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2
Volume 55. No. 07
July 2026
ISSN 2632 573X
Editorial
A disappointing downgrade for the venerable NE5532
Nothing goes on forever, so it’s never really a surprise when we find
out that electronic parts we like to use are becoming obsolete or
have become basically unavailable.
Sometimes it’s very disappointing to find that there is no real
replacement for those parts; often there is a pin-compatible
substitute but it is inferior in certain ways. Still, there’s usually a
solution – perhaps a device in a different package (maybe an SMD)
can fill the role. It may not be convenient, but that’s life.
However, I was fairly shocked when Jacob Rothman informed me
that the venerable NE5532 op amp was being silently replaced with
an inferior version. You can read more about this in his Audio Out
column this month, starting on page 15 under the heading “An
unfortunate news flash”.
Given that the NE5532 has been in production for around 50 years,
it isn’t at all surprising that it may be facing extinction. But this
time things are a bit different. Rather than explaining that they
aren’t going to make it any more and providing a (possibly inferior)
alternative, they have started making what is essentially a new part
under the same name.
I don’t think that’s acceptable, especially given that there are plenty
of circuits where this new NE5532 (per the Rev.K data sheet released
by Texas Instruments in December 2025) would not work, despite
the old version working fine. Even worse, there are circuits where
the old NE5532 would have been quite happy and the new one will
go up in a puff of smoke!
That’s because they’ve lowered the maximum supply voltage from
±22V (±20V recommended maximum) to ±18V (±15V recommended
maximum). Perhaps even more bizarre, the ‘new NE5532’ has
NPN input transistors compared to PNP input transistors on the
old version. So the input leakage current will have the opposite
polarity! It also lacks input protection diodes, presumably making it
less robust.
The thing is that there really isn’t a replacement for the NE5532 in
DIP. Of course, there are plenty of other good low-noise audio op
amps, but they’re mostly SMD-only these days, and many are quite
expensive too. The NE5532 is practically the ‘last man standing’ as a
high-performance, low-cost part in DIP.
There is one alternative: the Nisshinbo NJM5532D. While it is
still available in quantity, it is no longer being made. It’s also
considerably more expensive. Stock up while you can. We have!
Nicholas Vinen, Electron Publishing (Australia)*
* a division of Silicon Chip Publications Pty Ltd.
Practical Electronics | July | 2026
