Are all 8-pin op-amp chips essentially interchangeable?

[Jumbosize]

As in, will they all work as intended when tossed into a circuit that requires an op-amp? i've looked at a few data sheets for common op-amps and they seem to all be pretty much the same. are they? I know their will obviously be differences in tone, but it won't be  like a circuit breaking disaster if I put a different op-amp in, right?

[artifus]

yes and no. datasheets are useful.

[cloudscapes]

No. Some of them are duals, others singles. But a lot of them are. Datasheet.

[earthtonesaudio]

I would caution that breaking something is actually more likely than hearing a tonal difference.

[amptramp]

Nobody develops a new op amp just to mimic an existing one.  Some are optimized for high gain-bandwidth, some for high input impedance, some for rail-to-rail input or output, some for driving low-impedance loads, some for low noise, some for low input offset voltage, some for low current drain and there are always some designed for moderate performance but low cost.  Checking a typical spec sheet will show what is optimized.  When you suggest that most op amps are essentially interchangeable, what you are saying is that the design for which you are considering the op amp can make use of devices with specifications that are readily met by a number of device types.

Some like the TL06X and LM324 are noisy, but the low current drain makes the TL061 popular for LFO's where you want to avoid adding a ticking sound that is carried into the audio through the power supply.  The 5532 has low voltage noise but higher current noise than FET-input amplifiers, so it works well in low-impedance circuits like mixers but not necessarily in other positions.  The TL07X series is probably the most common workhorse, but you have to watch the input signal - it is not rail-to-rail and can give signal inversions when the input common mode range is exceeded.  Some amplifiers like the LM741 have such low gain-bandwidth that they have become popular in some fuzz circuits where the low gain for the added harmonics actually sounds OK.

So read the specs, determine what the circuit needs and you can see just what is interchangeable in various designs.

[CodeMonk]

I could be wrong, but I think he's asking if they are all pin compatible.
My answer : sometimes ?

Datasheets.

[Jumbosize]

I could be wrong, but I think he's asking if they are all pin compatible.
My answer : sometimes ?

Datasheets.

This. Yes. Thank you, Haha
I wasn't really asking about tonal qualities, but rather if they could be used in the same circuit with success.

Thanks to everybody, I think I have an answer.... I guess. Pretty much just read the data sheets. That's what I'll do.

[artifus]

thanks amptramp - informative post

[teemuk]

Yes and no. Depends.

8-pins package can be a single or a dual opamp. The single ones may have variations in pinout and certain requirements in how to connect the said pins, in dual ones the pinout is today pretty much standardized.

Still, opamps do have differences, one of the most notable ones in the somewhat non-demanding audio applications is whether the opamps have FET or BJT inputs, which will affect the input impedance and proper behaviour in specific circuits.

Other differences may include bandwidth, noise, internal HF compensation, input common mode voltage range, maximum output voltage swing, slew rate, settling time, etc. Some of these parameters might not matter much in audio applications making opamp a pretty much generic building block that can be swapped to another opamp without worries but then again, if you go blindly swapping opamps without knowing what they do in the circuit and what design parameters affected in choosing them in the first place then I'd say no: they are not interchangeable. Not all opamps always work as intented in certain circuits.

Basically, it's almost the same deal as with discrete transistors. In certain circuits you can swap them to pretty much any random transistor without any hassle, but god forbid when you are encountering specific gain or temperature -matched designs, pinout differences, semiconductor material differences, power dissipation rating differences etc.


http://www.ti.com/lit/ml/sloa083/sloa083.pdf

I know their will obviously be differences in tone

Quite frankly, that's the least of your worries, and probably there won't be.

[Gurner]

The question posed was are *all* 8 pin op-amps essentially interchangeable?

No.  

[by default the question must have a binary answer ....& opamp characteristics/specs aside, cloudscapes nailed it.....e.g. a TL071 can not be swapped with a TL072 ....both are 8 pin opamp ICs, but each have different pinouts & pin functions]