Rigol DM3058E or the Siglent SDM3055

[N6SDR]

I am looking for a bench multimeter and I really like these two. They are very similar on paper but I am curious to hear from users especially anyone that has used both about which is better. I have read on this forum that the Siglent had a bunch of issues that seem to have been fixed in firmware but are users still experiencing issues? The SignalPath did a great review of the Rigol and indicated that Rigol may increase the voltage range for testing diodes as well as some other changes which I found interesting. I also saw a question on the forum about if Rigol was going to update the DM3058 to have a better display and perhaps one up the Siglent. I would be interested to know if there are anymore rumors on that.

If these really are very similar and the Siglent performs as well as the Rigol I would likely choose that as it has the better display and lan connectivity for a little less. I just want to ensure I make an informed decision.

Thanks in advance.

[tautech]

Welcome to the forum.

You're probably aware there are 2 versions, with or without GPIB. This is a USB connected dongle that is  also available for most Siglent products. However both versions have LAN connectivity as standard.
I'll add SDM3055 to date problms that have been identified have been addressed in a timely manner.

I have a unit for my personal use and I'm pretty pleased with it.

[Lightages]

There is also the consideration of getting them calibrated in the future. As far as we have been able to determine, Rigol has not released calibration procedures and makes buying a Rigol multimeter a risky choice IMHO. The only way to get it calibrated is to send back to Rigol.

As far a Siglent goes, I don't know. I do know that they will sell replacement parts. I just replaced the blown board in my SDG1025. The failure was my fault, not Siglent's.

[tautech]

When I recently inquired the English Service manual was still being prepared.
Likely the Cal procedure will be in it. 
Cal cert is provided when new and guaranteed 1 year accuracy is outlined in the datasheet.
There is yet no SM on the website
http://www.siglentamerica.com/prodcut-wd.aspx?id=176&tid=37&T=2

[Muttley Snickers]

Unfortunately the OP has not declared which country they are in or whether either brand is readily available from an authorised distributor, in our case which I have pointed out previously this was a major factor in deciding on a particular brand. I almost got the impression that owners of the SDM-3055 had in some manner committed to a non disclosure agreement under the conditions of purchase, really just bugger all feed back from end users other than "I'm happy with it".

At this point in time there is no full review or video, no disclosed pending or addressed bug list, even Siglent have failed to promote the product by means of a video which nowadays seems to be an accepted method for valid products. This meter on paper ticked all the boxes for our needs but sadly it was the stuff that was not documented or disclosed that steered us in another direction.

And I would like to add if I may a big bundle of gratitude and thanks to tautech for his patience, efforts and understanding with our enquiry into the product.


Muttley

[tautech]

Bugger, Muttley you bought something else? 

That's more Snickers bars you owe me. 

[Muttley Snickers]

You would only have got big, fat and lazy anyway, I did you a favour.......

If Shahriar did a favourable video on this thing tomorrow then don't worry sunshine we still have plenty of room for additional bench meters and a truck load of tax to write off.


Muttley

[N6SDR]

I am in the US. I don't care about the GPIB port and wouldn't use that. I do care about being able to interface with it over a lan port. When looking at the Rigol I was looking at using a raspberry pi to connect to it and get network access that way. Less than optimal but would meet my needs which right now are more (that would be neat than I have to have it). That said the Siglent looks very promising and I have seen some Siglent folks on the form. Maybe they could chime in on the calibration concerns?

If Sharhiar did a review it would definitely help me and likely many others.

[tautech]

I am in the US. I don't care about the GPIB port and wouldn't use that. I do care about being able to interface with it over a lan port. When looking at the Rigol I was looking at using a raspberry pi to connect to it and get network access that way. Less than optimal but would meet my needs which right now are more (that would be neat than I have to have it). That said the Siglent looks very promising and I have seen some Siglent folks on the form. Maybe they could chime in on the calibration concerns?

If Sharhiar did a review it would definitely help me and likely many others.

