The MSO5000 does have more noise than the Siglent, but so does the mso7000 and mso8000 which are way more expensive than the Siglent, so it is clear that it is not all about noise. But to be objective, I have found that there are more Youtube videos from MSO5000 owners than I have found for the Siglent SDS2104X Plus, so there are numerous active use cases that can be viewed online to get an independent review. Both are nice scopes and offer a lot of features but the US$500 savings gained by buying the MSO5000 could go a long way in buying other much needed equipment. If you want to work with low level signals you can buy cheap amplifiers or build one which will pickup signals even lower than what the Siglent can. If you do need to work with low level analog signals then get the cheaper Siglent scope that has low noise floor.
There are others on the forum who have both scopes and are pleased with the MSO5000 because it does have a number of capabilities that the
SDS2104X Plus does not offer.
On another note, it is far easier to dispose of a scope for a good price if you live in wealthy country, expensive scopes are harder to sell in countries with lower income and so you will have to give bigger discounts. If I were selling a scope I would have to ship it to the US to get a better price.
I am not an expert and I just want to buy a scope (at a particular price point) that can last quite a while. If I am being honest, the SDS1104X-E would probably be more than enough for me right now. But, I am not buying this scope just for "right now" - I am hoping to learn. I am from India, and I can confidently say that I'll not get a decent resale value for the scope. I am already buying at a higher price compared to someone from the US (MSO5074 : ~1300; SDS2104X Plus : ~1850 USD) So, whatever I buy now is the one I'll be using for a loooong time.
If the issues plaguing the MSO5074 can be "worked around", I'll of course prefer to get that compared to the Siglent.
After going through a lot of threads on the forum, the primary issue seems to be the front-end noise in the MSO5000. I understand that working with low level signals can be difficult because of this. But I am not experienced enough to comprehend the effect it is going to have for other use-cases.
1) During the (possibly rare) occasions when I need to work on low level signals, are there work-arounds available ? (Seems like I can possibly use cheap/DIY pre-amps ?)
2) The thicker traces - will it be too off-putting ? Will it be too difficult to work with analog signals - even if not very low voltages ? Using an example that @2N3055 pointed out :
How are you going to look at digital signal? With passive 10x probe? That means that when you are at 1 V/div for 3.3V logic, you are actually using scope at 100 mV/div. What is noise then?
What is the answer here ?
With the front-end noise that the MSO5000 has, is it too difficult to work with 3.3V logic with a 10X probe at 100mV/div ?
Any idea about the issue @jacekowski mentioned in the previous post ?
Youtuber tomtektest does an extensive series on the scope, and his reviews are based on purchases he made and are not sponsored.
Yes, found the list yesterday. Going through those videos now.