What is the WE396A vacuum tube?

The WE396A (WE396A / 2C51) is a triode vacuum tube designed for preamp applications. Military dual triode. Ultra-low noise..

What is a WE396A substitute or equivalent?

Direct equivalents to the WE396A include 2C51, 5670. 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 WE396A?

Amplification factor μ ≈ 35, transconductance gm ≈ 5.5 mA/V, plate resistance rp ≈ 6.4 kΩ, max plate voltage 330 V, max plate dissipation 1.5 W, heater 6.3 V / 0.35 A.

Is the WE396A still in production?

Production status varies by year and manufacturer. The current Amperatubes catalog classifies the WE396A 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 WE396A sound like?

Military dual triode. Ultra-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

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WE396A WE396A / 2C51 Triode Vacuum Tube

Dual triode6.3V / 0.35A9-pin NovalSPICE

SourceSylvania 2C51 (=WE 396A) datasheet · amplifiedpartsReviewed2026-05-29StatusDataModelCalcModelAyumi NakabayashiPDF

Medium-gain triode for driver and line stage applications

Datasheet ↗SPICE

WE396A / 2C51 — Western Electric — triode vacuum tube — (1951)

6.4kΩ

5.5mA/V

2.2pF

1.1pF

1.00pF

GAIN35%

POWER4%

DRIVE94%

LINEARITY83%

SPECIFICATIONS

Heater6.3 V · 0.35 A

Max Plate Voltage330 V

Pa max1.5 W

Gain Factor35

gm5.5 mA/V

rp6.4 kΩ

Inter-electrode capacitances

Cgk2.2 pF

Cgp1.1 pF

Cpk1 pF

Pinout9-pin Noval

Era1951

RaritySought-after

HEATER6.3V / 0.35A

MAX PLATE330V / 1.5W

BASEnoval

SECTIONS2 (dual)

Source datasheets

6 manufacturer datasheets cross-checked for WE396A / 2C51

6 verified

TYPICAL OPERATING POINT

Va165V

Ia3.95mA

Vg-3.5V

Pd0.65W

RL13kΩ

Av25.9dB

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

The WE396A is a dual indirectly-heated triode from Western Electric, introduced around 1951. It provides a gain factor (μ) of 35 with 6400Ω plate resistance. Commonly used in preamp applications. Military dual triode. Ultra-low noise.

APPLICATIONS

Voltage amplifierPhase splitter

Generic triode preamp stage

• Hi-Fi stereo• Headphone amp

HISTORY

Introduced1951ManufacturerWestern Electric

Golden Age

WE396A Datasheet

Frank's Electron Tube Pages · PDF

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METRIX TESTER

Test this tube on a Metrix

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