Author Topic: Keysight DSOx2004 vs. Siglent SDS1204X-E  (Read 16540 times)

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Offline W2DMLTopic starter

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Keysight DSOx2004 vs. Siglent SDS1204X-E
« on: March 16, 2018, 12:50:49 am »
Hello everyone,
I am currently looking to upgrade my bench to a new scope and am struggling to commit to a specific scope. I am about to finish up my EE degree and start my PHD, so I'm looking for a workhorse for my work and personal designs. I recently sold my Rigol DS1102E in the hopes I will get something better, the 2 channels and small screen was limiting me. Note I have some older 1990s scopes which have 100-500MHz bandwidths so I'm not concerned with having high bandwidths, just looking for something modern and easy to use for when I bring work home or decide to work on some hobby projects. Currently I'm stuck looking at two specific scopes due to what they offer:

Keyisight/Agilent DSOX2004(USED) ~$1500:
-70MHZ 4 channel
PRO
-I've used these in school and work, enjoy the interface and how the scope "works"
-Good Display quality and size
-Comes with software bundle which gives wavegen, different communication triggers (Handy for my embedded work), memory upgrade, DVM.
CONS
-No keysight warranty b/c it is used(not from keysight)
-Repair cost is high & problems do exist. (I saw on the forum that some users had black screen boot issues with their 2000 series)

Siglent SDS1204X-E ~$500
-100MHz 4 Channel
PRO
- ~$1000 cheaper than the keyisght
- From my knowledge comes with free triggering options( UART, SPI, I2C)
- Similar to the 1000 series from keysight has frequency response analysis(bode plots), handy for evaluation filter designs and such.
- To do the bode plots, external generator is required, I own a siglent generator so I don't need to purchase the option
- Higher Bandwidth compared to the keysight
- Can add additional wavegen or logic analyzer while still being less than the keysight

CON
- I'm assuming since it's a cheap chinese made device, the quality is much worse.
- ^ Leads to more bugs and problems than the keysight, less QA/QC.
- I have never tried any siglent scope, judging by other products they like to take certain designs from rigol.


I hope this post isn't a little weird, this is my first time posting on the forums after years of watching and lurking. I've watched and read a bunch of reviews, posts, and other content relating to both of these products here on the forum and youtube. I'm kinda just trying to get some opinions and a direct comparison between the two before I make a purchase. I'm assuming keysight > siglent based on the name and history, but of course I can be wrong which is why I'm asking you guys. I'm also a bit biased and always dreamed of owning a nice agilent/keysight scope. My main goal is to get a 4 channel scope which has some extra features, nice display which can easily fit 4 waveforms, and quality in the design. I also understand these two scopes are definitely different tiers but also similar in what they bring to the table.  I'm also open for other scope suggestions too.

Thank you,
Dan
 

Offline tautech

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Re: Keysight DSOx2004 vs. Siglent SDS1204X-E
« Reply #1 on: March 16, 2018, 01:28:07 am »
Welcome to the forum Dan.

A couple of corrections.
SDS1104X-E = 100 MHz model.
Yes all trigger types and Decode is part of the package....and free !

There's a couple of threads you need study for a better understanding of how these 2 scope stack against each other:
https://www.eevblog.com/forum/testgear/siglent-sds1104x-e-in-depth-review/ (still more info to come)
https://www.eevblog.com/forum/testgear/differences-in-measurements-50hz-keysight-1000x-scope/

I've been selling Siglent scopes for a few years now and reliability has been excellent.
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Offline W2DMLTopic starter

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Re: Keysight DSOx2004 vs. Siglent SDS1204X-E
« Reply #2 on: March 16, 2018, 01:47:25 am »
Thank you!
My apologies, I meant the SDS1104X-E.
I looked through the big review thread of the siglent a few times these past few weeks and am still unsure. As a seller of the siglents, what would be the biggest difference between the 1104x-e and the keysight 2000 series other than the name? To me they both seem to be similar in size, channels, and main features. I'm just trying to find the convincing factor on if I should go cheap again or shell out $1500 for the keysight.

