What is the EL39 vacuum tube?

The EL39 (EL39 / 4654K) is a pentode vacuum tube designed for power (se/pp) applications. Cinema power pentode. Pedigreed Philips sound..

What is a EL39 substitute or equivalent?

Direct equivalents to the EL39 include 4654K. 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 EL39?

Transconductance gm ≈ 6 mA/V, max plate voltage 400 V, max plate dissipation 18 W, heater 6.3 V / 0.9 A.

Is the EL39 still in production?

Production status varies by year and manufacturer. The current Amperatubes catalog classifies the EL39 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 EL39 sound like?

Cinema power pentode. Pedigreed Philips sound.. 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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EL39 EL39 / 4654K Pentode Vacuum Tube

Pentode6.3V / 0.9AOctal

SourcePhilipsReviewed2026-05-29StatusDataModelCalcModelunder reviewPDF

Power pentode delivering up to 18W in pentode, UL, or triode mode

Datasheet ↗

EL39 / 4654K — Philips — pentode vacuum tube — (1952)

6.0mA/V

12.0pF

0.4pF

7.50pF

GAIN0%

POWER45%

DRIVE50%

LINEARITY75%

SPECIFICATIONS

Heater6.3 V · 0.9 A

Max Plate Voltage400 V

Pa max18 W

Gain Factor—

gm6 mA/V

rp—

Inter-electrode capacitances

Cgk12 pF

Cgp0.4 pF

Cpk7.5 pF

PinoutOctal

Era1952

RarityRare

HEATER6.3V / 0.9A

MAX PLATE400V / 18W

BASEoctal

Source datasheets

1 manufacturer datasheets cross-checked for EL39 / 4654K

1 verified

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

The EL39 is a indirectly-heated pentode from Philips, introduced around 1952. Commonly used in power (se/pp) applications. Cinema power pentode. Pedigreed Philips sound.

APPLICATIONS

Power output

Generic pentode power (se/pp) stage

HISTORY

Introduced1952ManufacturerPhilips

Golden Age

EL39 Datasheet

Local mirror · PDF

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METRIX TESTER

Test this tube on a Metrix

SPICE model not yet available. Loadline calculator requires calibrated Koren parameters.

SIMILAR PENTODES

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