You can hear a difference between TL074 and TLE2074?
I seemed to think so - maybe it's just in my head.
they're only $4 from mouser.
For the LDR I took a tube of chapstick (original brand) and cut it in half (I needed 2). The NSL-6910s fits right in to the cut end. In the top poke 2 holes for the LED. In the bottom drill out a hole for the other LED. Wrap well with electrical tape.
I was a little quick to say no distortion. I built 2 stereo units - ever so slightly different. The 1 still lacks meters. When I changed the LDR in that one we smashed up an acoustic guitar and it sounded fantastic. Later on I got to my other unit. It definitely sounds better, especially at lower compression ratios, but at higher ones the distortion is still there. Also the meter doesn't seem to track very well with mismatched LDRs. The first one is at a studio an hour from here - I'll try to get them side by side and figure out the differences.