 

Offline tautech

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Re: Keysight DSOx2004 vs. Siglent SDS1204X-E
« Reply #3 on: March 16, 2018, 02:18:09 am »
Thank you!
My apologies, I meant the SDS1104X-E.
I looked through the big review thread of the siglent a few times these past few weeks and am still unsure. As a seller of the siglents, what would be the biggest difference between the 1104x-e and the keysight 2000 series other than the name? To me they both seem to be similar in size, channels, and main features. I'm just trying to find the convincing factor on if I should go cheap again or shell out $1500 for the keysight.
Sorry I got my wires crossed. OK 2000 series.

They have greater sampling speed but with all 4 channels active not so much.
The KS has a larger display right ?

IMO you need look harder at the features they each offer that in both cases are far beyond your 1102E.
These new Siglents pack a pretty good package for their price point, in fact they now have features no Siglents had previously.
The 3 year warranty might be a deciding factor.
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Offline DaJMasta

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Re: Keysight DSOx2004 vs. Siglent SDS1204X-E
« Reply #4 on: March 16, 2018, 02:35:49 am »
To me, the two scopes mentioned are in sort of different classes, and I think $1500 for 70MHz of any flavor is not a good deal.  You may not need much, but go in with 100MHz minimum if you're going to be spending over a grand, if nothing else to make sure your square waves and ramps are nice looking.

At $1500 you're into the SDS2000X series (just barely, don't see any on their clearance site at the moment) and into the Rigol 2000 series territory too.  The $500 entry level scope is a great value, don't get me wrong, but they're not really the same kind of beast as the $1000 range price point.  You'll get some more complete software features (though especially with some of the other scopes being a while since they were introduced, the newest entry levels do have a lot of this ground made up), a much higher sampling rate (usually 2-4x per channel), improved waveform updates per second, faster measurement performance when they're enabled, and generally a smoother feeling UI experience.

The Keysight in question will give you the higher end feel and polish from the UI and software layout, but is built on a old primary ASIC, so while its performance is good and the design is well tested, stuff like memory depth (and now waveform updates per second) simply don't compare to the more modern cheaper scopes.  You always pay a premium for the brand name, but in this case it's also simply outpaced by newer products on shorter design cycles.  No idea when Keysight will be introducing a new low to mid range scope, but I think that it's probably worth waiting if it's going to be that costly.

My hunch is that the UI of a Rigol or a Siglent will be fairly familiar and not too much of a chore to get used to, even if you miss a couple features or shortcuts from the scope you're used to using.  While there are some bugs floating around, they're not brand new products and the manufacturers have patched things - so look through the current complaints and see if there are any deal breakers.  The build quality of the Keysight may certainly be better - it's probably more likely to be just fine if it stays on your bench being used for a decade - but the build quality of a Siglent or Rigol is certainly not poor.  You've got a Siglent AWG, right?  Is that build quality not to your standards?  Is the UI obtuse or bug ridden?  I'd guess no, and I think that's the sort of experience you'll have on their other hardware.


Are there any make-or-break features for you?  FFT size?  Sample bit depth?  Integrated wave gen/automatic bode plot functionality?  Logic analyzer channels?  Specific math functionality?  If you can pick out a few things you need or just want, you can start looking around to see what will offer it, otherwise, it is really tough to beat the value proposition from the cheaper 4 channel scopes with a bunch of options thrown in.
 

Offline IDEngineer

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Re: Keysight DSOx2004 vs. Siglent SDS1204X-E
« Reply #5 on: March 16, 2018, 03:07:16 am »
FWIW, when I went through this evaluation process a couple of years ago I looked at every manufacturer. I have Engineer friends at HP/Agilent/Keysight and they were adamant that I was not going to own anything but Keysight, so the pressure was on! But ultimately one of the biggest deciding factors was the amount of memory... the Keysight and Tek scopes just seem to go really shallow in the memory department, whereas Rigol (the brand I ultimately selected) had - by comparison - enormous memory depth that enabled types of tests and data gathering that the others either couldn't do or required very expensive memory upgrades to enable.

Memory is cheap these days. I don't know why the "big guys" go so shallow on it. But doing so cost them at least one sale (mine), and that was even with the social pressure of my friends really leaning on me.

