What is the 807 vacuum tube?

The 807 is a tetrode vacuum tube designed for transmitting / power applications. WWII workhorse. Great audio..

What is a 807 substitute or equivalent?

Direct equivalents to the 807 include 1625, VT-100A. 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 807?

Amplification factor μ ≈ 8, transconductance gm ≈ 6 mA/V, plate resistance rp ≈ 24.0 kΩ, max plate voltage 600 V, max plate dissipation 25 W, heater 6.3 V / 0.9 A.

Is the 807 still in production?

Production status varies by year and manufacturer. The current Amperatubes catalog classifies the 807 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 807 sound like?

WWII workhorse. Great audio.. 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

←807

← 805 809 →Compare → 1625

807 Tetrode Vacuum Tube

Tetrode6.3V / 0.9AOctal + Top CapSPICE

SourceRCAReviewed2026-05-29StatusDataModelCalcModelNorman KorenPDF

Beam power tetrode rated at 25W for high-power output stages

Datasheet ↗SPICE

807 — RCA — tetrode vacuum tube — (1937)

24.0kΩ

6.0mA/V

12.0pF

0.2pF

7.00pF

GAIN8%

POWER63%

DRIVE76%

LINEARITY95%

SPECIFICATIONS

Heater6.3 V · 0.9 A

Max Plate Voltage600 V

Pa max25 W

Gain Factor8

gm6 mA/V

rp24.0 kΩ

Inter-electrode capacitances

Cgk12 pF

Cgp0.2 pF

Cpk7 pF

PinoutOctal + Top Cap

Era1937

RarityCommon

HEATER6.3V / 0.9A

MAX PLATE600V / 25W

BASEux5

Source datasheets

5 manufacturer datasheets cross-checked for 807

5 verified

TYPICAL OPERATING POINT

Va500V

Ia42.38mA

Vg-31.35V

Pd21.19W

RL4kΩ

Av14.7dB

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

The 807 is a indirectly-heated beam tetrode from RCA, introduced around 1937. It provides a gain factor (μ) of 8 with 24.0kΩ plate resistance. Commonly used in transmitting / power applications. WWII workhorse. Great audio.

APPLICATIONS

High-power output

Ham radio transmitterHeathkit DX-100

VS 1625

μ 0%Pd -17%Full comparison →

HISTORY

Introduced1937ManufacturerRCA

Pre-War