Op Amps ...
 

Is using a high-end op amp for gain stage an acceptable practice in an ultra-high-end amplifier ?

is the practice mostly avoided out of snobbery or are there actual downsides ?

if there are downsides are these subjective or measured ?

also if ther are downsides how can we explain what causes them ?

Burning questions! :flame: They have no answers I'm afraid. It's like discussing religion or politics.

My theory is, that one should try to use only as much things in the way from the source to the power amp as possible. The more parts in the way, the more errors could be introduced to the sources signal.This is just based on my thoughs, I have no scientific stuff done to prove my point.

you know what they say in the military - bad decision is better than no decision :D

and what does that tell us ?

what is more things in signal path - 1 op amp or a bunch of transistors ?

An op amp basically consits of a bunch of transistors and each of them can introduce noise... I think an op amp as a chip will introduce less noise than an op amp consisting of the same number of transistors.

I just re-read my post and noticed I messed up that sentence. I wanted to say:
"My theory is, that one should try to use only as few things in the way from the source to the power amp as possible. "

Usually those who advocate, amplifiers with low negative feedback, not use op-amp

A class AB amplfiier is just a discrete op-amp.

well op-amps do use tons of NFB ...

but can anybody actually hear the sound of an individual op-amp ?

i mean can anybody reliably tell an op amp ( with gain set to zero ) from straight wire in double blind testing ?

I don't know. I think I should give it a try on my gainclone with some op amps I have around.