What is the 6463 vacuum tube?

The 6463 (6463 / E86CC) is a triode vacuum tube designed for preamp applications. Computer-rated twin triode. Audio Note favorite..

What is a 6463 substitute or equivalent?

Direct equivalents to the 6463 include E86CC, CV5304. These share the same pinout and operating envelope, so they can usually be swapped without circuit changes — though batch-to-batch variations between manufacturers (NOS vs current production) may shift the sonic character noticeably.

What are the key specifications of the 6463?

Amplification factor μ ≈ 20, transconductance gm ≈ 5.2 mA/V, plate resistance rp ≈ 3.9 kΩ, max plate voltage 330 V, max plate dissipation 4.4 W, heater 6.3 V / 0.6 A.

Is the 6463 still in production?

Production status varies by year and manufacturer. The current Amperatubes catalog classifies the 6463 as Sought-after availability. NOS (new-old-stock) examples from RCA, Mullard, Tung-Sol, GE, Sylvania and Telefunken trade among collectors; modern production where it exists comes mostly from JJ Electronic, Electro-Harmonix, Tung-Sol (New Sensor), Genalex, and a handful of small-batch makers.

What does the 6463 sound like?

Computer-rated twin triode. Audio Note favorite.. Sonic character also depends heavily on the circuit operating point, the surrounding tubes in the stage, and the output transformer when present — use the interactive loadline calculator on this page to explore the trade-offs.

By Jean-Michel Falligan Devergne · Reviewed May 29, 2026

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6463 6463 / E86CC Triode Vacuum Tube

Dual triode6.3V / 0.6A9-pin Noval

SourceGE·TelefunkenReviewed2026-05-29StatusDataModelCalcModelunder reviewPDF

Medium-gain triode for driver and line stage applications

Datasheet ↗

6463 / E86CC — GE·Telefunken — triode vacuum tube — (1957)

3.9kΩ

5.2mA/V

3.3pF

5.1pF

0.60pF

GAIN20%

POWER11%

DRIVE96%

LINEARITY90%

SPECIFICATIONS

Heater6.3 V · 0.6 A

Max Plate Voltage330 V

Pa max4.4 W

Gain Factor20

gm5.2 mA/V

rp3.9 kΩ

Inter-electrode capacitances

Cgk3.3 pF

Cgp5.1 pF

Cpk0.6 pF

Pinout9-pin Noval

Era1957

RaritySought-after

HEATER6.3V / 0.6A

MAX PLATE330V / 4.4W

BASEnoval

SECTIONS2 (dual)

Source datasheets

4 manufacturer datasheets cross-checked for 6463 / E86CC

4 verified

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

The 6463 is a dual indirectly-heated triode from GE·Telefunken, introduced around 1957. It provides a gain factor (μ) of 20 with 3850Ω plate resistance. Commonly used in preamp applications. Computer-rated twin triode. Audio Note favorite.

APPLICATIONS

Voltage amplifierPhase splitter

Generic triode preamp stage

• Hi-Fi stereo• Headphone amp

HISTORY

Introduced1957ManufacturerGE·Telefunken

Golden Age

6463 Datasheet

Local mirror · PDF

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METRIX TESTER

Test this tube on a Metrix

SPICE model not yet available. Loadline calculator requires calibrated Koren parameters.

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