Wide dynamic range and stability are achieved by adjusting a gain control resistance of an amplifier such that the pole ratio between the input and output is stable and by using a gain compensation technique to adjust output current. Adjustment of the gain is performed by determining a peak voltage between a gain stage and a dummy gain stage amplifier that does not amplify the input voltage. The peak voltage is compared to a gain control reference voltage and the comparison output is used to regulate both the variable gain and the gain compensation. The variable gain is performed using an FET variable resistor in a feed back loop of the amplifier. The gain compensation technique uses an FET variable resistor to adjust a voltage level of a driving transistor that adjusts an amount of current provided to an input of a current mirror. The mirrored current is then used to drain bias current from the amplifier.