What is the ECC808 vacuum tube?

The ECC808 is a triode vacuum tube designed for preamp applications. Studio-grade low noise..

What is a ECC808 substitute or equivalent?

Direct equivalents to the ECC808 include 6KX8. 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 ECC808?

Amplification factor μ ≈ 100, transconductance gm ≈ 1.6 mA/V, plate resistance rp ≈ 62.5 kΩ, max plate voltage 300 V, max plate dissipation 0.5 W, heater 6.3 V / 0.34 A.

Is the ECC808 still in production?

Production status varies by year and manufacturer. The current Amperatubes catalog classifies the ECC808 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 ECC808 sound like?

Studio-grade low noise.. 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

←ECC808

← ECC180 ECC40 →Compare → 6KX8

ECC808 Triode Vacuum Tube

Dual triode6.3V / 0.34A9-pin NovalSPICE

SourceTelefunken ECC808 datasheetReviewed2026-05-29StatusDataModelCalcModelNorman KorenPDF

High-gain dual triode — the standard for guitar and hi-fi preamps

Datasheet ↗SPICE

ECC808 — Telefunken — triode vacuum tube — (1960)

100

62.5kΩ

1.6mA/V

2.2pF

1.5pF

1.50pF

GAIN100%

POWER1%

DRIVE38%

LINEARITY50%

SPECIFICATIONS

Heater6.3 V · 0.34 A

Max Plate Voltage300 V

Pa max0.5 W

Gain Factor100

gm1.6 mA/V

rp62.5 kΩ

Inter-electrode capacitances

Cgk2.2 pF

Cgp1.5 pF

Cpk1.5 pF

Pinout9-pin Noval

Era1960

RarityRare

HEATER6.3V / 0.34A

MAX PLATE300V / 0.5W

BASEnoval

SECTIONS2 (dual)

Source datasheets

2 manufacturer datasheets cross-checked for ECC808

2 verified

TYPICAL OPERATING POINT

Va150V

Ia1.08mA

Vg-1V

Pd0.16W

RL125kΩ

Av36.9dB

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

The ECC808 is a dual indirectly-heated triode from Telefunken, introduced around 1960. It provides a gain factor (μ) of 100 with 62.5kΩ plate resistance. Commonly used in preamp applications. Studio-grade low noise.

APPLICATIONS

Voltage amplifierHigh-gain preampPhase splitter

Generic triode preamp stage

• Hi-Fi stereo• Studio/recording

VS 6KX8

μ 0%Rp +0%Pd -50%Full comparison →

HISTORY

Introduced1960ManufacturerTelefunken

Late Production