NE5532, NE5534 : worth what ?!

[youyoung21147]

I'm designing an active filter for quite an high-end system and need some advice concerning the op-amps to use : there will be 4 opamps in series for the midrange driver !

I plan to use some AD797 but they are really really expensive so I won't use them everywhere.

I have found some very contradictory information about the old NE5534 and NE5532 :

http://fnt-www.ss.titech.ac.jp/~haji...rtion/opa.html

-106dB for NE5532 and -114dB THD for NE5534 (-134dB for AD797 !)
This looks respectable for 0.30$ opamps

http://www.dself.dsl.pipex.com/ampins/webbop/5532.htm

0.002% ?! But that's huge for an opamp !


And finally : http://focus.ti.com/lit/ds/symlink/ne5534a.pdf

0.002%, but this time a big increase in THD above 2kHz !


Who should I believe ?

Also, are there any other more important parameters to look at (such as suggested here : http://www.octave-electronics.com/lcaudio/ad825.shtml ), like slew rate (which is always theorically sufficient) or something else ?

Considering more recent and not too expensive opamps, I was considering the OPA2134 which has low distorsion under 10kHz. Is it worth its price ? (10 times the price of a 5534 though !)

I'd be glad if someone could help because I'm really lost !

[kepa1]

Hello youyoung,

I'm no expert but I read forums a lot and I've often seen people being disappointing when replacing NE5532 opamps by more modern and expensive models.

I think it has a very strong reputation and should not be overlooked.

Bye

[tube-lover]

hi,

let me share little bit experience, during I test in my dac ( 151a with digital filer & reclock, & I try different Op-amp in the LPF.
if lower price acutally I will choose Philips 5534. 5532 not good. TI5532 & NE5532 forget it. ths is my opinions.

pls considerate choose philips 5534. expensive than NE & other brands, but really in this price range better.

thx

thomas

[jackinnj]

my Boonton THD analyzer uses the NE5532's -- fwiw -- Cyril Bateman also used the NE5534 (along with AD797) in his ULD oscillator -- it's what we refer to as a "high class" problem when you have so many great chips to select from.

jack

[BobEllis]

FWIW, I have two active XO systems using NE5532s (Fairchild, IIRC) - 6 op amps (1/2 NE5532) in the tweeter line, 7 in the mids and 4 per woofer. I am very happy with the sound of both. They responded very nicely to a good power supply that replaced 7815s.

I bought a bunch to prove out the concept of active XOs to myself, without spending a lot. I haven't been tempted enough to replace them - they are soldered into the circuit without sockets.

I have a system or two in the works that will use OPA2134s, so we'll see about those. They will be socketed, so I can swap if I think I need to. I hope not, since I bought 200 recently.

[peranders]

Walt Jung has made rather many distortion measurements in his book "Opamp applications" and in the chapter about audio, chapter 6.
http://www.analog.com/library/analog...h6_final_I.pdf
http://www.analog.com/library/analog..._handbook.html

[Mad_K]

I would say the OPA2134 is definately worth its price

[tschrama]

opa227 anyone .... performs a bit beter than 5534 in my lab

[Mad_K]

Originally posted by tschrama
opa227 anyone .... performs a bit beter than 5534 in my lab

Yes, and the OPA2227; very good op-amps

[youyoung21147]

Thx everyone for your answers !

The OPA2227/227 are not available for me so if I choose one of the TI models, I'd rather use the OPA2134 (though is has higher THD)
They seem to be quite load-dependant though, so not very suitable for buffering or so.

But before "investing" I must know if new opamps compare really better at low gains (1~4) with the 553x :

I'm no expert but I read forums a lot and I've often seen people being disappointing when replacing NE5532 opamps by more modern and expensive models.

I think you are talking about threads I've read too on Home-cinema.fr aren't you

if lower price acutally I will choose Philips 5534. 5532 not good. TI5532 & NE5532 forget it. ths is my opinions.

You say there are quality/performance differences between the different manufacturers ? Did you experience or measure this personnaly ?

opa227 anyone .... performs a bit beter than 5534 in my lab

tschrama : could you tell me how better the 227 performs ? Do you obtain this ugly rise in THD above 2kHz on the OPA227 ? Is there a rise in THD on the 5534 ? I'd be glad to know that !

Oh BTW what do you think about those units : AD 825 and AD 8099 (in the tweeter filter section) ?