What is good spectrum analyser Agilent ESA E4403B or Agilent CSA N1996A ?

[Cooperhop]

Hello,

Please help me to choose a good second hand spectrum analyser ? I have decided on Agilent ESA-E series one for a long time now, but Agilent CSA N1996A also seems a good choice. But don't know which one is better in performance.

Edit:
Actually I need a professional grade spectrum analyzer. I’m not a new to RF. But I’m not experienced either. I already have a cmu200. But need something professional level so I can move to that kind of phase. I’m looking for testing amplifiers and filters. Also intend to start with designing antennas too. Probably a VNA is a better choice for me as I already have a cmu200. But VNAs are crazy expensive. So I wonder if SA with tracking generator would suffice my need until I get at least a nanoVNA.

Thank you.

[Kean]

What are your needs?  What are you planning to use it for?

If you are learning, then maybe start with something cheaper that won't be too big a loss if damaged.

The TinySA Ultra is low cost and very handy device to own and experiment with, and still useful if you later buy a bench top device.
https://www.tinysa.org/wiki/

[Cooperhop]

I have updated my question with the requirements.

[tautech]

I have updated my question with the requirements.

That's missing a budget.

[nctnico]

For antenna tuning, a VNA is a better tool because it will show you what kind of matching network you'll need.

[Cooperhop]

Thank you all for the suggestions. I also think if I could afford a VNA that would be really great. I’ll keep looking for one until someone sells it for considerably reasonable amount.

If we just compare the two models for their performance, what would be the one you’d recommend? I can buy around 1500 USD.

[TheSteve]

The N1996A does have a return loss bridge built in which is handy. It will read SWR/return loss directly with no additional hardware. Still an older used VNA may be a better choice.

[nctnico]

US $1500 would buy one of the newer JDSU / Viavi 700 series base  station analysers on the used market. These do have smith chart plotting but (AFAIK) no cursor to show capacitance / inductance. Maybe a NanoVNA is a good option but be sure to buy the right one. There is quite a bit of software available for the NanoVNA to control & read them from a PC. IMHO these should be all you need for antenna tuning. There is also a PC based USB VNA called LibreVNA at around US $700 but I have no hands-on experience with it.