Quote Chrutschow:You never want to bias a transistor with that circuit since it depends upon the value of Hfe, which varies with temperature and from unit to unit. The value of 200 is just a typical value. Better to add an emitter resistor to stabilize the bias point.
I am not sure if it is appropriate to be so rigorous against megamox`s first circuit (with one single bias resistor). Rather, I think to select a suitable bias scheme strongly depends on the application and on the consequences the bias circuitry has (input resistance, lower frequency limit, linear amplification range,...). Simulations show that this bias method is not as bad as it looks at first sight.
Quote megamox: That's right, I think the art of circuit design in some respects is designing circuitry with predictable output, which involves making it independent of component parameters and characteristics.
I am sure, you know that it is not possible to design a transistor stage that independent of component parameters and characteristics .
The art of good circuit design is always a trade-off between requirements, performance and expense (cost).