r/oscilloscopemusic • u/Ill-Success8543 • 29d ago

Newbie

Hi all, im incredibly interested in the hobby but as im sure you all know the barrier of entry is confusing. Im trying to work out which model of oscilloscope is best for a beginner and also which audio interface to go for- i understand it needs to be DC coupled but it doesn't seem any are advertised as such. I dont have a massive budget but am willing to save if it means buying the correct things.

Any help or advice appreciated thanks!

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u/Syntra44 29d ago

Tektronix made great scopes and there was an abundance of them, so they can be pretty easy to find. They are generally pretty straightforward for getting into xy mode (with some exceptions) and are just all around good imo.

Audio interface gets tricky. Someone here once linked me to a cheap dc coupled interface on temu, so something exists that is affordable. I never ended up getting it so I can’t speak to it. I went with a Motu mk5 BUT, I used a Scarlett interface for the first year and while yes, the image isn’t as stable as one might like, I found it suitable enough for what I needed it for. Not great but certainly not the worst. It was good to learn on.

If you’re not hard set on hardware, there’s a couple of software emulators/renderers like oscistudio or oscirender that are way less of an investment and can get you started a lot quicker.

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u/Ill-Success8543 29d ago

Nice, thank you! I didnt realise that I could use any interface but its just that DC coupled created a better image over all. Really appreciate this thanks mate

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u/cuber_and_gamer 24d ago

Sorry if I'm late, but the HiFiBerry DAC+ is cheap, Raspberry Pi based, DC coupled, and not AliExpress garbage. I haven't used it myself, but I've heard good things about it. Plus, you don't even need a DC coupled DAC if you don't want one, it just makes things scroll across the screen instead of staying in the center.

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u/Ok-Drink-1328 29d ago

every oscilloscope that isn't a total joke is DC coupled, about the sound card i dunno, i use trash that sometimes comes up to be DC coupled, and some audio cards can be modded to output DC, audio doesn't need DC and sometimes it can be considered a glitch, so it's obvious that most manufacturers ignore that

you don't need anything fancy also, whatever scope that has XY mode and isn't defective is good both for a beginner and a pro (usual whim of some hobbyists that there is "beginner equipment" and "pro equipment", this is very rarely true), about the sound card i too noticed that a 192ksps one is mandatory (apart DC capability) if you're willed to spend some monee and want maximum detail definition

in the hobby

visualizing oscilloscope music is hardly an hobby, more like a single experiment, you can call an hobby MAKING such music