help me choose, BM857 vs UT71D

[argg]

I currently have a Protek 505 and a Hewlett Packard 974A and they have been serving me flawlessly for many years.  However I am in need of one with a high count and after browsing through the excellent Multimeter spreadsheet https://www.eevblog.com/forum/testgear/multimeter-spreadsheet/ I narrowed down my search to Brymen BM857 and Uni-T UT71D, both within my budget.

They are two different animals, the Brymen looks old fashioned but as I read here the brand has a very good reputation for quality. On the other hand the Uni-T is a modern MM with all bells & whistles plus dual display but Uni-T as brand is occasionally scoffed because of quality issues.

Which one would you choose? precision and longevity are my priorities

thanks   

[PedroDaGr8]

Hands down the BM857, not even a second thought. I had a greenlee rebadged BM859 (the BM857 big brother) before and the internals are DAMN good. Fluke level of quality.

I'm a big fan of Uni-T for what they are. Cheap, affordable, and decent quality at a good price point. The BM857 blows all of these out of the water, its safe, high high build quality, true precision, etc. It's not even a ball park comparison.

[Lightages]

The only way to recommend the UT71D over the BM857 (you should get the new verison BTW, BM857s which has the updated design to meet current safety specs) is if you can't spend more money and want the PC connection and software. The UT71D comes with this as standard whereas the BM875s has it as an extra cost option of around $50.

Other than that, the BM857s is a giant leap in built quality, safety, and reliability.

[argg]

thank you guys, you make my choice easier 

[retiredcaps]

Martin did a review on the UT71D





Dave did a video on the Brymen

http://www.eevblog.com/2013/02/28/eevblog-432-brymen-multimeters/

[argg]

Dave did a video on the Brymen

http://www.eevblog.com/2013/02/28/eevblog-432-brymen-multimeters/

yes, I have seen this and Dave's reaction to the silly backlight is really     I read somewhere they have fixed it since then, can't remember where. Hopefully so otherwise the backlight is totally useless.

Thanks for the UT71D links, I'll have a look on these too

[Wytnucls]

Martin also did a review of the Amprobe AM-160, similar the Brymen BM857: