What is the DCC90 vacuum tube?

The DCC90 is a triode vacuum tube designed for preamp applications. Battery dual triode..

What is a DCC90 substitute or equivalent?

Direct equivalents to the DCC90 include 3A5. 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 DCC90?

Amplification factor μ ≈ 15, transconductance gm ≈ 1.8 mA/V, plate resistance rp ≈ 8.3 kΩ, max plate voltage 135 V, max plate dissipation 1 W, heater 1.4 V / 0.22 A.

Is the DCC90 still in production?

Production status varies by year and manufacturer. The current Amperatubes catalog classifies the DCC90 as Rare 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 DCC90 sound like?

Battery dual triode.. 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

←DCC90

← D3A DO24 →Compare → 3A5

DCC90 Triode Vacuum Tube

Triode1.4V / 0.22A7-pin MiniatureSPICE

SourceTung-Sol 3A5 / DCC90 datasheetReviewed2026-05-29StatusDataModelCalcModelNorman KorenPDF

Medium-gain triode for driver and line stage applications

Datasheet ↗SPICE

DCC90 — Mullard — triode vacuum tube — (1955)

8.3kΩ

1.8mA/V

0.9pF

3.2pF

1.00pF

GAIN15%

POWER3%

DRIVE92%

LINEARITY93%

SPECIFICATIONS

Heater1.4 V · 0.22 A

Max Plate Voltage135 V

Pa max1 W

Gain Factor15

gm1.8 mA/V

rp8.3 kΩ

Inter-electrode capacitances

Cgk0.9 pF

Cgp3.2 pF

Cpk1 pF

Pinout7-pin Miniature

Era1955

RarityRare

HEATER1.4V / 0.22A

MAX PLATE135V / 1W

BASEminiature-7

Source datasheets

2 manufacturer datasheets cross-checked for DCC90

2 verified

TYPICAL OPERATING POINT

Va75V

Ia3.33mA

Vg-3V

Pd0.25W

RL17kΩ

Av22.4dB

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

The DCC90 is a directly-heated triode from Mullard, introduced around 1955. It provides a gain factor (μ) of 15 with 8300Ω plate resistance. Commonly used in preamp applications. Battery dual triode.

APPLICATIONS

Voltage amplifierLine stage

Generic triode preamp stage

• Hi-Fi stereo• Headphone amp

VS 3A5

μ 0%Rp +0%Pd +100%Full comparison →

HISTORY

Introduced1955ManufacturerMullard

Golden Age