I thought I would post my opinion of the UT61E now that I have one, especially in relation to the quality of the UT71E and compared to my other UNI-T meters and all my other experience with multimeters over the years. I have had mixed experiences with UNI-T. I now have four including the UT61E.
My UT10A and UT33C are to be considered good buys for their low price and INTENDED use. Let me say that the UT10A and UT33C are well made and accurate well within their specs (each of my singular samples) especially for their prices. They are NOT to be considered safe for high energy measurements. Keep these two for low voltage bench and automotive measurements and they are outstanding deals. I personally have no problems using the UT33C on the mains, but I am not the kind of person to forget that I have the leads connected to the current measurement jacks.
My UT61E arrived from DX with no damage to the box. There is nothing particularly special about the packaging but it is sufficient to protect the meter during shipment.
The first overall impression is that the case is well made and solid, as mentioned by Dave in his $100 shootout when he commented on the 61D.
The internal construction in mine is the same as those in the images provided earlier in the thread
https://www.eevblog.com/forum/product-reviews-photos-and-discussion/uni-t-ut61e-multimeter-teardown-photos/ on the UT61E teardown for the later revisions. The minimal input protection is a bit of a concern and I wonder why UNI-T decided to omit the MOVs when the footprints are there. I guess another vote from the bean counters. If you are handy with a soldering iron it would be very easy to add the MOVs. I might just do that.
The UT61E has all the features, almost, that a hobbyist would want in a multimeter and for a good price. Missing IMHO are the back light and temperature measurement. Neither of the missing items are deal breakers as they are well compensated by the inclusion of the data logging cable. The problem with the cable is they are still shipping RS232 cables. IMHO these should be discontinued and they should only supply the USB type. It is possible to pick a USB-RS232 converter but these are a bit of a gamble as to whether the one you have in your hand will actually do the proper level translations needed.
The leads are OK, not great, but they have a relatively low internal resistance. They definitely need cleaning out of the box because they have residue on the points which form a bit of insulation.
If you are familiar with the $100 shootout by Dave here, you will have seen one of his major dislikes of the UT61D. Be assured that the UT61E does not have this problem of a very slow continuity test reaction. The UT61E has instant although unlatched response. I prefer unlatched continuity for the reason it can help you detect intermittent switches.
When I tested the accuracy of the UT61E out of the box, it met its specs in voltage, current, and resistance. The DC voltage was at the limit of its specifications so I tweaked it over the past few days and it has remained stable.
After having this meter for a few days, my confidence in it is rather high.
Now how would I compare it to the UT71E? Well in a nutshell, the UT71E at 3-4 times the price, is a heap of junk compared to the UT61E. Its input layout and protection is terrible. Mine came with accuracy of worse than 0.4% out of the box. It has taken a while for me to tweak and get it to stabilize and hold an accuracy close to its rated spec. It has all the features any hobbyist or professional could want, but what use is that if it has a hazardous input protection layout and un-trustworthy accuracy out of the box? The UT61E easily out classes the much higher priced UT71E in almost any consideration, except for features.
Conclusion:
Out of all the meters I have used, seen, and watched reviews on, the UT61E is one of the best buys out there for a multimeter. I would recommend one to anyone looking for a good meter. Of course if you want to spend more there are better meters, but you need to pay much much more to get better. If you need a good meter, you can't go wrong with the UT61E. If you want better, then spend the money on an Agilent higher model or a Fluke 87, don''t waste your time and money on the intermediates as there are not many around the middle range that are worth the money. I considered a UEi 397, but the only place I could find that carries them are rather difficult to deal with.
An Update: After seeing some new information on the UT61E I have to down rate it to a good buy for low energy circuit hobby use. See this link https://www.eevblog.com/forum/product-reviews-photos-and-discussion/a-list-of-multimeters-that-do-not-appear-to-meet-their-claimed-safety-specs/
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