What is the 6CG7 vacuum tube?

The 6CG7 (6CG7 / 6FQ7) is a triode vacuum tube designed for preamp / line applications. Same as 6SN7 in miniature..

What is a 6CG7 substitute or equivalent?

Direct equivalents to the 6CG7 include 6FQ7. 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 6CG7?

Amplification factor μ ≈ 20, transconductance gm ≈ 2.6 mA/V, plate resistance rp ≈ 7.7 kΩ, max plate voltage 300 V, max plate dissipation 3.5 W, heater 6.3 V / 0.6 A.

Is the 6CG7 still in production?

Production status varies by year and manufacturer. The current Amperatubes catalog classifies the 6CG7 as Common 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 6CG7 sound like?

Same as 6SN7 in miniature.. 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

←6CG7

← 6CD6GA 6CK4 →Compare…

6CG7 6CG7 / 6FQ7 Triode Vacuum Tube

Dual triode6.3V / 0.6A9-pin NovalSPICE

SourceRCA·GEReviewed2026-05-29StatusDataModelCalcModel2 enginesPDF

Medium-gain triode for driver and line stage applications

Datasheet ↗SPICE

6CG7 / 6FQ7 — RCA·GE — triode vacuum tube — (1955)

7.7kΩ

2.6mA/V

2.3pF

4.0pF

2.20pF

GAIN20%

POWER9%

DRIVE92%

LINEARITY90%

SPECIFICATIONS

Heater6.3 V · 0.6 A

Max Plate Voltage300 V

Pa max3.5 W

Gain Factor20

gm2.6 mA/V

rp7.7 kΩ

Inter-electrode capacitances

Cgk2.3 pF

Cgp4 pF

Cpk2.2 pF

Pinout9-pin Noval

Era1955

RarityCommon

HEATER6.3V / 0.6A

MAX PLATE300V / 3.5W

BASEnoval

SECTIONS2 (dual)

Source datasheets

2 manufacturer datasheets cross-checked for 6CG7 / 6FQ7

2 verified

TYPICAL OPERATING POINT

SPICE model(2 available)3 .subckt available ↓

Va180V

Ia3.9mA

Vg-6.62V

Pd0.7W

RL12kΩ

Av20.4dB

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

The 6CG7 (6FQ7) is a noval-base dual triode electrically equivalent to the octal 6SN7, designed as a miniature replacement when the industry transitioned to 9-pin tubes. It shares the 6SN7's mu of ~20 and plate characteristics, making it a compact alternative for line stage and driver applications. The smaller bottle and noval base sacrifice some of the 6SN7's reputed sonic spaciousness, but the 6CG7 offers practical advantages in chassis layout and availability. RCA clear-top versions are the most popular NOS variant, valued for an open, detailed sound quality.

APPLICATIONS

Voltage amplifierPhase splitter

Dynaco PAS preampFisher X-100 driver

• Hi-Fi stereo• Headphone amp

HISTORY

Introduced1955ManufacturerRCA·GE

Golden Age

6CG7 Datasheet

Local mirror · PDF

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METRIX TESTER

Test this tube on a Metrix

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