12-07-2020, 06:47 PM
I've had my Rigol 1054Z for 5 years now. I'm quite impressed with what it can do for the money, and on the strength of that we bought a dozen for work. Having seen them, many friends and colleagues have bought their own. Shame I'm not on commission 
All that said, I wouldn't recommend that you bought one. For the analogue/audio work that you do, an analogue 'scope is much easier and intuitive to use.
In truth, I rarely use mine. My "go-to" 'scope is a 20MHz 'scope that is very easy to drive. If I need more bandwidth, I have a 350MHz analogue 'scope that is also very easy to use. I do have other 'scopes, but those are all in the attic - on the bench, I've just got those two analogue 'scopes and the Rigol.
However, on the occasions that I do use the Rigol, it would be near-impossible to use an analogue 'scope to do the same job. So it's definitely nice to have at times. Those occasions tend to be in-depth digital investigation and/or fault-finding. Conversely, I was surprised at how bad the Rigol is for looking at analogue audio waveforms - that's because the update rate is much slower than I'm used to seeing with an analogue 'scope.
If saving space is the concern, pick the best of your scopes and consign the rest to storage or dispose of them. If you have three because no single 'scope gives you what you need, then find another 'scope that will, and store or sell the rest (perhaps keep the next best as a spare if you have storage space). Honestly, dropping the best part of £400 on a Rigol would be the last thing I'd do in your shoes.
BTW, the fan noise will drive you mad
All that said, I wouldn't recommend that you bought one. For the analogue/audio work that you do, an analogue 'scope is much easier and intuitive to use.
In truth, I rarely use mine. My "go-to" 'scope is a 20MHz 'scope that is very easy to drive. If I need more bandwidth, I have a 350MHz analogue 'scope that is also very easy to use. I do have other 'scopes, but those are all in the attic - on the bench, I've just got those two analogue 'scopes and the Rigol.
However, on the occasions that I do use the Rigol, it would be near-impossible to use an analogue 'scope to do the same job. So it's definitely nice to have at times. Those occasions tend to be in-depth digital investigation and/or fault-finding. Conversely, I was surprised at how bad the Rigol is for looking at analogue audio waveforms - that's because the update rate is much slower than I'm used to seeing with an analogue 'scope.
If saving space is the concern, pick the best of your scopes and consign the rest to storage or dispose of them. If you have three because no single 'scope gives you what you need, then find another 'scope that will, and store or sell the rest (perhaps keep the next best as a spare if you have storage space). Honestly, dropping the best part of £400 on a Rigol would be the last thing I'd do in your shoes.
BTW, the fan noise will drive you mad