There's no Cal concerns that I'm aware of, the spec'ed 1 Year accuracy guarantees this.
As I have stated the SM is underway, I don't see your problem. 

Give Steve (member Siglent America) a PM, you'll find him helpful and he'll point you to your local stockist.


It's a shame Muttley didn't get one, missed opportunity IMO, his review might have made him famous. 

[Fsck]

I am in the US. I don't care about the GPIB port and wouldn't use that. I do care about being able to interface with it over a lan port. When looking at the Rigol I was looking at using a raspberry pi to connect to it and get network access that way. Less than optimal but would meet my needs which right now are more (that would be neat than I have to have it). That said the Siglent looks very promising and I have seen some Siglent folks on the form. Maybe they could chime in on the calibration concerns?

If Sharhiar did a review it would definitely help me and likely many others.

There's no Cal concerns that I'm aware of, the spec'ed 1 Year accuracy guarantees this.
As I have stated the SM is underway, I don't see your problem. 


It's a shame Muttley didn't get one, missed opportunity IMO, his review might have made him famous. 

the issue with the rigol is that (probably) only rigol can adjust it because they haven't publicized the procedure. a quick google doesn't show any material on adjusting the siglent either so they may actually be in the same boat.

[tautech]

I am in the US. I don't care about the GPIB port and wouldn't use that. I do care about being able to interface with it over a lan port. When looking at the Rigol I was looking at using a raspberry pi to connect to it and get network access that way. Less than optimal but would meet my needs which right now are more (that would be neat than I have to have it). That said the Siglent looks very promising and I have seen some Siglent folks on the form. Maybe they could chime in on the calibration concerns?

If Sharhiar did a review it would definitely help me and likely many others.

There's no Cal concerns that I'm aware of, the spec'ed 1 Year accuracy guarantees this.
As I have stated the SM is underway, I don't see your problem. 


It's a shame Muttley didn't get one, missed opportunity IMO, his review might have made him famous. 

the issue with the rigol is that (probably) only rigol can adjust it because they haven't publicized the procedure. a quick google doesn't show any material on adjusting the siglent either so they may actually be in the same boat.

Really?
If you check the docs available on Siglent's websites, you'll find many Service manuals, as I've said the English version is being prepared.

[nctnico]

There is also the consideration of getting them calibrated in the future.

There is a difference between calibrating and adjusting. A calibration procedure is just checking a piece of equipment against a standard and determining whether it is still within spec. Adjusting is changing settings so to make a piece of equipment operate withing specs but it is only necessary/possible if there are settings which can be adjusted and the equipment isn't inside it's specifications. I don't think you can adjust something in a high precision DMM; it has to be precise by design otherwise component aging and temperature influences would affect the precision too much.

@Tautech: can you test whether the LAN port on the Siglent DMM can actually be used for remote measurements?

[Lightages]

Martin Lorton (www.mjlorton.com) has received a SDM3055 for review. He has shown it on his latest news video. Hopefully he does the review soon.

[tautech]

There is also the consideration of getting them calibrated in the future.

There is a difference between calibrating and adjusting. A calibration procedure is just checking a piece of equipment against a standard and determining whether it is still within spec. Adjusting is changing settings so to make a piece of equipment operate withing specs but it is only necessary/possible if there are settings which can be adjusted and the equipment isn't inside it's specifications. I don't think you can adjust something in a high precision DMM; it has to be precise by design otherwise component aging and temperature influences would affect the precision too much.

@Tautech: can you test whether the LAN port on the Siglent DMM can actually be used for remote measurements?

AFAIK there is no problem. SCPI commands and the EasyDMM software both allow for remote measurements.
I've had a play with logging, not really in much detail, more about measurements/sec and the resultant file sizes.
At the fast logging speeds the files get big fast.
Sorry I'm away from base for the week so no better answer for you. 

[mrt6644]

I have both of these
I find the Siglent reads a lower D.C. Voltage than the Rigol or my Fluke bench meter.
Maybe it's not warmed up?  Or maybe the others aren't?