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Recommendation: Good value-for-money LCR meter?

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Posted on March 13, 2014 at 13:06:39
tvr2500m
Audiophile

Posts: 1687
Location: Boston
Joined: February 2, 2003
 I'm not sure where to post this one...

I'm looking for recommendation for a good value-for-money LCR meter. Should have had one of these a zillion years ago, but don't. Right now what's prompting the need are a couple of speaker repairs/restoration. Most specifically I need to measure capacitor values. Inductance measurement would be handy, too. Of course I already have some good meters to measure resistance, voltage...

Any suggestions are welcomed.

Thanks,

- SJ

 

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RE: Recommendation: Good value-for-money LCR meter?, posted on April 15, 2014 at 10:05:34
neolith
Audiophile

Posts: 4842
Location: Virginia
Joined: February 21, 2002
Contributor
  Since: December 2, 2004
 I bought a cheap one on Ebay awhile back. It is sufficient for my use which is to say it measures capacitors, inductors and resistors in the range for audio crossovers. What I was most interested in was matching components (precision) rather than exact values (accuracy) and this does the job. The accuracy is so-so (plus/minus 2.5%) but the measurements are reproducible and consistent.
It's made in China (naturally) and the model is DM4070 for about $35.

BTW if you want something much more elegant the DE-5000 is only $100 (available on Amazon and Ebay) and has much higher accuracy (0.25%) and lots of bells and whistles. I don't have one but the reviews I read give it high marks.




"Our head is round in order to allow our thoughts to change direction." Francis Picabia

 

RE: Recommendation: Good value-for-money LCR meter?, posted on April 25, 2014 at 11:01:24
audioengr
Manufacturer

Posts: 6017
Location: Oregon
Joined: April 12, 2001
 See partsconnexion.com. They have a sale on a nice one.

 

RE: Recommendation: Good value-for-money LCR meter?, posted on April 25, 2014 at 12:11:28
tvr2500m
Audiophile

Posts: 1687
Location: Boston
Joined: February 2, 2003
 Thanks for the heads up. I checked the site. That looks great. Certainly the price is right. Already bought a DE-5000.

 

RE: Recommendation: Good value-for-money LCR meter?, posted on April 27, 2015 at 00:17:42
pictureguy
Audiophile

Posts: 22597
Location: SoCal
Joined: October 19, 2008
 Repeatabilty is the 3rd leg of metrology.

I used to keep track of metrology equioment in an ISO certified facility. I did an ANNUAL study called a gauge R+R in which (short form) 10 samples were measured 3x EACH by 3 different operators.

I had NIST traceable standards for SOME equipment but studies used ALL house generated samples.

I'd get a couple of each of what you measure and SAVE them. Measure them periodically and before any critial use to check 'drift' of your meter.
Too much is never enough

 

RE: Recommendation: Good value-for-money LCR meter?, posted on July 30, 2015 at 05:08:47
Old nuff 2 no better
Audiophile

Posts: 516
Location: Upstate NY
Joined: September 3, 2007
 Good advice. It's easy enough to get some 1% silver-mica caps and they won't drift much over time. You can also calculate a resistor to put in series to create a dissipation factor standard.

 

RE: Recommendation: Good value-for-money LCR meter?, posted on July 11, 2017 at 00:17:49
gordguide
Audiophile

Posts: 302
Joined: January 20, 2002
 DER EE 5000.
Make sure you get the accessories with it.

 

RE: Recommendation: Good value-for-money LCR meter?, posted on July 31, 2017 at 12:32:01
bwaslo
Manufacturer

Posts: 245
Location: Portland, OR USA
Joined: September 10, 2006
 The best way to measure capacitors and inductors is with an impedance graphing device. If you're doing speaker crossovers, get a DATS device (from Dayton Audio), it will measure your components and you can check what the components do at different audio frequencies. You can also measure the actual impedance curve of finished speakers or raw drivers,
which can be quite eye-opening. (Assuming you're ok with a Windows computer based device).
_

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