This old thread got another update in 2010 but nothing since. I just made a simple audio stage I can use with singles and duals. I'm liking the NE5534 right now - I can see why its fans like the "half way back the concert hall with good ambiance" effect, and why others see it as unfocused and vague. Seems to have elements of both. It's not exciting but it has its place with classical music in particular. I've been playing around with NE5532 (less good) and LM4562 (more detailed and more punchy bass) and a few others.
The ones I have are NE5534N bought about 10 years ago - haven't tried the P or AP versions.
The ones I have are NE5534N bought about 10 years ago - haven't tried the P or AP versions.
Since all of these chips are basically indistinguishable in low frequency performance the idea than one has "more punchy bass" is bizarre. They output signals within a few parts per million of each other (*). To be distinctly more punchy would take around 100000ppm difference (0.8dB) .
The difference between 0.0015% distortion and 0.0005% distortion is not "punch", and is not audible except in very specialized test-tone setups.
(*) This is a circuit you can build - two identical test circuits, then take the difference of the outputs and amplify that.
The difference between 0.0015% distortion and 0.0005% distortion is not "punch", and is not audible except in very specialized test-tone setups.
(*) This is a circuit you can build - two identical test circuits, then take the difference of the outputs and amplify that.
I'm just describing what I'm hearing, for what that's worth, and I've read at least one other post which refers to the LM4562 bass as tight, punchy etc. Subjective, of course, not measured.
Clearly, there could be all sorts of other factors at work in the layout, components etc etc. so I may be mistaken in attributing the difference to the op-amp itself. I'm aware of that. However, I would venture that auditive differences in the total implementation including the op-amp itself are not indistinguishable.
I'm sure that's a valuable exercise for solid state designers who have a vested interest in thorough research or commercial products, but that's not my case. I'm only building for myself. This is also a 5.5x gain stage, not a buffer.
This particular thread started out as a personal account of subjective reactions to using the NE5534, so I'm simply contributing in that. Earlier in the thread we've had subjective perspectives from guys like Thorsten Loesch who are well respected designers. Discussions about measurements versus subjective listening experiences are predictably going to go down well trodden paths so I'm not going there. But thanks for the input.
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