Audio Asylum Thread Printer

Get a view of an entire thread on one page

FAQ / News / Events

Tweakers' Asylum

RE: Are cheap Hong Kong sourced opamps real?

75.42.180.152

Steve McCormack

In Reply to: RE: Are cheap Hong Kong sourced opamps real? posted by Panelhead on February 16, 2009 at 17:57:21

The OPA2107AP is my preferred dual opamp, so I am very curious about this question as well. I recently purchased a lot of 10 pieces from ebay seller "goodbuy711" with batch code "65ZETR5" and a mold mark on the back showing "Thailand 2FA." At the time I bought these I could not find any stock via US distribution, so I decided to take a chance with ebay. I first ran a search for comments on fake or counterfeit parts and could not find anything, so I went ahead. I have the parts but have not used any yet, so I can't comment on their performance - I'll have to get to that soon.

Now that you have raised the question again, I have asked Texas Instruments for help. We shall see what they have to say (if anything) and I will report back if I receive any useful information. Meanwhile, a somewhat deeper search did turn-up one fellow who is convinced that these OPA2107AP parts coming from Hong Kong ARE in fact fakes. There is no specific evidence cited, but he is of the opinion that they are re-labeled OPA2134s - not a bad part, but definitely not in the performance league of the 2107. I have included the link, FWIW.

Mouser has some stock now at $12.25 each for small quantity, so I have bought a few "real" parts for comparison. I don't know when I'll be able to get to it (sorry), but I'll try to post my findings here in the near future. If anyone else finds anything of substance, I would appreciate hearing about it here.

Best regards,

Steve McCormack, designer
SMc Audio

http://www.head-fi.org/forums/f6/fake-opa627s-wild-316937/in (Open in New Window)

Follow Ups:

RE: Are cheap Hong Kong sourced opamps real? - Steve McCormack 18:52:35 02/19/09 (2)
Hi Guys -

Here is the latest from my end. I've been trying to get some useful information from Texas Instruments (who now own Burr-Brown) regarding IC package marking, and the possibility of the parts on ebay being fake / counterfeit. The following is our latest - and probably final - exchange...

Hi Jody -

Thanks for your help. As I'm sure you know, ICs of the same type can come in a wide variety of packaging, and the labeling can look very different - I am used to this from many years of buying and using them. In this current case, the original OPA2107AP parts I purchased from Mouser (about a year ago) looked quite different from these latest parts, but I know from experience that this does not necessarily mean anything bad. Furthermore, these new parts *do* conform to the TI parts-labeling information from your website, except for one small detail - the "circle R" (as in Registered Trademark) printed after the BB logo. The "Registered" mark is not shown on *any* package labeling detail from your website link, and yet it is printed on many - but not all - of the Burr-Brown opamps I have purchased over the years (some of which are old enough to predate ebay). So in fact the package labeling information available from the TI site is incomplete in this respect. Apparently I am left to draw my own conclusions from evidence that is unclear, at best.

I will leave you with one final bit of this puzzle... If you run a search on ebay for "OPA2107AP" you will find several sellers offering them at around $5 each, including the ones that I purchased and sent you the photos of. I find it interesting that at least one other seller is offering parts with exactly the same lot code as those I purchased, and yet the package type is clearly different. This seems rather unlikely - I would expect different package types to come from different manufacturers with distinctly different lot codes. Or am I mistaken in this belief?

Best regards,

Steve McCormack

support@ti.com wrote:
>
> Hello Steve,
>
> I am including a link to the parts product folder. If you go to price and packaging you will see the part number OPA2107AP. There you will see the top side marking, click on the view button by your part number and it will open to a new folder with information on the possible top side marking for the part. If the parts top side marking does not match any of the examples then the part is not the OPA2107AP.
>
> Please see the below link.
>
> http://focus.ti.com/docs/prod/folders/print/opa2107.html#topsidemarking
>
>
> I hope this information helps. Please feel free to contact me if you have any other questions or concerns.
>
>
> Best Regards,
> Jody Nwazue

Best regards,

Steve McCormack, designer
SMc Audio
- http://focus.ti.com/docs/prod/folders/print/opa2107.html#top (Open in New Window)
- Different fakes? - Panelhead 10:59:55 02/21/09 (1)
  I recieved mine from Mouser this week. I did not order enough to completely replace the HK sourced parts, so will mix the known with 2134.
  The Thialand stamped on the bottom is much more legible on the ones from Mouser. I suspect that mine are not BB sourced. Funny the opamp cloners are using the same code for different looking packages. Maybe one is REAL.
  
  George
  - RE: Different fakes? - Steve McCormack 12:29:04 02/21/09 (0)
    Indeed, some of them could be real, but we have no way to be certain short of electrical analysis and/or listening. It's an odd situation, and it is too bad that we can't do much about it (and Texas Instruments doesn't seem interested in helping). I only bought the parts I did because I felt stuck - I couldn't find any through normal distribution channels. Now it looks as though I will have to do a better job of projecting my future needs and getting them from authorized distributors regardless of the stock situation.
    
    Best regards,
    
    Steve McCormack, designer
    SMc Audio
RE: Are cheap Hong Kong sourced opamps real? - Panelhead 20:00:56 02/17/09 (3)
Steve,
I was inthe same boat. Ordered a pair from Mouser today. I do not think mine are relabeled OPA2134. I replaced 2134 with these eBay OPA2107. Liked the 2134 better.
my 10 are labeled the same as yours. Different seller. I thing I noticed was they installed and came out of the socket easier than the OPA2134. Makes me think that these are not BB opamps.
I am going try 2134 for the input - balanced to SE converter and real 2107 for the active crossover. Since I do single ended in anyway.
if you test yours before I do, please post what you think. I expect in to be Sunday before I can pull the amps from my speakers to do the opamp swap.

George
- RE: Are cheap Hong Kong sourced opamps real? - Steve McCormack 21:06:39 02/17/09 (2)
  Bummer. Happily, I didn't invest a lot of money, but it's still a drag to think that these "whatever-they-are" opamps may not be even as good as the OPA2134. Well, I'm glad that Mouser (and a few other suppliers) have the real thing back in stock for the time being.
  
  I will post more when I learn something further, but meanwhile all you DIYs should BEWARE of buying parts on ebay. It's a jungle out there...
  
  Best regards,
  
  Steve McCormack, designer
  SMc Audio
  - heck of a deal - djk 20:32:51 02/18/09 (1)
    I'll make you a heck of a deal on some MJ15025 I got on eBay.
    - RE: heck of a deal - Steve McCormack 11:24:07 02/19/09 (0)
      You are too kind ;-)
      
      Best regards,
      
      Steve McCormack, designer
      SMc Audio

Post a Followup:

FAQ

Post a Message!

Forgot Password?

Moniker (Username):
Password (Optional):
	Remember my Moniker & Password (What's this?) Eat Me
E-Mail (Optional):
Subject:

Message:	(Posts are subject to Content Rules)

Optional Link URL:
Optional Link Title:
Optional Image URL:
Upload Image:
E-mail Replies:	Automagically notify you when someone responds.

To view your new posting or follow-up, click on the RELOAD or REFRESH button on your browser.

This post is made possible by the generous support of people like you and our sponsors:

Atma-Sphere Music Systems, Inc.