BTW, Rigol support has been excellent. I really like my DS4000 series scope and would replace it if it failed tomorrow (after a fresh market analysis, of course!).

Hope this helps, YMMV, standard disclaimers, etc.
 

Offline DaJMasta

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Re: Keysight DSOx2004 vs. Siglent SDS1204X-E
« Reply #6 on: March 16, 2018, 03:20:50 am »
Memory is cheap these days. I don't know why the "big guys" go so shallow on it. But doing so cost them at least one sale (mine), and that was even with the social pressure of my friends really leaning on me.

I really think it's just the age of the ASIC used.  When they developed it, big memory depth wasn't a priority... but it was also it was like 15 years ago or something?  Does anyone know when the Megazoom IV was first in a product?  It was pretty good when it was released (but it was not a leader then in terms of memory depth), but since the memory is all built in for speed concerns, it's not expandable.


The DS4000 series is actually a bit on the older side in terms of release schedules, but it came out recently enough to get the tons-of-memory treatment.  I've also got one and it's been very good (though there are a couple minor complaints), but I think the cheapest four channel models are a little over the OP's pricerange (at least, since they're not in stock on rigol's clearance store).
 

Offline W2DMLTopic starter

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Re: Keysight DSOx2004 vs. Siglent SDS1204X-E
« Reply #7 on: March 16, 2018, 03:26:20 am »
That's my biggest issue is finding the make or break, I'm looking for something to own for the next few years as my main scope. I dont care about the FFT since I own a spectrum analyzer. The one issue I have with the keysight, it's an agilent and is old. While they still sell them, I feel as if the design is outdated and I don't want a few months down the road see that keysight is releasing a replacement model at a healthy cost. The thing about this model, I calculated the original cost + options installed and I would be paying less than 50% of the list of price which is good. I do enjoy my siglent generator but I still remember the day I plugged it in and had to spend some time trying to change the language to english instead of chinese. The bode plot feature which was announced on the 1000 series was very attractive to me for testing various audio and communications circuits. The problem is a 100 MHz 1000 series with gen is $1200 vs $1500 for the used model I'm looking at. When I saw it available on the siglent, that's when I got interested in the model but I'm still unsure. I definitely don't want an entry scope but being a college student, I can't just spend a few thousand on a scope right now. At work I use a Tek MSO3054 which is amazing but way out of my current budget range, so I'm looking for the in between I guess. I also own an old scope with logic analyzer, which I rarely use. Most modern stuff I do usually is 3 wire or 2 wire interfaces. Most of my time is spent in lower frequencies for embedded systems, audio, and communications. (I mainly work on power line communications for my research which is around 100kHz). If I ever need to work on higher frequencies like 2m and 70cm bands, I have a very old yokogawa for that.  My main goal is to get a good quality 4 channel scope which can give me accurate measurements, a big enough screen where I can easily view my 4 channels, and be worth keeping on the bench for a few years before I have upgrade money for something higher.  Also to add if I'm already going to be paying $1000+ for a siglent or rigol I would probably go brand name and get the used keysight.

If I would outline exactly what features I want/need:
-4 Channels
-Large display compared to the entry level scopes
-UART/I2C/SPI triggering
-Standard Math Functions
-USB connectivity, ie. keysight has excel plugins and such which are super useful. Even the rigol had a way to capture images
-Simple UI, a big turn off of my yokogawa is i need to go through many menues to accomplish simple features
-Similar to the UI, should be easy to use, shouldn't be a hassle to take some quick measurements.
Extra features that can influence purchase:
-Frequency analysis, bode plot: I'm pretty sure this is a newer feature in scopes but I can definitely utilize it. If the 2000 series had this, I would have probably pulled the trigger.
-Logic Analysis: While not 100% necessary, I do some FPGA work and it would be an extra feature to have. If the scope is less and comes with this compared to ones without it, it might be a better choice.
-VGA out - For a 22 year old, I'm pretty blind I guess. It would be nice to connect a monitor to really view signals, I do this at work with my Tek MSO3054 and it's great.


