Transistors vs Op-amps

[Raven Luni]

Greetings,

On my list of things to do is experiment with some different bat detector designs - the first one works fine but is definitely alot more complicated than it needs to be.

Anyway - just what are the main differences of using 'transistor chains' for very high gain and using op amps?

 

[(*steve*)]

Op-amps are simpler

edit: OK, perhaps a little more seriously. Op-amps are a building block that can be considered a "perfect amplifier" in many cases. You can make some very simple calculations and get a result that is practically exact,

Life gets more complex when you start making large demands (like high frequency, very high gain, very small offset voltages, etc) but in 99% of cases you can almost ignore their imperfections.

On the other hand, when using discrete transistors you may have to be more aware of spread in various parameters (like gain) and how that might affect your circuit. They are also far from ideal. But sometimes they are better, say for power handling.

 

[Raven Luni]

I ask because I've seen examples of people making 'super sensitive' amplifiers with transistors but havent seen anyone do the same with op amps