I can see that the thread has reached a happy conclusion.

A comment: my insistent attempts to build building blocks with discrete transistors always met quickly two stumbling blocks: temperature compensation and matching pairs. Pity is that it seems that I spent way too much time trying to reinvent way too many wheels.

 

That is indeed hilarious.
I've never before read so much electronics drivel on one page.
And that flimflam man is apparently making money from it.
Perhaps they should go back to an acoustic phonograph, where there's no electronics at all between the record and the sound out.

This actually clarifies an important point. The design goals for any circuit or project should be things that you can write down and measure objectively. Then the design follows the functions.

Starting a design with a technology looking for an application is backwards.

 

I can see that the thread has reached a happy conclusion.

A comment: my insistent attempts to build building blocks with discrete transistors always met quickly two stumbling blocks: temperature compensation and matching pairs. Pity is that it seems that I spent way too much time trying to reinvent way too many wheels.

But I would bet that you have an enhanced appreciation of the difficulty of inventing a really good wheel.

 

That is indeed hilarious.
I've never before read so much electronics drivel on one page.
And that flimflam man is apparently making money from it.

Yup, and so is the clown selling the $50 discrete-component TL071 replacement board linked to by the TS.

But that's not where the ultimate flim-flammery resides: the REAL money is in cables.

As best I can tell from Googling around, a company called Sablon Audio is likely the grand champion of catering to that sublime nexus of customers where extreme wealth meets extreme stupidity. When it comes to fleecing the rubes in grand style, I doubt they have any competition.

$1,950 for an 8-foot stereo speaker cable.

$1,250 for a 5-foot power cord. ($1,950 for the Elite version)

Customers don't have a monopoly on foolishness, either; some of the audio reviews are hilarious, too, such as this one containing a review of Sablon's premium power cable:

The Gran Corona features a whopping 4-gauge cryogenically treated copper conductor bundle per pole. Like the Robusta an external ground lead reduces noise interference. The wall plug is high-purity copper, the 15A IEC connector is plated rhodium/silver. Both connectors too are cryogenically treated. Anti-vibration Magic paint damps resonance and noise-reducing crystals factor in critical locations. I could hear them rattling about in the connectors as I positioned things to take pictures. Upon learning what was responsible for that rattling and my explanation on why crystals such as amethyst are used in audio, my wife wryly commented without missing a beat that "somebody should put Valium or Percocet in them to make the music more relaxed and mellow". I truly lucked out when she agreed to marry me so many moons ago. All cables are treated with contact enhancers, anti-oxidants and pre-conditioned with an Audiodharma Anniversary cable cooker.

Noise-reducing amethyst crystals in the power connector. Two grand for a lousy 5-foot power cord. Perfect!

 

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But I would bet that you have an enhanced appreciation of the difficulty of inventing a really good wheel.

Absolutely!

Even if retiring to México for the next 30 years, I am not Bob Widlar....!

 

IIRC, It was the 5532 that was early recognized for a lack of, "hanging" against the upper rail after a transient overvoltage. This was big news, 35 years ago, and of practical value when used with a single 9V battery. Some decades ago, I built a circuit for my favorite audiophool, a musician with a golden ear, and included 4 op-amp chips for him to try, including the TL-071. Antique as it is, the 5532 won in a Golden Ear contest.

One basic premise of the IC op-amp is that discrete parts distributed over a matter of square inches are affected by stray capacitance and other factors which are different for every different circuit board you design. This factor is almost completely eliminated when you pack 50 components into a few square millimeters, especially for high frequency response. The results are predictable and repeatable! Trying to kick an op-amp's butt with a discrete design is like trying to use a team of horses in the Indy 500.

 

Noise-reducing amethyst crystals in the power connector. Two grand for a lousy 5-foot power cord. Perfect!

P.T. Barnum had it right.
There is a sucker born every minute (at least in the audiophool community).