Op Amp upgrade
- Thread starter beansxda
- Start date
earlofsodbury
Wastrel.
It's traditional for the measurements-are-all brigade to insist that the 5532 and related chips are perfect and can't be improved on.
If this is true then I'm puzzled why so many manufacturers have designed better chips...
I've not juggled op-amps in years, but one thing I'm certain of is that almost anything sounds better - a DIP socket and pocketful of affordable chips should be instructive.
If this is true then I'm puzzled why so many manufacturers have designed better chips...
I've not juggled op-amps in years, but one thing I'm certain of is that almost anything sounds better - a DIP socket and pocketful of affordable chips should be instructive.
Thanks for the recommendation, added to the list and will give it a whirl!
Are there any in particular that stood out to you when you did tinker?
martin clark
pinko bodger
LM4562 has a really-nasty susceptibility to incoming RF noise; depending on what use you are putting it to - it may not be what you are looking-for. I don't care for it myself.
With the NE5532/34 - the key to good performance was identified by Doug Self : it's to ensure there is 100nF of film cap as close as you can, across the +/_ supply pins ( i.e. across the supply rails, right at the opamp)
Which raises the wider pont: if you are playing with opamp swaps- you are playing with coupling/ bypass cap requirement strategies , as much as opamps. For best performance these things are not plug & play - esp if you are using sockets!
With the NE5532/34 - the key to good performance was identified by Doug Self : it's to ensure there is 100nF of film cap as close as you can, across the +/_ supply pins ( i.e. across the supply rails, right at the opamp)
Which raises the wider pont: if you are playing with opamp swaps- you are playing with coupling/ bypass cap requirement strategies , as much as opamps. For best performance these things are not plug & play - esp if you are using sockets!
I'm looking around for film caps now as the Azur 340a already includes 2 caps to ground on the + and -, do you know of any specific brands/models I should look out for because at the moment I'm only seeing ones that'll be far too large to drop in
earlofsodbury
Wastrel.
Way too long ago / way too many dead brain-cells... I was shuffling O/As in a Stello (April Music) CDP, and it responded well to such changes. The points that Martin mentions re. DIP cradles is also much-mentioned, but it's not something I encountered in practice.
This topic has a lot in common with tube-rolling, in that there may exist a technically-correct solution and a whole spectrum of subjective-preference solutions - and the latter can involve added harmonic distortion that some people actually like, which makes recommendations somewhat pointless.
At the time (~15 years ago+), chip manufacturers would supply a couple of technical samples FOC to prospective users who registered with them - tho' I'd imagine that's long-ago ceased.
Sorry I can't be of more help.