NXP NE5532/NE5534 - did they ever make them? - Page 1
Forum section: electronics / general

author: magic
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: March 06, 2019, 01:35:30 pm
content: I recently saw NXP-branded 5532s and 5534s for sale at some shady corners of the Internet.I was absolutely sure they must be fakes, because NXP was spun off in 2006 and I've heard Philips discontinued those parts around 2000.However, just to be sure, I ran a search and found people in several threads at diyaudio mentioning "NXP 5532" as if it's a real thnig and nobody seems to be scolding them for thatSo, they are all guaranteed fakes, right?

author: SiliconWizard
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: March 06, 2019, 03:38:51 pm
content: Not necessarily fake, unless they are marked NXP on their packages.Most likely they are just old stock Philips components, sold as "NXP". Just like you can fin myriads of eBay sales on old HP instrumentation labeled as "Agilent". It's just to attract "young" buyers who wouldn't happen to know the original manufacturer's name (or know they were making this kind of product), a very frequent practice on those sites. Many young engineers may not even know that Philips used to make ICs. I hate this kind of deceptive practices, but they are quite common.Now if the chips are indeed marked "NXP" on their packages, they are fake, but I'd be willing to think they are just in the above case.

author: magic
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: March 06, 2019, 04:52:07 pm
content: Yes, I'm talking NXP stamped on the package. This logo below looks quite shoddy but I've seen better ones.I can't find the exact year Philips discontinued them, but everywhere I read about it it's Philips discontinuing them rather than NXP.

author: nctnico
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: March 06, 2019, 05:04:24 pm
content: The transition from Philips to NXP took place in januari 2006. NXP doesn't even have a datasheet on their website for the NE5532. But why don't you buy the NE5532 made by Texas Instruments? These are still active.

author: magic
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: March 06, 2019, 05:22:16 pm
content: At the risk of adding fuel to audiophoolery and the cult of ancient NOS:Multiple actually serious people from audio industry said TI are detectably worse in THD performance then just about everybody else.Which gave me the idea to sample some NOS parts and see it. I avoided those NXP because I believe these are fraudulent markings and I wouldn't even know what's inside without cracking them open.And yes, I couldn't locate a datasheet either.

author: Cnoob
author_rank: Regular Contributor
timestamp: March 06, 2019, 05:24:21 pm
content: https://cpc.farnell.com/search?st=NE5532TI ones

author: SiliconWizard
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: March 06, 2019, 05:43:55 pm
content: https://uk.rs-online.com/web/p/op-amps/3705786/Marked as discontinued, under the NXP brand, but the referenced datasheets are indeed Philips ones.Also on Arrow:https://www.arrow.com/en/products/ne5532n602/nxp-semiconductorsThe linked datasheet is also a Philips one.Absolutely no clue about the chips marking when they were still sold. Kinda doubt it was ever NXP. I guess one way of checking is to buy a couple. Even without cracking them open: fake chips often have very cheap/lousy markings: just rubbing them with some alcohol may erase them, which gives a hint.

author: magic
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: March 06, 2019, 07:34:08 pm
content: Okay, I finally managed to find something official on NXP website.https://www.nxp.com/wcm_documents/products/eol/dn51_a.pdfQuoteCaen fire appears to refer to a literal fire at their wafer fab in Caen, France, in December 2003.https://www.eetimes.com/document.asp?doc_id=1195587QuoteSo I guess NXP never had a chance to make those chips. But it was only 2 years before the spinoff.Quote from: SiliconWizard on March 06, 2019, 05:43:55 pmYes, but it doesn't tell you what they really are and I was already pretty sure they are "rebranded" parts without rubbing themAnd by the way, fake markings are often done quite decently and aren't erased by alcohol or acetone. Only the truly bottom of the barrel fakes may be so obvious.

author: nctnico
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: March 06, 2019, 10:20:21 pm
content: Quote from: SiliconWizard on March 06, 2019, 05:43:55 pmNot always. For example: the fake FTDI FT232 chips look better compared to the originals.@magic: good find about the fire! I found it weird that Philips discontinued such a popular chip but losing their legacy product factory seems like a good enough reason.

author: David Hess
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: March 07, 2019, 03:12:13 pm
content: Quote from: magic on March 06, 2019, 05:22:16 pmThe nominally same integrated circuit made by different manufacturers can have significant differences not covered by the specifications so I would not say that it is impossible for TI's NE5532/NE5534 to have higher distortion.QuoteIt would be useful to depackage the ICs anyway to see exactly what is inside. Sometimes a single large company, like TI, will end up producing multiple implementations originally designed by others of the same part.