Quote
FWIW, when I went through this evaluation process a couple of years ago I looked at every manufacturer. I have Engineer friends at HP/Agilent/Keysight and they were adamant that I was not going to own anything but Keysight, so the pressure was on! But ultimately one of the biggest deciding factors was the amount of memory... the Keysight and Tek scopes just seem to go really shallow in the memory department, whereas Rigol (the brand I ultimately selected) had - by comparison - enormous memory depth that enabled types of tests and data gathering that the others either couldn't do or required very expensive memory upgrades to enable.

Memory is cheap these days. I don't know why the "big guys" go so shallow on it. But doing so cost them at least one sale (mine), and that was even with the social pressure of my friends really leaning on me.

BTW, Rigol support has been excellent. I really like my DS4000 series scope and would replace it if it failed tomorrow (after a fresh market analysis, of course!).

Hope this helps, YMMV, standard disclaimers, etc.

I will add and say the keysight I'm looking at comes with the memory upgrade package, I'm unsure if that really improves the memory depth but it has it.
 

Offline tautech

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Re: Keysight DSOx2004 vs. Siglent SDS1204X-E
« Reply #8 on: March 16, 2018, 04:22:07 am »
The small'ish (7") display of SDS1104X-E is quite good to look at IMO due to the fonts used and I've often used it with the sun at my back on the dining table. The SDS1002X and + models are 8" along with SDS2000X models and they certainly are better to use if you're in front of it all day. In dimmer lighting (normal) I don't need +1 specs that I'd normally use for reading as the display contrasts (default) are good enough to be used without specs (for me).

Screenshots that I've posted recently have mostly been with graticule brightness = max as while in normal viewing they are quite clear for some reason they don't capture well to be posted online.
Anyways, to add to my ramblings is another viewing option you might like to have a read about:
https://www.eevblog.com/forum/testgear/open-source-lxi-tools-and-liblxi-v1-0-released-for-gnulinux/
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Offline Ghislain

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Re: Keysight DSOx2004 vs. Siglent SDS1204X-E
« Reply #9 on: March 16, 2018, 11:12:35 am »
W2DML, instead of upgrading to a newer scope in a couple of years, why not thinking of starting with a modern platform from a leading manufacturer that you can upgrade as you require it?
The R&S RTB2004 thicks all of your boxes, next to a 10bit ADC, it  also provides a large high resolution (touch) screen experience and can easily be remotely controlled using a browser.
A 100MHz refurbished ex demo model with basic functionality can be had for 1.500 USD http://www.newark.com/rohde-schwarz/rtb2004-b241-z1-z3-demo/digital-storage-osc-100mhz-4-ch/dp/13AC4806
This scope can be software upgraded to extend bandwidth up to 300MHz, include MSO functionality, internal ARB, extended memory and whatever decode suits you best (have a look at the RTB-PK1 option pack). There are plenty of YouTube references and there is a large thread in this forum should you wish to read more about it here: https://www.eevblog.com/forum/testgear/new-killer-scope-a-true-game-changer-from-rs-rtb2002-rtb2004/2050/
« Last Edit: March 16, 2018, 11:24:38 am by Ghislain »
 

Offline nctnico

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Re: Keysight DSOx2004 vs. Siglent SDS1204X-E
« Reply #10 on: March 16, 2018, 11:27:57 am »
If I would outline exactly what features I want/need:
-4 Channels
-Large display compared to the entry level scopes
-UART/I2C/SPI triggering
-Standard Math Functions
-USB connectivity, ie. keysight has excel plugins and such which are super useful. Even the rigol had a way to capture images
-Simple UI, a big turn off of my yokogawa is i need to go through many menues to accomplish simple features
-Similar to the UI, should be easy to use, shouldn't be a hassle to take some quick measurements.
Extra features that can influence purchase:
-Frequency analysis, bode plot: I'm pretty sure this is a newer feature in scopes but I can definitely utilize it. If the 2000 series had this, I would have probably pulled the trigger.
-Logic Analysis: While not 100% necessary, I do some FPGA work and it would be an extra feature to have. If the scope is less and comes with this compared to ones without it, it might be a better choice.
-VGA out - For a 22 year old, I'm pretty blind I guess. It would be nice to connect a monitor to really view signals, I do this at work with my Tek MSO3054 and it's great.
Look at the GW Instek MSO2000E series. Unfortunately no monitor output but it ticks all your other boxes. Unfortunately you'll need to spend a lot more money if you want a bigger screen on the oscilloscope itself. The R&S RTB2000 series has a bigger screen and price tag.

