madbeanpedals::forum

General => Open Discussion => Topic started by: somnif on April 29, 2017, 10:42:41 AM

Title: So, who wants a £42 TL072 equivalent?
Post by: somnif on April 29, 2017, 10:42:41 AM
Have a need for a dual op-amp and those TL072's just aren't cutting it? Is an OPA2604 just too mundane for your audio needs?

Well look no further my friends, we now have the ultimate in 8 pin chippyness!

https://orangeamps.com/shop/op-amp/

And they're only 54$ a piece... what a bargain...
Title: Re: So, who wants a £42 TL072 equivalent?
Post by: WormBoy on April 29, 2017, 11:09:17 AM
Looks super cool though ...  8). Whether it actually sounds 'more musical' ... I doubt it, and it is a bit too expensive to try out. I will wait for the DIY version  :).
Title: Re: So, who wants a £42 TL072 equivalent?
Post by: juansolo on April 29, 2017, 11:13:46 AM
Why?! Just why...?
Title: Re: So, who wants a £42 TL072 equivalent?
Post by: Willybomb on April 29, 2017, 11:32:48 AM
I think it was a 420 joke.
Title: Re: So, who wants a £42 TL072 equivalent?
Post by: culturejam on April 29, 2017, 12:50:19 PM
Quote from: juansolo on April 29, 2017, 11:13:46 AM
Why?! Just why...?

From Jack Orman on TGP (about this exact op amp):

QuoteDiscrete opamps are mostly used for pro audio where they need to power the chip with +/-24v so that 600 ohm inputs can be driven to the full dynamic range. Discretes also can add a bit of coloration that can be very pleasing, which many integrated opamps do not have.

There is a very good paper on opamps by Samuel Groner that gives test results for several discretes and high-end IC chips. Interesting reading.
Title: Re: So, who wants a £42 TL072 equivalent?
Post by: EBRAddict on April 29, 2017, 01:00:54 PM
I have a hard time believing his THD number. He didn't list the PSRR, either.
Title: Re: So, who wants a £42 TL072 equivalent?
Post by: midwayfair on April 29, 2017, 02:37:22 PM
That's not  bad price for a discrete op amp fully assembled. They are, however,  pointless devices for anything to do with guitars, because we have no use for better THD handling and other benefits.

Edit just to be clear; the orange as reads like parody and is full of junk, but the basic concept is not.
Title: Re: So, who wants a £42 TL072 equivalent?
Post by: juansolo on April 29, 2017, 05:45:02 PM
Quote from: culturejam on April 29, 2017, 12:50:19 PM
Quote from: juansolo on April 29, 2017, 11:13:46 AM
Why?! Just why...?

From Jack Orman on TGP (about this exact op amp):

QuoteDiscrete opamps are mostly used for pro audio where they need to power the chip with +/-24v so that 600 ohm inputs can be driven to the full dynamic range. Discretes also can add a bit of coloration that can be very pleasing, which many integrated opamps do not have.

There is a very good paper on opamps by Samuel Groner that gives test results for several discretes and high-end IC chips. Interesting reading.

Seems like mojo bollocks to me.

Just sayin' ;)
Title: Re: So, who wants a £42 TL072 equivalent?
Post by: midwayfair on April 29, 2017, 06:05:53 PM
It really isn't in hight-current situations to get better performance from physically larger components. Transistors of larger sizes can handle higher voltages, and dissipate more heat than an op amp where the transistors on the die are essentially 2d and in close proximity. in guitar pedals we pretty much never have to worry about physics. The worst that we tend to do is burn out a 1/4W resistor once in a while or maybe set a trimmer to 0R when we shouldn't.

But an most burr brown op amps can supply current to drive 600Ohms and still have exceptionally good bandwidth. fFfor the last couple decades there hasn't been too much reason to bother with discrete op amps. They were way more important when op amps sucked.
Title: Re: So, who wants a £42 TL072 equivalent?
Post by: somnif on April 29, 2017, 08:00:32 PM
Yesterday I had no idea there was an audiophile scene in replacing ICs with discretes.

I think I was happier yesterday....

