Two years ago when I looked around for a digital oscilloscope I asked a reseller that had stocked Owon why they didn't have it any more. They said that quality was too bad. I bought the Siglent SDS1104X-E instead and I've been happy with it. Of course, if this is like manufacturing quality or something, it could improve over time. I didn't ask for specifics.
I might have gone with Owon at the time, but the availability (for private customers) and support didn't look good in EU, so I went with Siglent. The reseller stocks all models of Rigol, Siglent and R&S and support is good.
As a hobbyist I didn't hesitate unlocking 100 --> 200 MHz and got the more expensive model "for free".
As a hobbyist I didn't hesitate unlocking 100 --> 200 MHz and got the more expensive model "for free".
I also have an 1104x-e and I'm debating whether to unlock it or not since it's still under warranty. Have you found any practical use of 200MHz bandwidth for audio tasks?
BTW, no-one has mentioned the rather loud noise that the fan produces. I don't know about the other brands/ models but the 1104x-e can be a bit annoying in quiet environments. I'm planning to replace the fan at some point but again I won't do it before the warranty expires.
The 100MHZ is certainly plenty enough for audio, unless you have extreme oscillation problems.
But wait until the warranty period is over before doing anything that would violate it.
Yes, the fan is annoying. I modified the vent holes and added some rubber mounts for the fan, but it didn't help. I guess replacing it with a quiet one is best. And I haven't really needed the bandwidth, but nice to know it's there.
If you can find one for a decent price, Yokogawa is not a bad choice for a digital scope. Most of their scopes have a footprint (and appearance) resembling a classic Mac computer, so they don't take a lot of space on the bench. Output for a lot of them is to a onboard floppy, but you could also just take a picture of the screen and use a cardboard hood to avoid reflections. I have a hood for the Sony Mavica just for that purpose, and it works like a charm.
I have read similar stories. However, I guess it comes down to the distributor/ dealer whether they would accept it or not so I'd rather not risking it since the 200MHz won't offer me any benefits. Also, I'm not really interested in the other unlocked option. I do only analog stuff and not bothered with the wi-fi connection.
The Bode plot is quite useful unless you have a PC sound card and way to autoscale the large amplitude to process it.
Indeed but you don't need to unlock the scope for the bode plot.
I do use the bode plot all the time and for this reason I also got a siglent AWG but mainly I measure the FR up to a few MHz for ringing and oscillations. Nowhere near 100MHz
.For the audio bandwidth I still prefer an audio interface with some software. You can't compare the 24-bit resolution of an interface to the scope's 8-bit resolution.
One thing I haven't used much yet is the FFT capabilities of the scope as I'm not very impressed. But probably I don't know what I'm doing because with the appropriate settings I'm sure you can get some better results. But still, I prefer interface+software combo.
Funnily enough, after 40 years, I do a lot of projects without an oscilloscope. I know myself what kind of signals to expect. I don't need to measure that. Most of it is already simulated anyway. I recently bought a Rigo 1054, but I hardly ever use it. An audio analyzer is much more interesting.
If you need to check the I2S/I2C timings there is now way about. Best to have a digital storage scope (DSO).
Now world is changing to the 12 bit (HD) models, so for turtles not easy to effort (as no ROI or no money to effort).