BTW: Keysight has pretty good support even on older products bought second hand (from my own experience).
« Last Edit: March 16, 2018, 02:57:03 pm by nctnico »
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Offline W2DMLTopic starter

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Re: Keysight DSOx2004 vs. Siglent SDS1204X-E
« Reply #11 on: March 17, 2018, 03:40:10 am »
So after talking to a friend and hearing from you guys, I'm most likely going to pursue the rohde and schwarz. It's much newer and with a touch screen 10 inch screen is perfect for me. Plus the ability to add a mouse, 10 bit adc, and the options available will make this scope last on my bench. Also from the reviews I saw, it's a really nice scope at its tier, better than tek and keysight's current offerings IMO. I do agree that keysight's offering is pretty old and will probably be out soon. I made some phone calls to some distributors to work out some prices and they said they'll even touch base with keysight to find out if anything new is on the way etc.  Hoping to get some options for it too and maybe get some student discount or something along those lines. Thanks again guys!
« Last Edit: March 17, 2018, 03:42:20 am by W2DML »
 

Offline DaJMasta

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Re: Keysight DSOx2004 vs. Siglent SDS1204X-E
« Reply #12 on: March 17, 2018, 03:54:34 am »
I think the R&S is a solid choice in your situation.  Yes it is pricey, but it's fit and finish is great and it seems like some of the features are both things you're looking for and things that are tough to get in the right combination out of many scopes on the market.  While I'd still maintain that the value proposition in a Rigol or Siglent really can't be beat on the low end by another manufacturer right now (and I think Siglent is probably leading with their latest refresh), the R&S offers some really nice improvements on top of all of the more modern features of those units.

I don't know how easy it is to find those demo units, but since there has been some available right near that $1500 price point, it's probably worth looking/asking like you are.
 

Offline W2DMLTopic starter

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Re: Keysight DSOx2004 vs. Siglent SDS1204X-E
« Reply #13 on: March 17, 2018, 04:08:03 am »
Yes, I'm currently looking into the demo units at element 14. I made some phone calls at a few places and will see what happens, the demo units will be back in stock in 2 weeks so I have some time to think. 4 channels at 100 MHz is a good price and from the reviews I saw, the FFT feature is really nice and can be useful vs other scope's fft's which are lacking IMO, which means I won't have to upgrade my old spectrum analyzer for a while.  Hopefully by April I'll have a new scope to use.
 

Offline Gandalf_Sr

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Re: Keysight DSOx2004 vs. Siglent SDS1204X-E
« Reply #14 on: March 17, 2018, 09:10:37 am »
If you want to save some money and meet pretty much all of your requirements other than screen size, consider the Rigol DS1054Z that's available from Tequipment.net at around $325 after the eevblog discount.  I just bought one as an everyday scope, 4 channels, 24 MPts memory, well debugged, and bandwidth can be upgraded very easily (Google 'Riglol').  After the bandwidth upgrade (the only feature that Rigol aren't giving you for free right now), they apparently come in around 130 MHz bandwidth meaning to all intents and purposes they become a DS1104Z.  It will probably meet 99.9% of your needs for the next year or 3.
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Offline Ghislain

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Re: Keysight DSOx2004 vs. Siglent SDS1204X-E
« Reply #15 on: March 17, 2018, 09:41:24 am »
Yes, I'm currently looking into the demo units at element 14. I made some phone calls at a few places and will see what happens, the demo units will be back in stock in 2 weeks so I have some time to think. 4 channels at 100 MHz is a good price and from the reviews I saw, the FFT feature is really nice and can be useful vs other scope's fft's which are lacking IMO, which means I won't have to upgrade my old spectrum analyzer for a while.  Hopefully by April I'll have a new scope to use.

