What is the EL86 vacuum tube?

The EL86 is a pentode vacuum tube designed for power applications. European audio output..

What is a EL86 substitute or equivalent?

Direct equivalents to the EL86 include 6CW5. 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 EL86?

Amplification factor μ ≈ 8, transconductance gm ≈ 11 mA/V, plate resistance rp ≈ 23.0 kΩ, max plate voltage 250 V, max plate dissipation 12 W, heater 6.3 V / 0.76 A.

Is the EL86 still in production?

Production status varies by year and manufacturer. The current Amperatubes catalog classifies the EL86 as Common 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 EL86 sound like?

European audio output.. 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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EL86 Pentode Vacuum Tube

Pentode6.3V / 0.76A9-pin NovalSPICE

SourcePhilips/Mullard EL86/6CW5 datasheet · amplifiedpartsReviewed2026-05-29StatusDataModelCalcModelKoren pentodePDF

Power pentode delivering up to 12W in pentode, UL, or triode mode

Datasheet ↗SPICE

EL86 — Philips — pentode vacuum tube — (1958)

23.0kΩ

11.0mA/V

13.0pF

0.6pF

6.80pF

GAIN8%

POWER30%

DRIVE77%

LINEARITY95%

SPECIFICATIONS

Heater6.3 V · 0.76 A

Max Plate Voltage250 V

Pa max12 W

Gain Factor8

gm11 mA/V

rp23.0 kΩ

Inter-electrode capacitances

Cgk13 pF

Cgp0.6 pF

Cpk6.8 pF

Pinout9-pin Noval

Era1958

RarityCommon

HEATER6.3V / 0.76A

MAX PLATE250V / 12W

BASEnoval

Source datasheets

5 manufacturer datasheets cross-checked for EL86

5 verified

Triode-connectedMullardOctober 1960 (1)

Specs when the screen grid (g2) is tied to the anode — the tube acts as a triode.

64 mA

200

Pout

5.3 W

According to Mullard (October 1960 (1)): « Triode connection »

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

The EL86 is a indirectly-heated pentode from Philips, introduced around 1958. It provides a gain factor (μ) of 8 with 23.0kΩ plate resistance. Commonly used in power applications. European audio output.

APPLICATIONS

Power output

Grundig Hi-Fi consolesTelefunken Opus series

HISTORY

Introduced1958ManufacturerPhilips

Golden Age

EL86 Datasheet

Local mirror · PDF

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METRIX TESTER

Test this tube on a Metrix

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