Hello !
I have to make a choice. I need two scope, one at home and one in my own lab. I bought a Rigol MSO5074 few weeks ago for home and I have a Siglent SDS2204X that I want to upgrade in my lab.
The SDS5034X seems to be a very good scope but the price difference is huge compared to an hacked MSO5000.
To be honest, A hacked MSO5000 will be fine for 99 % of my work but I already have one.
Do you have practical example of what the SDS5034X can do and the MSO5000 can't ?
It is not so easy to compare them on paper....but it seems that their performance are similar ?
Thank you for helping me choosing the right one : )
Regarding your particular question:
I cannot know what the MSO5000 can or cannot do, or how well certain features are implemented. It would be up to you to present a use case where the MSO5000 is not convincing (or fails altogether), then I could demonstrate how the SDS5000X handles it. Since the SDS5000X is not nearly feature complete yet, it might fail as well at this point.
Ultimately, I cannot comment on the MSO5000, but I can safely state that the SDS5034X would be a major upgrade to the SDS2204X.
Here is the more general answer:
The feature comparison of newly introduced instruments doesn’t tell the whole story. New features can be added later on, which might change the picture completely.
If you understand the instrument platform and its resources, then you should be able to know in advance whether you can expect a certain feature to be added at some point. And then it’s a matter of trust whether a manufacturer is willing to maintain their product and add new features after the introduction.
Since I happen to know the final feature set of the SDS5000X (because I have helped to define it), I certainly know what to expect – and that’s quite a lot. The current software platform is shared amongst all newer Siglent scopes (SDS1000X-E and SDS2000X-E with traditional UI, SDS5000X with touch UI) and it will also be used for future releases, including higher class instruments above the SDS5000X – to the effect that it expands the ongoing fruitful cooperation with LeCroy…
Knowing a little what’s going on behind the scenes, I have full confidence in Siglent’s DSO/MSO platform development. I am glad to confirm that they actually listen to their beta testers/consultants and they also maintain an excellent relationship with their Western partners (such as LeCroy), rather than pissing them off
Apart from the features, there are also topics not found in a spec sheet, like fan noise, quality of the (touch)screen, UI experience and responsiveness. In this regard, the SDS5000X absolutely doesn’t need to be afraid of the competition in my opinion. Yes, it cannot touch a Keysight DSOX3000T in terms of snappiness and speed, but offers plenty of memory and deep measurements in return, while still being plenty fast and responsive.
Because it has been mentioned before: the integrated webserver allows full instrument control as well as remote screenshots, data downloads and even firmware updates. This is a real convenience:
SDS5104X_Web 01
Still I can´t get the advantage of autosensig a probe - it tooks only seconds to adjust the coupling manually…
Yes, changing the probe factor is quick and convenient, especially with the touch UI, and in many test scenarios the same (x10) probes are used almost all the time.
On the other hand, at least a toggle between any probe and direct coax connection can be required quite frequently. If it’s just on a single channel, then it’s not a big deal, but it can become an annoyance when several channel have to be changed at once.
Apart from that, automatic probe sensing reduces the probability of user error. I’ve seen several instances (also on this forum), where incorrect probe factor settings spoiled automatic measurements and this was not immediately obvious for the operator.
To cut a long story short, probe autosensing is just a standard feature in all but entry-level scopes nowadays. In midrange scopes and beyond we expect active probe interfaces on top of that.