What are the key specifications of the 6CY7?

Amplification factor μ ≈ 5, transconductance gm ≈ 5.4 mA/V, plate resistance rp ≈ 920 Ω, max plate voltage 350 V, max plate dissipation 5.5 W, heater 6.3 V / 0.75 A.

Is the 6CY7 still in production?

Production status varies by year and manufacturer. The current Amperatubes catalog classifies the 6CY7 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 6CY7 sound like?

Asymmetric dual triode designed for TV vertical deflection: one high-μ unit (driver) and one low-μ unit (output stage). Used in low-cost SE hi-fi amps as a complete one-bottle preamp+output stage.. 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.

6CY7 Triode Vacuum Tube

Q: What is the 6CY7 vacuum tube?

The 6CY7 is a triode vacuum tube designed for driver + power applications. Asymmetric dual triode designed for TV vertical deflection: one high-μ unit (driver) and one low-μ unit (output stage). Used in low-cost SE hi-fi amps as a complete one-bottle preamp+output stage..

Low-mu triode with excellent linearity for driver and line stages

Dual triodeHeater 6.3 V · 0.75 A9-pin Noval2 sectionsGE·Sylvania 1958

Plate dissipation: 5.5W
Max plate voltage: 350V
Transconductance: 5.4mA/V

6CY7

Characteristics

Datasheet values, once each. Every value cites its sheet.

Asymmetric sections — each unit has its own characteristics

Unit 1 — High-μ (driver)

52.0kΩ

1.3mA/V

Pd max1.5W

1.5pF

1.8pF

0.30pF

Unit 2 — Low-μ (output)

920Ω

5.4mA/V

Pd max6W

5.0pF

4.4pF

1.00pF

HeaterIndirectly heated

Specifications of 6CY7 — Heater
Heater voltageVh	6.3 V
Heater currentIh	0.75 A

Limiting valuesDatasheet maximum ratings — not to be exceeded

Specifications of 6CY7 — Limiting values
Plate voltageVa max	350 V
Plate dissipationPa max	5.5 W

Mechanical

Specifications of 6CY7 — Mechanical
Base	9-pin Noval
Rarity	Common
Pinout

datasheet cited · model or editorial reading · catalogue value, no citation attached yet · nothing invented

Typical operation

Conditions published by the manufacturers, one row per condition. Nothing is computed.

Typical operation
Setup	B+	Vg1 / Rk	Ia	gm	μ	rp	Source
Class A, single-endedtriode connection · fixed bias	250 V	-3 V	1.2 mA	1.3 mA/V	68	52 kΩ	OCR, to be checked RCA · 1959 · p. 1 · transcript

Using this tube

Interactive loadline calculator not available for this tube yet — it needs calibrated Koren or Ayumi parameters.

Applications

Push-pull output
Headphone output
Phase splitter

Generic triode driver + power stage

Hi-Fi stereoHeadphone amp

Replace or compare

Sources

By Jean-Michel Falligan DevergneReviewed May 29, 2026Source : RCA 6CY7 datasheet

Manufacturer datasheets

3 manufacturer datasheets cross-checked for 6CY73 verified

6CY7 DatasheetLocal mirror · PDF

SPICE models

Revision and verification status

Source: RCA 6CY7 datasheet
Reviewed: 2026-05-29
Status: DataModelCalc
Model: under review

Context

The 6CY7 is a dual indirectly-heated triode from GE·Sylvania, introduced around 1958. It provides a gain factor (μ) of 5 with 920Ω plate resistance. Commonly used in driver + power applications. Asymmetric dual triode designed for TV vertical deflection: one high-μ unit (driver) and one low-μ unit (output stage). Used in low-cost SE hi-fi amps as a complete one-bottle preamp+output stage.

History

Introduced: 1958
Manufacturer: GE·Sylvania
Era: Golden Age

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