did not work, we fixed it, none fail anymore far as I know. When they work, they work.
Forget the bells and whistles. You want to pay cheap, don't expect much. Reliability and consistency is what matter, when you push the switch, it turns on. when you crank it up, it trigger and show the trace................... That's all it matters. It's the industry standard for very good reason.
I cannot even vouch for the newer Tek, I can only say about the 465 and 475. I can tell you the next gen 2465( well, in the 80s) was no where as good in my book. It seemed noisier even though the spec was a lot better.
For audio, that's all you need.
Last edited:
If there is a university near you then they probably have a surplus store. The one we have here (NCSU) has ever changing stock and you can usually find a scope there. I paid 35 bucks for my HP scope. I can't remember the model number, but it is a dual trace 100mhz scope in fine shape. I use it quite often. Just get a decent set of probes for it and you are off and running.
The benefit of getting one from a university surplus store is that you can plug the thing in and see that it works.
The benefit of getting one from a university surplus store is that you can plug the thing in and see that it works.
Get a used one for cheap, slap it while it's on, bounce it and torture it during the return period. If nothing intermittent things happen and you get good brightness at faster sweep and can trigger, you have a good one. If it fail, return it and get another one.
Those industry standard equipment can last. If there is nothing wrong, they works. I yet to have one that fail after it was working for a period of time. Screening out the bad ones is what's important.
If you are a student, you cannot be that rich, don't get fancy. bells and whistles are what it is, bells and whistles only. get a better one when you are rich in the future.
We worked on high voltages up to over 10K+, we call those scopes "cheap fuses". We did float them up and all. We bought like 10 of them because they're cheap. If it burn, toss it!!! I did not recall we burn one yet. They are that reliable and rugged.
Those industry standard equipment can last. If there is nothing wrong, they works. I yet to have one that fail after it was working for a period of time. Screening out the bad ones is what's important.
If you are a student, you cannot be that rich, don't get fancy. bells and whistles are what it is, bells and whistles only. get a better one when you are rich in the future.
We worked on high voltages up to over 10K+, we call those scopes "cheap fuses". We did float them up and all. We bought like 10 of them because they're cheap. If it burn, toss it!!! I did not recall we burn one yet. They are that reliable and rugged.
Last edited:
I have a 475 and love it. BUT, it has had a couple of issues over the years. I spent the time to repair it myself, each time. So, be forewarned that these do last a good while, but may require a repair every 10 years, or so. Some specialty parts are no longer available for them if needed.
1) Siglent - now makes the low end for LeCroy. Very capable designs and with LeCroy's guidance their interfaces are getting better. Not hackable like Rigol stuff
2) Rigol - some others will hate on them, but they make VERY solid usable stuff for most users. They aren't Agilent level (except for Agilents DSO1000 series which Rigol makes for Agilent) but they work well, despite what others say. They are VERY well tested and most major bugs get fixed in a reasonable time frame. They are extensively hackable enabling basically all of the features.
3) Owon - in general buggy rubbish that has annoying interfaces.
4) Hantek - much like Owon
5) Tektronix - They make solid capable stuff as you know but they are really living off of their name any more. Hopefully, the Danaher spin-off will allow them to innovate again.
In your price range, I think pretty much all of the scopes are strictly 8-bit resolution. Though many can do a variety of sample averaging on repetitive wave forms to increase the resolution to somewhere between 10-12bits. You might find a USB scope with higher resolution but those come with their own host of problems (they are different beasts than a standalone scope).
When you will request ideas about electronics measurement gear for your self, I will not trespass in your living room due your computer monitor.
People who are haters of progress are persons which I do ignore.
If you wanted one of the very best then I suggest making contact with this seller and discussing your requirment, I'm sure he can put together a nice mainframe with plugins.
The great thing about the Tek 7K is they can be expended by cheap plugins from Ebay.
Tektronix 7904A 500MHz 4 Slot Oscilloscope Mainframe, calibrated, guaranteed | eBay
See here for more info:-
http://www.diyaudio.com/forums/equi...-advice-tech-philips-scope-2.html#post4368919
If a secondhand Tek 7K system is too big a step for you, then I suggest the Rigol, its plenty of positive reviews on the internet, and Agilent "Badge engineer" a version so they must be semi decent
Avoid the PC/USB Pod type scopes, they are just Micky mouse - they make OK logic analyzers, poor scopes.
