What is the 6N1P vacuum tube?

The 6N1P is a triode vacuum tube designed for preamp / driver applications. Warm, musical Russian..

What is a 6N1P substitute or equivalent?

Direct equivalents to the 6N1P include ECC85 (approx). 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 6N1P?

Amplification factor μ ≈ 35, transconductance gm ≈ 4.5 mA/V, plate resistance rp ≈ 8.0 kΩ, max plate voltage 300 V, max plate dissipation 2.2 W, heater 6.3 V / 0.6 A.

Is the 6N1P still in production?

Production status varies by year and manufacturer. The current Amperatubes catalog classifies the 6N1P 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 6N1P sound like?

Warm, musical Russian.. 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.

6N1P Triode Vacuum Tube

Also known as ECC85 (approx)

Medium-gain triode for driver and line stage applications

Dual triodeHeater 6.3 V · 0.6 A9-pin Noval2 sectionsVoskhod·Reflektor 1960

Plate dissipation: 2.2W
Max plate voltage: 300V
Amplification factor: 35
Transconductance: 4.5mA/V
Plate resistance: 8kΩ

6N1P

Characteristics

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

HeaterIndirectly heated

Specifications of 6N1P — Heater
Heater voltageVh	6.3 V
Heater currentIh	0.6 A

Limiting valuesDatasheet maximum ratings — not to be exceeded

Specifications of 6N1P — Limiting values
Plate voltageVa max	300 V
Plate dissipationPa max	2.2 W

Mechanical

Specifications of 6N1P — Mechanical
Base	9-pin Noval
Rarity	Common
Pinout

Small signalDatasheet parameters at the reference operating point — not limits

Specifications of 6N1P — Small signal
Transconductance	4.5 mA/V
Plate resistance	8 kΩ
Amplification factor	35

Capacitances

Specifications of 6N1P — Capacitances
Grid–cathode	3.1 pF
Grid–plate	2.7 pF
Plate–cathode	1.65 pF

Charactereditorial reading, not a measurement

Specifications of 6N1P — Character
Gain	35%
Power	6%
Drive	92%
Linearity	83%

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

Typical operation

Canonical operating pointModel

B+: 200 V
Load: 5 kΩ
Va: 120 V
Ia: 4.7 mA
Vg: -2.5 V
Pd: 0.56 W
Gain: 23.2 dB

At Q: Norman Koren
μ: 37.2
gm: 4.63 mA/V
rp: 8 kΩ

Design a stage →

Using this tube

Applications

Voltage amplifier
Phase splitter

Generic triode preamp / driver stage

Hi-Fi stereoHeadphone amp

Replace or compare

Sources

By Jean-Michel Falligan DevergneReviewed May 29, 2026Active model : Norman Koren

Manufacturer datasheets

2 manufacturer datasheets cross-checked for 6N1P2 verified

6N1P DatasheetLocal mirror · PDF

SPICE models

Revision and verification status

Source: Voskhod·Reflektor
Reviewed: 2026-05-29
Status: DataModelCalc
Model: Norman Koren

Context

The 6N1P is a Soviet dual triode roughly comparable to the 6DJ8 family but not a direct substitute, with a mu of ~35 and moderately high transconductance. Developed for the Soviet electronics industry, it was used extensively in Russian military and industrial equipment and is available in large quantities as NOS military surplus. The 6N1P has a warm, slightly rounded sonic character that distinguishes it from the more analytical Western European 6DJ8 variants. Its 6.3V heater (versus the 6DJ8's unusually high heater current) and robust construction make it straightforward to implement, though the different pinout from 6DJ8 requires dedicated socket wiring.

History

Introduced: 1960
Manufacturer: Voskhod·Reflektor
Era: Late Production

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