Just FYI, the price of the demo scope also includes a very nice R&S soft case (RTB-Z3) and a front cover (RTB-z1) worth USD 300
 

Offline Gandalf_Sr

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Re: Keysight DSOx2004 vs. Siglent SDS1204X-E
« Reply #16 on: March 17, 2018, 10:19:24 am »
I'm sure that R&S scope is a good one but I fear you're buying a used Ferrari to commute to work when you be better suited with a new Golf.  I own a Keysight MSO7104B but it gets used less often than the DS1054Z.
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Offline Ghislain

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Re: Keysight DSOx2004 vs. Siglent SDS1204X-E
« Reply #17 on: March 17, 2018, 10:59:30 am »
I'm sure that R&S scope is a good one but I fear you're buying a used Ferrari to commute to work when you be better suited with a new Golf.  I own a Keysight MSO7104B but it gets used less often than the DS1054Z.

That may be true for the average hobbyist but in this case, W2DML indicated he already is an EE pursuing a PhD. I am sure he will need all of his time to finish whatever study papers he has to finish focusing solely on that on not having to worry about any software quirks and/or dealing with UI sluggishness when using his scope (among others).
 
 

Offline Gandalf_Sr

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Re: Keysight DSOx2004 vs. Siglent SDS1204X-E
« Reply #18 on: March 17, 2018, 11:39:04 am »
Ghislane, Are you in some way connected with R&S?  I have no relationship with any test gear manufacturer.

Dan may well need a 1 GHz scope eventually but, if all he needs right now is 100 MHz - 4 ch scope, then a 100 MHz R&S scope that can be upgraded to 300 MHz (for how much???) is not that compelling an argument - it would make more sense to buy the DS1054Z first and then buy a higher end scope (as well) later.  The R&S scope you're suggesting has a capture rate of 1.25 GSps which is maintained at all times which is good but the DS1054Z has a sample rate of 1 GSps that drops to 500 MSps if [EDIT]2 channels are used and 250 MSps if 3 or 4 are used.  Nyquist theory says that 200 or 300 MSps is all that's needed to sample a 100 MHz signal.

The probes for my MSO7104B cost more than a Rigol DS1054Z but it all becomes necessary when looking at close-to-GHz signals so it's really a horses for courses scenario - Dan should buy to meet his needs.

Buying the R&S with the idea that you can pay money to enable the features does not seem like a great idea to me; how much would it cost to end up with a 500 MHz scope with decoding and deep memory and does it make sense to lock into older technology when newer stuff comes out all the time?  There's also many opportunities to buy on eBay such as the Keysight used section that offer compelling VFM.
« Last Edit: March 17, 2018, 02:35:51 pm by Gandalf_Sr »
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Offline BillB

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Re: Keysight DSOx2004 vs. Siglent SDS1204X-E
« Reply #19 on: March 17, 2018, 11:56:59 am »
I agree.  At the speed that technology is moving, buying any gear that you plan on growing into is false economy.  You really don't know what you are going to be doing 3-5 years from now, and what your needs might be.

Plus, the secondary market for equipment is quite good, and whatever you buy today (even the Chinese brands) will hold its value pretty well.  You will easily make back most of your investment when you want to upgrade.

As a student with a budget, you will be doing yourself a great disservice if you don't take the Chinese brands for a spin.  I myself was very skeptical at first, but I'm now convinced that for the home hobbiest/embedded/lower frequency stuff, the Rigols/Siglents/Etc offer great value for the money.
   
 

Offline 0xfede

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Re: Keysight DSOx2004 vs. Siglent SDS1204X-E
« Reply #20 on: March 17, 2018, 12:22:17 pm »
Hi W2DML,

I actually have a R&S RTB2000-304M with all options and before any fan boy jumps in I have to say something that you should consider:
It is bugridden and some bugs are really annoying (like the waveform disappears when zooming in)
It is marketing crippled (like half channel decoding and lack of 50 ohm terminator)
It has a very low wfms/s rate @ intermediate time base settings (down to about 20wfms/s).

It is good bang for bucks? In the actual state I don't think that is worth 6K€ but the platform is interesting if corrected and developed. I should also add that it has a number of interesting features.

I also have a Keysight DSOX2024 and, despite all its limtations (especially the small sample memory) is a solid DSO and cost a fraction of the R&S.

