I have’t heard of them before. They’re Hong Kong based I think, basing that on the “same day” shipping option with a deadline of 2pm, HK time.
That the likelihood of getting fakes when dealing with non-registered suppliers/distributors of TI ics is as high as 46%. We’ve both been burned by the fake 6172s on Ebay & Alibaba for instance as have many others on here over the last 3 or more years.
wow! if I didn’t just buy 120 of them (Thanks aladan!) I’d order a small quantity just to test them first…
That said, shipping isn’t cheap so factor it in your overall saves.
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You’re welcome Rik!
I did a bulk purchase of LM6172 and now offer them as add-ons with my Visible Signals DIY boards, for USD$3.20 each (cheaper than Mouser!) Most of the web site products are updated but there might be a couple of designs that are missing them - if you find one please let me know.
Cheers,
A.
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Im interested in getting in on a group buy with you, if you still are looking for 6172’s I want maybe 30-40 and am in LA.
Think I’m going to try out that Win-Source place. Will DM you the details.
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Win-Source LM6172 update: tried to order from them. They ended up contacting me a few days later saying the listed price was an error and that it would be a couple dollars or so more per chip. Thankfully, they were pretty quick to issue a refund.
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Still down to order from rochester if you want to do that. Just let me know what the price difference will be.
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I need around 110 LM6172IN/NOPB–Rochester’s prices seem too good to be true compared to Mouser and Digi-Key … what’s the catch?
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My understanding is that the catch is that you must be an OEM with a registered business and a relevant corporate web site to buy from Rochester. Their deal with the chip manufacturers is based on them selling to OEMs. Visible Signals (me) fit that description, but I had to prove it before they’d accept my order.
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The catch is that the parts are obsolete “leaded” versions. They are also sold through digi-key’s marketplace if you don’t have a website. The part I don’t understand is how they’ve maintained a steady stock of 525 pieces despite orders being fulfilled.
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The NOPB parts are the “current” lead-free versions; I see they have the lead-bearing versions for even cheaper, but I’ve given up lead for Lent.
I’d like to participate in a buy if possible, please let me know!
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Rochester has NOPB too? I didn’t see that. 
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Yep, right here and for a buck less/each compared to Mouser & Digi-Key in qty. 100:
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Probably NOT the answer you all are looking for - but IMO the most effective thing to do would be to redesign the castles and cadets to use the new unipolar LZX reference design. The LM6172 was the parts choice for the time, but +/-12V is overkill for processing 0-1V signals. Also, make everything surface mount which would increase parts choice options and decrease prices as well as PCB real estate (not to mention the irritating and time consuming process of bending resistor leads). Of course this won’t help you to populate the boards you may already have. 
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The parts count on these modules is not very high, so neither conservation of PCB space nor lead bending is high on my list of concerns.
Cost isn’t a major factor, either, IMO: most DIY modules’ biggest costs are in the PCB/faceplates and in the “mechanical” components: jacks, switches, and pots+knobs. An extra five bucks for opamps in the context of a $50-70 DIY module’s BOM doesn’t bug me much if it means I can stuff boards the good olde-fashioned way. If I can save a hundred clams when I need 100 opamps to build 30-40 modules, I’ll happily do it … but considering the “retail value” of the finished products is in excess of $4,000, I don’t consider Mouser’s prices as a serious obstacle.
Others may have different priorities, of course. 
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Got 110 LM6172IN/NOPB in the Mouser cart for $3.88/ea. … I’m pulling the trigger since I’d like to get these builds in motion and parts are on the way from other sources.
LM1881 and CD4053 are a problem, however–does anyone have leads on these?
Here’s my build list:
(1) Cadet I
(1) Cadet II
(2) Cadet III
(2) Cadet IV
(2) Cadet V
(2) Cadet VI
(2) Cadet VII
(2) Cadet VII
(2) Cadet IX
(2) Full sets of Castle modules
(2) Syntonie V002 quad doublers
(2) Syntonie V005 dual waveshapers
About half these modules will be offered for sale, I’ll post about them in this forum first.
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I’m pretty sure you could get the LM1881 in a SOIC size (still in production) and use a cheap SOIC8-to-DIP8 adapter board. I actually have some on the way to me now so I can test them out like that. SOIC is pretty easy to solder even though it’s SMD – easier IMO than the closely spaced transistor footprints LZX used on some of the Cadet modules.
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Example of the adapter board I mean: 10PCS SOP8 turn DIP8 / SMD to DIP IC adapter Socket SOP8/TSSOP8/SOIC8/SSOP8 Board TO DIP Adapter Converter Plate 0.65mm 1.27mm|soic8 to dip8|dip8 to sop8soic8 sop8 dip8 - AliExpress
There are many many listings for them on aliexpress and ebay.
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