What is the ECL83-T vacuum tube?

The ECL83-T (ECL83 (Triode)) is a triode vacuum tube designed for driver applications. Triode section..

What is a ECL83-T substitute or equivalent?

Direct equivalents to the ECL83-T include None. 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 ECL83-T?

Amplification factor μ ≈ 85, transconductance gm ≈ 2.5 mA/V, plate resistance rp ≈ 34.0 kΩ, max plate voltage 250 V, max plate dissipation 3.5 W, heater 6.3 V / 0.6 A.

Is the ECL83-T still in production?

Production status varies by year and manufacturer. The current Amperatubes catalog classifies the ECL83-T 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 ECL83-T sound like?

Triode section.. 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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ECL83-T ECL83 (Triode) Triode Vacuum Tube

Triode6.3V / 0.6A9-pin NovalSPICE

Sourcedatasheet4u Mullard ECL83Reviewed2026-05-29StatusDataModelCalcModelNorman KorenPDF

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

Datasheet ↗SPICE

ECL83 (Triode) — Philips — triode vacuum tube — (1958)

34.0kΩ

2.5mA/V

2.3pF

1.6pF

0.32pF

GAIN85%

POWER9%

DRIVE66%

LINEARITY58%

SPECIFICATIONS

Heater6.3 V · 0.6 A

Max Plate Voltage250 V

Pa max3.5 W

Gain Factor85

gm2.5 mA/V

rp34.0 kΩ

Inter-electrode capacitances

Cgk2.3 pF

Cgp1.6 pF

Cpk0.32 pF

Pinout9-pin Noval

Era1958

RarityModerate

HEATER6.3V / 0.6A

MAX PLATE250V / 3.5W

BASEnoval

Source datasheets

1 manufacturer datasheets cross-checked for ECL83 (Triode)

1 verified

TYPICAL OPERATING POINT

Va135V

Ia1.91mA

Vg-1V

Pd0.26W

RL68kΩ

Av37.6dB

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

The ECL83-T is a indirectly-heated triode from Philips, introduced around 1958. It provides a gain factor (μ) of 85 with 34.0kΩ plate resistance. Commonly used in driver applications. Triode section.

APPLICATIONS

High-gain preamp

Generic triode driver stage

• Headphone amp• Studio/recording

HISTORY

Introduced1958ManufacturerPhilips

Golden Age

ECL83-T Datasheet

Local mirror · PDF

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METRIX TESTER

Test this tube on a Metrix

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