Objective Guide to Op-Amp Rolling - Part 1

[orchardaudio]

Hi,

For my last blog article I compared the performance of:

• Texas Instruments LME49720
• Texas Instruments OPA2134
• Texas Instruments LM4562
• Texas Instruments LM833
• New Japan Radio NJM2742
• Analog Devices LT1352

See here:
https://orchardaudio.com/blog/f/obje...lling---part-1

Regards;
Leo

[Qwin]

My 2 cents

I tried lots of op-amps in an active crossover circuit, (Rod Elliots) to me the application makes a big difference to which sounds best and many highly recommended items just didn't work out for me.

Tried all the ones you list above and more, plus discrete op amps from Burson, the V5, V6 Classic and Vivid, Sonic Imagery and Sparkos Labs.
Also many combinations of them all, over a two year period, nothing was evaluated unless it had a min of 100hrs use, so burn in could be ruled out.
The best for my application, by some margin, turned out to be a mixture of Muses8920D and Muses01.
The £5 8920D actually has better specs than the £30, 01. It's slightly more open/transparent, but the 01 has great tone and detail.
Tried using all one type, and found multiples, four or more in a circuit, tends to exaggerate the traits of the part, to the point of whoo to much.
The open/transparent 8920D became forward and in your face, the tone and detail of the 01 turned to coloured, like a cheap old valve radio.
This is how I ended up with a mixture of the pair, which had the best features of both.
You really have to find what works in your application, my findings could be totally irrelevant in say a DAC.

Note: My application used Dual's, that added up to 7 op-amps per channel (including input/output buffers).