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U3401A buy or not?

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Drirr:
Hi, I have been thinking about buying U3401A. Anyone have experience with this multimeter?
http://uk.farnell.com/agilent-technologies/u3401a/digital-multimeter-4-5-digit/dp/1714839
some internal pictures i found in service manual...
https://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/rIYqFX8XHv3k2T8ESS1tAQ?feat=directlink
https://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/NF52pMliJJ32EYWhse5smA?feat=directlink
¨
Thanks!

Bored@Work:
It is Agilent's entry-level bench multimeter. It should have some Escort 3136A DNA in its blood. Agilent bought Escort in some years ago, and used their technology for Agilent multimeters. 

ruessel:
Hello,
bought a U3401A 8 weeks ago. The Agilent looks like a modern replica of my 20 year old Fluke 45. Bought it to replace my ageing Fluke 45. Both meters work fine, but the new Agilent is slower ranging in AC mode, also the diode test is not as reliable as the Fluke (not always beeping when a diode is detected).
Hoped the new U3401A is an improvement over the old Fluke, but it is not so!

Don't get me wrong, the Agilent is a nice bench multimeter, but my old Fluke does the same. So I'm willing to sell the U3401

mikeselectricstuff:
Why buy a bench DMM when a handheld can work on the bench and away as welll...
Only reason I can think of is if you need the higher performance of the higher end bench DMMs.

Bored@Work:
Bench meters are nice. I know Dave doesn't like them and likes to dis-encourage people from getting them, and I can see field electricians having no use for them, but that doesn't change that they are nice.

Never is the battery flat when you need them, never do you have to dig through your stock to find a new battery and then taking the dammed meter apart to get the battery into the meter.

It is extremely difficult to misplace a bench meter. Mine never mange to unexplainable move into a drawer or some dark corner. They happen to sit and keep set at their shelf places. Which also means they don't take up precious space on the work area on the bench, which is always to small. And this despite their name "bench meter".

They don't tip over when you operate them, they don't shift around on the bench. It is hard to drop them from the bench if you properly set them up on the shelf.

Many have nice, large, easy to read VFDisplays with great contrast and no hassle with the backlight. Because there is no need for a backlight. You will love the displays when your eyes get older.

And they have buttons. A nice bunch of buttons and for every main function a dedicated button, unless you get some wannabe bench meter where a Chinese engineer had a brain fart when doing some menu system ...

They are typically stackable, and you get other equipment with the same form factor you can stack with them.

In a company: Usually difficult to take from your bench, colleagues rarely try.

Not to long ago they had exclusive features you didn't get in a handheld. Remote controllable, with a PC connection. Autoranging, secondary display, etc.

And on top of that comes their normal multimeter function.

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