I cannot say anything for the Siglent since I don't have one.

Best,
0xfede 


« Last Edit: March 17, 2018, 12:27:34 pm by 0xfede »
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Offline rf-loop

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Re: Keysight DSOx2004 vs. Siglent SDS1204X-E
« Reply #21 on: March 17, 2018, 01:44:09 pm »

Bit OT but I think false informations need still corrected even if it is not so popular in this forum..

the DS1054Z has a sample rate of 1 GSps that drops to 500 MSps if 2 or more channels are used

This is claim is not true.

True is: DS1054Z have 1GSa/s max if only one cahannel is in use. 500MSa/s if 2 channels are in use and 250MSa/s if more than 2 channels are in use. Afaik it have only one shared Hittite 1511 ADC with one shared acquisition memory.

Perhaps you mixed this claim with wishful thinking or then mixed it with truth about Siglent SDS1004X-E models what have 2x 1GSa/s ADC with 14M memory shared for 2 channels. So it have max 1GSa/s for 1 and 2 channels in use simultaneously both with max 14Mpts. And if more than 2 channels in use then max 500MSa/s for each channels.
« Last Edit: March 17, 2018, 01:46:09 pm by rf-loop »
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Offline Gandalf_Sr

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Re: Keysight DSOx2004 vs. Siglent SDS1204X-E
« Reply #22 on: March 17, 2018, 02:30:06 pm »
rf-Loop, you are right, with 3 or 4 channels, the DS1054Z is only 250 MSps I stand corrected - by the way, are you associated with Siglent in any way?
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Offline Ghislain

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Re: Keysight DSOx2004 vs. Siglent SDS1204X-E
« Reply #23 on: March 17, 2018, 04:55:07 pm »
Ghislane, Are you in some way connected with R&S?  I have no relationship with any test gear manufacturer.

Neither have I  :-+
 

Offline W2DMLTopic starter

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Re: Keysight DSOx2004 vs. Siglent SDS1204X-E
« Reply #24 on: March 17, 2018, 06:46:12 pm »
I don't know if I mentioned it but for 4 years I owned a rigol ds1102E and sold it in the hopes of moving away from rigol. Even at work we have 4 channel rigols but mainly the undergrads use them. Before I got my tek, I was using one of the 4 channel ones and it was not fun to use. It felt like a toy and with the small screen it was hard to analyze 4 different signals without making them small or overlapping. Additionally I have a yokogawa DL1740E, which is 500MHz and isn't too bad of a scope but is old, has a tedious UI, and outdated screen which is sometimes hard to see(had to crank up the rgb values and raise other display settings to kinda get a good view at my angle), especially at night. With the scope purchase I'm trying to make, I have no reason to go for high bandwidth or upgrade it for a higher bandwidth. Most of my research currently is in narrowband PLC which is about 100kHz. All my 100MHz+ work would be various ham radio stuff, but even those bands I don't do any designs in. I'm honestly looking for something of quality. I've been doing electronics for about 6-7 years and am about to start my PhD so this purchase I'm hoping will last for the next 5+ years at least, my ds1102E lasted me 4 years but by the end I got tired of using it and went to use my old agilent 54622D which felt nicer to use. I originally made this thread to compare the older keysight dso2000 series to a chinese siglent scope which looked like they were trying to copy or compete with this lower mid range scope. Additionally the used keysight is very close to pricing to the refurbished demo R&S which comes with a case, newer tech, touch screen/mouse control, 100MHz, 10" screen, 3 years warranty, and even probes. I will say scope shopping isn't easy, even when you have a budget of $1000-2000, because you don't want to buy something for that much and then end up having it sit on the back burner because it wasn't good. With my luck I would buy the keysight and then latter this year they would announce a replacement 2000 series with better specs and features, probably lowering the price of the current model. And yes I know there is always better and newer equipment to be bought but when I mention the keysight, it's really old unlike the R&S or even the siglent. Also to add if I was going to just go super cheap ie. the rigol I would probably at that point get the cheap intro keysight model while sacrificing channels and bandwidth. (This is a last resort option)

Thanks again,
Dan.
« Last Edit: March 17, 2018, 07:11:25 pm by W2DML »
 


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