Recommendations on new HQ probes for DS1102E for audio work

[zonia]

Hello,

I want to buy some better quality probes for my Rigol DS1102E. I am a hobbyist who works on digital and (primarily) analog audio electronics. I work on valve guitar amps, guitar effect pedals and low voltage power distribution (pedal board PDUs and such).

I am still using the stock Rigol probes, today, but would like to upgrade to something better quality without breaking the bank. Any recommendations on < $200 USD probes that are adequate for my use cases?

Thanks in advance,

~z

[nctnico]

Any probe will do for audio as long as it is adjusted (compensated) properly.

[Fsck]

Why do you need more expensive probes? Expensive usually equals higher bandwidth, and you're in the audio range.
Even the cheapie p6100 type probes will be more than enough.

You could grab some used HP/Lecroy/whoeverelse probes off ebay for relatively cheaply, but you will need to check their compensation range and all this will give you is "feel good". Your scope is probably the bottleneck in your set up (assuming you're probing something far above audio range.)
If I were you, I'd probably want a differential probe though, so you can probe more willy-nilly.

[zonia]

Why do you need more expensive probes? Expensive usually equals higher bandwidth, and you're in the audio range.

Well, I don't necessarily want more expensive probes. I just want better quality than the stock Rigol probes.

I was thinking about getting a pair of the 3903-2 (1x) probes, but thought I'd ask for advice in here before buying anything.
http://probemaster.com/3900-series-scope-probes-100-mhz/

What do you think of these?

You could grab some used HP/Lecroy/whoeverelse probes off ebay for relatively cheaply, but you will need to check their compensation range and all this will give you is "feel good". Your scope is probably the bottleneck in your set up (assuming you're probing something far above audio range.)
If I were you, I'd probably want a differential probe though, so you can probe more willy-nilly.

Well, there are two things that I want: 1) Better hooks. 2) A better guarantee on consistency between the probes and overall quality.

I frequently have CH1 plotting the waveform at one point in a circuit and then CH2 plotting it somewhere else to see how much the waveform has changed (or how consistent it is). So far these stock Rigol probes have gotten the job done, but they're getting worn out and sometimes they introduce noise. I can easily replace them with something cheap, but I don't know much about probe quality/drawbacks.

I was thinking about getting something like this:
http://probemaster.com/3915-oscilloscope-probe-master-kit/

But your suggestions on getting higher quality used gear is a good idea.

Thanks for the responses.

[tautech]

The cheap P6100 probes from eBay will be perfectly fine for your scope.

You could buy 3 pairs for the cost of just one of the Probemaster probes.

[Fsck]

I paid 30$/each shipped for NOS (new old stock) Lecroy PP006 probes for my Tek 2465 to measure things  ~<=50MHz when I want to be fancy.
A lot of people here have purchased the generic "P6100" '100MHz' probe from ebay as sacrificial probes because it just isn't worth it to pay a lot more for fancy low bandwidth probes

If you want a super premium quality experience, then you should go ahead and buy probemaster (their DMM probes are excellent, don't know anything about their oscilloscope probes).
If you want bang for buck, buy a 20 pack of P6100's. (100$ USD shipped on ebay)

Electrically, you're not really benefiting from more expensive probes.

Your probes shouldn't be introducing noise for audio applications though. Is it due to the ground lead being too long or too far out?

[zonia]

All good info! Thanks for all of that.

As for the noise, there's a small amount of noise introduced via the probe handles by my own body when holding the probe in place. It's a tiny amount and normally would be negligible under most circumstances, but it can be a problem when I am validating that a waveform is _not_ modified at a certain point in a circuit. In these cases will often use the hooks to get around the problem, but the hooks in the stock probes are pretty terrible and rarely are able to hold. When I am breadboarding, I don't have any problems at all with these probes because I can just use the probe needles and plug them straight into the board and let go. But in other scenarios I can waste a lot of time getting those hooks to properly hold so that I can get an accurate measurement.

Does this make sense? Maybe I can just buy better hooks for the Rigol probes?

[tautech]

All good info! Thanks for all of that.

As for the noise, there's a small amount of noise introduced via the probe handles by my own body when holding the probe in place. It's a tiny amount and normally would be negligible under most circumstances, but it can be a problem when I am validating that a waveform is _not_ modified at a certain point in a circuit. In these cases will often use the hooks to get around the problem, but the hooks in the stock probes are pretty terrible and rarely are able to hold. When I am breadboarding, I don't have any problems at all with these probes because I can just use the probe needles and plug them straight into the board and let go. But in other scenarios I can waste a lot of time getting those hooks to properly hold so that I can get an accurate measurement.

Does this make sense? Maybe I can just buy better hooks for the Rigol probes?

Get yourself some tiny Tek SMD grabbers, you can find the for ~$5.ea on eBay. Make up some short leads for them and use them between the circuit and the probe. For breadboarding find some thicker single strand wire to use as a riser to grab with your probe.
With a little effort you can build a few little 'helpers' to make difficult connections easy.
Here's some I've posted before:

[zonia]

Good tips. Thanks again. I am definitely going to do that.

[Fsck]

oh, I didn't realize you were holding the probes.
I've been using this stand thing from https://pcbgrip.com/
Shameless advertisement, since I'm only a customer of theirs.

My hands shake so probing is a challenge if I hold the probes and I'm accustomed to having something else hold them for me.
SMD grabbers are definitely a must-have item.

[tautech]

Good tips. Thanks again. I am definitely going to do that.

Sorry I should have added the link to where I first posted about them.
Read the text as it will help you build them and know why I did the way I did. 
https://www.eevblog.com/forum/repair/suggested-for-a-sticky-part-one-comments-or-additions-please/msg471163/#msg471163