What is a 6CY7 substitute or equivalent?

Direct equivalents to the 6CY7 include None standard. 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 6CY7?

Amplification factor μ ≈ 5, transconductance gm ≈ 5.4 mA/V, plate resistance rp ≈ 920 Ω, max plate voltage 350 V, max plate dissipation 5.5 W, heater 6.3 V / 0.75 A.

Is the 6CY7 still in production?

Production status varies by year and manufacturer. The current Amperatubes catalog classifies the 6CY7 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 6CY7 sound like?

Asymmetric dual triode designed for TV vertical deflection: one high-μ unit (driver) and one low-μ unit (output stage). Used in low-cost SE hi-fi amps as a complete one-bottle preamp+output stage.. 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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6CY7 Triode Vacuum Tube

Q: What is the 6CY7 vacuum tube?

The 6CY7 is a triode vacuum tube designed for driver + power applications. Asymmetric dual triode designed for TV vertical deflection: one high-μ unit (driver) and one low-μ unit (output stage). Used in low-cost SE hi-fi amps as a complete one-bottle preamp+output stage..

Dual triode6.3V / 0.75A9-pin Noval

SourceRCA 6CY7 datasheetReviewed2026-05-29StatusDataModelCalcModelunder reviewPDF

Low-mu triode with excellent linearity for driver and line stages

Datasheet ↗

6CY7 — GE·Sylvania — triode vacuum tube — (1958)

Asymmetric sections — each unit has its own characteristics

Unit 1 — High-μ (driver)

52.0kΩ

1.3mA/V

Pd max1.5W

1.5pF

1.8pF

0.30pF

Unit 2 — Low-μ (output)

920Ω

5.4mA/V

Pd max6W

5.0pF

4.4pF

1.00pF

SPECIFICATIONS

Heater6.3 V · 0.75 A

Max Plate Voltage350 V

Pa max5.5 W

Gain Factor5

gm5.4 mA/V

rp920 Ω

Inter-electrode capacitances

Cgk1.5 pF

Cgp1.8 pF

Cpk0.3 pF

Pinout9-pin Noval

Era1958

RarityCommon

HEATER6.3V / 0.75A

MAX PLATE350V / 5.5W

BASEnoval

SECTIONS2 (dual)

Source datasheets

3 manufacturer datasheets cross-checked for 6CY7

3 verified

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

The 6CY7 is a dual indirectly-heated triode from GE·Sylvania, introduced around 1958. It provides a gain factor (μ) of 5 with 920Ω plate resistance. Commonly used in driver + power applications. Asymmetric dual triode designed for TV vertical deflection: one high-μ unit (driver) and one low-μ unit (output stage). Used in low-cost SE hi-fi amps as a complete one-bottle preamp+output stage.

APPLICATIONS

Push-pull outputHeadphone outputPhase splitter

Generic triode driver + power stage

• Hi-Fi stereo• Headphone amp

HISTORY

Introduced1958ManufacturerGE·Sylvania

Golden Age

6CY7 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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