What does an LM833 have over an NE5532, either in general or for our purposes?

[Mark Hammer]

I ask the question absolutely naively.  Until now, I had been using them essentially interchangeably.  But in going to order some, I see a big difference in price, so naturally I'm curious about whether the additional cost of an LM833 makes sense, from a design and audio-quality perspective.  I don't know that it does, or that it doesn't....which is why I'm asking the pros here.

Alternatively, are there particular applications where the one is a more appropriate op-amp than the other, even though  more general use might suggest the opposite?

[Fancy Lime]

I always operated under the impression that the 833 was National's failed attempt at 1-upping the 5532. IIRC, the 833 has slightly lower current draw, making it better for battery operation, although there are even better options if battery life is a concern. I also seem to remember that the 833 can get unstable in certain situations (don't remember details) whereas the 5532 is pretty much idiot proof. Other than that I don't know that there is a meaningful difference for our purposes as long as you operate them inside their official specs. If you push them into rail clipping, that may be a different story but one that the datasheets are not privy to. I know that the 5532 produces an interesting asymmetrical sagging if you ram it into the rails while starving it of bias current. But these things can only be tested, hardly be known in advance.

Andy

[Kevin Mitchell]

I always operated under the impression that the 833 was National's failed attempt at 1-upping the 5532.

Is that why TI buttered up the datasheet with stuff like an RIAA Phono Preamp schematic?
I thought that was neat!

[iainpunk]

Iirc the 833 sounds a tad harsher when clipping, the rest is all quite similar.
The 5532 can be coaxed to crossover distortion, the 833 not as easy.
But the 5532 can  deliver the same max current either source or sink, while the 833 isnt symmetrical in that respect.

Ow, and the 5532 is 10MHz unity gain bandwidth, while the 833 is only 9Mhz

Id use the cheaper option.
Cheers

[antonis]

Id use the cheaper option.
Cheers

Same as above..
(Cheers included)

[PRR]

The demand for '833 is low (it does nothing really better) so the supply is low. Vendors see non-infinite supply and mark-up excessively.

After a scare some decades back, '5532 is WAY over-sourced and a glut on the market. Use that.

If you are entertaining cork-sniffers, ask them. There were some "coarse" '5532s after a fire burned the masks, but those should all be sold-away by now.

[anotherjim]

What about the LM4562? I think it would be more popular if it had a more memorable part number.
https://www.ti.com/lit/ds/symlink/lm4562.pdf
This and the LM833 say...

These devices have limited built-in ESD protection. The leads should be shorted together or the device placed in conductive foam
during storage or handling to prevent electrostatic damage to the MOS gates]

No internals for the 4562 but there is of the 833. There is a MOSFET inside. Don't get excited, it's part of the biasing or something.

[Fancy Lime]

The 4562 is VERY sensitive in my experience. So much as look at it wrong and it just dies. The 5532 is very robust, never managed to kill one. The 4562 is clearly the better opamp, spec-wise but not nearly by enough of a margin to justify its touchiness, imo.

[m4268588]

Each two options based on different architectures, each have their advantages and disadvantages.


Please use properly according to your application.

[amz-fx]

The 4562 is VERY sensitive in my experience. So much as look at it wrong and it just dies. The 5532 is very robust, never managed to kill one. The 4562 is clearly the better opamp, spec-wise but not nearly by enough of a margin to justify its touchiness, imo.

That is much the same as my experience with it also. The LM4562 has to handled very carefully, though it gives measurably better results. If you search my blog, I have posted a few times about the 4562.

Mark, you should read the excellent paper on op amp distortion by Sam Groner:

http://www.nanovolt.ch/resources/ic_opamps/index.html

All of the usual op amps (and many more) are covered in his testing.

Best regards, Jack

[Mark Hammer]

Many thanks for that, Jack.  You da man, as the kids say. 
A lot of it is way over my head, but at the very least, it is clear the 833 has better noise specs than the 5532.  Now, how much that noise differential matters in a pedal chain consisting of a broad array of other devices is a whole other matter.

But I'll keep reading.

[GGBB]

Is the LM833 the same as the MC33078? I have both and the datasheets looks identical. Anyone know the story behind that?

https://www.ti.com/assets/js/compareParts/compare.html?familyId=1293&parts=LM833,MC33078&cols=o1,o7,p3318,p480,p1261min,p1261max,p23typ,p22typ,p78,p2max,p2192,p1typ,p1498,p1192,p2954,p1130,p3316&lang=en

[m4268588]

The signal source impedance must be low, and the input impedance (input shunt resistar value?) must be low.  Otherwise, the "noise specs" will be pointless. I don't care about the detailed differences of this value at the pedal.

LM833 has a output inversion and jump when the input signal voltage drops below the low side rail. It's common to many op-amps derived from the 4558 architecture. Even if it is an FET input, it's not an exception. (TL072 etc...)