Not sure why I'm surprised. The cork sniffing trend in the land of tube audio has reached monumentally absurd levels, of course the silicon side of the equation has as well. Turns out, 50$ for a 30 cent component really is a bargain compared to some of these things.  :o
Title: Re: So, who wants a £42 TL072 equivalent?
Post by: davent on April 29, 2017, 08:12:40 PM
Bursonaudio is another maker and discrete op amps, were available for quite a few years at Parts Connexion. They're carrying another company's at the moment.

http://www.partsconnexion.com/opamp_burson.html
http://www.partsconnexion.com/opamp_dexa.html
https://www.bursonaudio.com/products/supreme-sound-opamp-v5/

dave
Title: Re: So, who wants a £42 TL072 equivalent?
Post by: alanp on April 29, 2017, 10:06:33 PM
As a technical exercise it's pretty cool (and quite dense, for the amount of components.)

Fidelity tends to not be as important as volume for guitar amps, though.
Title: Re: So, who wants a £42 TL072 equivalent?
Post by: lars on April 30, 2017, 12:57:43 AM
So basically, you're paying $54 more for something that is .01% better than a NE5532.
Title: Re: So, who wants a £42 TL072 equivalent?
Post by: stecykmi on April 30, 2017, 01:33:58 AM
Quote from: lars on April 30, 2017, 12:57:43 AM
So basically, you're paying $54 more for something that is .01% better than a NE5532.

opamps have so many parameters, its actually much worse than a 5532 in some ways but better in other ways.

so it's basically how you measure it. and i doubt they have tested these things the same way texas instruments or fairchild have. for example opamps are rarely specified by THD since that's very audio-specific and i think the results would vary quite a bit based on the signal source and the load anyway.

but according to orange's specs, they do have a blazing fast slew rate though, that would imply they are good at amplifying high volume, high frequency signals. that's almost useless for guitar effects but it might be useful in a mixer or preamp though.

i wonder how (or if) they are able to keep the specs close from unit to unit. discrete transistor, especially jfets, can vary a huge amount from unit to unit. in an IC, the individual transistors are usually consistent as a result of the fabrication process.
Title: Re: So, who wants a £42 TL072 equivalent?
Post by: gordo on April 30, 2017, 02:31:42 AM
I think it's THC numbers...

Ear....
Title: Re: So, who wants a £42 TL072 equivalent?
Post by: neandrewthal on April 30, 2017, 03:48:52 AM
Pfffft, surface mount crap  :P
Title: Re: So, who wants a £42 TL072 equivalent?
Post by: stringsthings on April 30, 2017, 05:11:10 AM
Quote from: neandrewthal on April 30, 2017, 03:48:52 AM
Pfffft, surface mount crap  :P

lol  :D
Title: Re: So, who wants a £42 TL072 equivalent?
Post by: somnif on April 30, 2017, 08:17:48 AM
The thing is, before I saw this, I thought discrete op amps were just like, a learning exercise. A historical curiosity. I thought this because I bought this thing for a former roommate I got into circuit bending: The XL741

(http://shop.emscdn.com/catalog/emskits/741/kitv2/imgmed/1@2x.jpg)

It was a fun toy for learning some intro electrical engineering. Just for giggle we even plugged it into an IC big muff circuit I had to show "oh hey, it works"

(and for the record, couldn't really hear a difference between the IC and the ridiculously massive op-amp)
Title: Re: So, who wants a £42 TL072 equivalent?
Post by: nzCdog on May 01, 2017, 08:09:23 PM
Its cooler seeing the bits, make for better gutshots? ;D
Title: Re: So, who wants a £42 TL072 equivalent?
Post by: reddesert on May 02, 2017, 05:47:35 PM
Oh yeah, well how about discrete digital circuitry?

(https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/3/3f/KA10_mod_top.jpg)

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flip_Chip_(PDP_module) (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flip_Chip_(PDP_module))

From La Wiki, a discrete transistor board from a DEC PDP-10 mainframe.  I actually have a couple of these at home that someone gave me as a souvenir.  As a very young person I briefly used a PDP-10, though it was a later generation that probably used integrated circuits.  But discrete transistors make your comp sci exercises sound clearer, with more airiness and a sense of warmth.

Title: Re: So, who wants a £42 TL072 equivalent?
Post by: Aleph Null on May 02, 2017, 06:21:11 PM
Oh yeah?! How about domino digital circuitry?!!!1!!one!!