What is the E188CC vacuum tube?

The E188CC is a triode vacuum tube designed for preamp applications. Premium E88CC..

What is a E188CC substitute or equivalent?

Direct equivalents to the E188CC include 7308. 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 E188CC?

Amplification factor μ ≈ 33, transconductance gm ≈ 12.5 mA/V, plate resistance rp ≈ 2.6 kΩ, max plate voltage 250 V, max plate dissipation 2 W, heater 6.3 V / 0.335 A.

Is the E188CC still in production?

Production status varies by year and manufacturer. The current Amperatubes catalog classifies the E188CC as Sought-after 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 E188CC sound like?

Premium E88CC.. 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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E188CC Triode Vacuum Tube

Dual triode6.3V / 0.335A9-pin NovalSPICE

SourcePhilips E188CC SQ datasheetReviewed2026-05-29StatusDataModelCalcModelNorman KorenPDF

Medium-gain triode for driver and line stage applications

Datasheet ↗SPICE

E188CC — Philips — triode vacuum tube — (1960)

2.6kΩ

12.5mA/V

3.2pF

1.4pF

0.18pF

GAIN33%

POWER5%

DRIVE97%

LINEARITY84%

SPECIFICATIONS

Heater6.3 V · 0.335 A

Max Plate Voltage250 V

Pa max2 W

Gain Factor33

gm12.5 mA/V

rp2.6 kΩ

Inter-electrode capacitances

Cgk3.2 pF

Cgp1.4 pF

Cpk0.18 pF

Pinout9-pin Noval

Era1960

RaritySought-after

HEATER6.3V / 0.335A

MAX PLATE250V / 2W

BASEnoval

SECTIONS2 (dual)

Source datasheets

3 manufacturer datasheets cross-checked for E188CC

3 verified

TYPICAL OPERATING POINT

Va135V

Ia10.23mA

Vg-3.5V

Pd1.38W

RL5kΩ

Av25.8dB

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

The E188CC is a dual indirectly-heated triode from Philips, introduced around 1960. It provides a gain factor (μ) of 33 with 2600Ω plate resistance. Commonly used in preamp applications. Premium E88CC.

APPLICATIONS

Voltage amplifierPhase splitter

Generic triode preamp stage

• Hi-Fi stereo• Headphone amp

HISTORY

Introduced1960ManufacturerPhilips

Late Production

E188CC Datasheet

Local mirror · PDF

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METRIX TESTER

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