Help Me Understand the LM386 Chip Amp

[R.G.]

One could replicate the function (i.e. opamp) in tubes; Enzo beat me to the Philbrick implementation.

What you can't replicate as a tube analog part-for-part are the PNP transistors, as there are no "P-channel" triodes; these are just barely possible, if you constructed the tube insides out of anti-matter so the bits running from cathode to plate are positrons, but we have no significant amounts of antimatter to make this with, and I don't think we have yet made antimatter atoms more complex than anti-hydrogen. So there would be some additional work required to make the parts.

And maybe some special licensing to run the equipment to make the materials.

[Mike Sulzer]

My experience is that the sharp sounding distortion that you get with a huge amount of global feedback is not what you want for a guitar amp.

Here:
The Philbrick Archive

The famous Teledyne-Philbrick op-amp modules of the 1950s.


Could you do it in triodes? Well, there are only a few parts, draw it up as you think it would work.

[SoulFetish]

Rob, you may not have all of the facts, but you've got one hell of a chin!
You've taken a few licks in some threads from time to time, and you seem to keep a good attitude. Remember, circuit operation is a matter of science and isn't personal. Everyone here, at some point, didn't know their ass from their elbow.
Having said that, if you wouldn't mind me giving you a humble suggestion. in addition to vetting the information for accuracy, it may be prudent to have some patience with a circuit or topic and develop a solid understanding of it's function before posting an article to your website. I see your website come up often in search results, and you have some decent stuff there.