What is the 805 vacuum tube?

The 805 is a triode vacuum tube designed for transmitting applications. Large transmitting. Massive headroom..

What is a 805 substitute or equivalent?

Direct equivalents to the 805 include VT-167. 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 805?

Amplification factor μ ≈ 50, transconductance gm ≈ 4.8 mA/V, plate resistance rp ≈ 10.0 kΩ, max plate voltage 1500 V, max plate dissipation 125 W, heater 10 V / 3.25 A.

Is the 805 still in production?

Production status varies by year and manufacturer. The current Amperatubes catalog classifies the 805 as Moderate 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 805 sound like?

Large transmitting. Massive headroom.. 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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805 Triode Vacuum Tube

Triode10V / 3.25AUX-4 + Top CapSPICE

SourceRCA 805 datasheet (frank/pocnet) · cap audit 2026-05-09Reviewed2026-05-29StatusDataModelCalcModelNorman KorenPDF

Power triode delivering 125W for push-pull and SET designs

Datasheet ↗SPICE

805 — RCA·GE — triode vacuum tube — (1934)

10.0kΩ

4.8mA/V

6.5pF

1.50pF

GAIN50%

POWER100%

DRIVE90%

LINEARITY75%

SPECIFICATIONS

Heater10 V · 3.25 A

Max Plate Voltage1500 V

Pa max125 W

Gain Factor50

gm4.8 mA/V

rp10.0 kΩ

Inter-electrode capacitances

Cgk6.5 pF

Cgp6.5 pF

Cpk1.5 pF

PinoutUX-4 + Top Cap

Era1934

RarityModerate

HEATER10V / 3.25A

MAX PLATE1500V / 125W

BASEux4

Source datasheets

2 manufacturer datasheets cross-checked for 805

2 verified

TYPICAL OPERATING POINT

Va1500V

Ia43.55mA

Vg-16.01V

Pd65.32W

RL4kΩ

Av21.7dB

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

The 805 is a transmitting power triode similar in concept to the 211 and 845, with a thoriated-tungsten filament operating at high plate voltages (typically 1000-1500V). It was designed as an RF oscillator and modulator tube but has found application in high-power audio amplifiers delivering 30-50W in Class A or AB. The 805 has a higher plate dissipation rating than the 211/845, making it suitable for designs that push beyond the typical SET power envelope. Its sound tends toward the dynamic and authoritative, with excellent macro-dynamics and bass control.

APPLICATIONS

SET outputPush-pull output

Generic triode transmitting stage

• PA/public address

HISTORY

Introduced1934ManufacturerRCA·GE

Pre-War

805 Datasheet

Local mirror · PDF

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METRIX TESTER

Test this tube on a Metrix

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