+1 !!!
The forementioned member IMHO just brings the whole tone of this section of the forum down with his very negative posts and constant promotion of GW Instek.
WRT the TEK 7K series, I've a few of there mainframes and touching wood - have never had a problem, spares are so cheap on Ebay its not an issue should one fail.
The 7904A, 7934 or 7104 are the latest and best mainframes.
For your use the 7904A (note must be the later A version) is the best general purpose mainframe.
Plugins I suggest for your application:-
2x7A26 (200MHz, 50Ohm + 1M selectable input)
7A26 - TekWiki
7A22, the 7A22's input sensitivity reaches down to 10 μV/Div. Bandwidth is 1 MHz, the upper 3 dB limit can be reduced in ×3 steps down to 100 Hz (to eliminate noise, inter alia), and the lower bandwidth can be raised in ×10 steps from 0.1 Hz to 10 kHz. A separate control optionally supplies an internal DC voltage to offset the DC signal component. Even in the most sensitive ranges (10 μV/Div to 10 mV/Div), common-mode voltage can be ±10 V. Input resistance is 1 MΩ,
7A22 - TekWiki
This plugin is great for low noise phono stage design - and with its selectable filters and Diff inputs for Class D and Dac designs.
1X 7B92 Timebase
7B92 - TekWiki
7D15, The Tektronix 7D15 is a 225 MHz frequency counter plug-in for 7000-series scopes. It is optimized for timing measurements, having a 100 MHz oscillator and interval measurement averaging capability. It has two inputs and can measure frequency, period or time difference.
7D15 - TekWiki
More info here on the Tek 7K series:-
http://w140.com/tekwiki/wiki/Main_Page#Plug-ins_5
If your looking for a cheap method to look at clock jitter in digital systems, the 7S14 is a great plugin - it works with any 7K series mainframe so you can use it with a smaller cheaper mainframe.
With the 7S14 you can only see the Edge jitter "width", if you use the delayed timebase mode you can look at an edge many cycles from the initial trigger point, so "summing" the jitter level over the delayed time period. Its educational, and a good introduction to observing Jitter on the cheap.
http://w140.com/tekwiki/wiki/7S14
You would basically have the VERY BEST of the BEST scope systems - (if you have the space)
The 7904A, 7934 or 7104 are the latest and best mainframes.
For your use the 7904A (note must be the later A version) is the best general purpose mainframe.
Plugins I suggest for your application:-
2x7A26 (200MHz, 50Ohm + 1M selectable input)
7A26 - TekWiki
7A22, the 7A22's input sensitivity reaches down to 10 μV/Div. Bandwidth is 1 MHz, the upper 3 dB limit can be reduced in ×3 steps down to 100 Hz (to eliminate noise, inter alia), and the lower bandwidth can be raised in ×10 steps from 0.1 Hz to 10 kHz. A separate control optionally supplies an internal DC voltage to offset the DC signal component. Even in the most sensitive ranges (10 μV/Div to 10 mV/Div), common-mode voltage can be ±10 V. Input resistance is 1 MΩ,
7A22 - TekWiki
This plugin is great for low noise phono stage design - and with its selectable filters and Diff inputs for Class D and Dac designs.
1X 7B92 Timebase
7B92 - TekWiki
7D15, The Tektronix 7D15 is a 225 MHz frequency counter plug-in for 7000-series scopes. It is optimized for timing measurements, having a 100 MHz oscillator and interval measurement averaging capability. It has two inputs and can measure frequency, period or time difference.
7D15 - TekWiki
More info here on the Tek 7K series:-
http://w140.com/tekwiki/wiki/Main_Page#Plug-ins_5
If your looking for a cheap method to look at clock jitter in digital systems, the 7S14 is a great plugin - it works with any 7K series mainframe so you can use it with a smaller cheaper mainframe.
With the 7S14 you can only see the Edge jitter "width", if you use the delayed timebase mode you can look at an edge many cycles from the initial trigger point, so "summing" the jitter level over the delayed time period. Its educational, and a good introduction to observing Jitter on the cheap.
http://w140.com/tekwiki/wiki/7S14
You would basically have the VERY BEST of the BEST scope systems - (if you have the space)
Last edited:
- Status
- This old topic is closed. If you want to reopen this topic, contact a moderator using the "Report Post" button.