What is the E80L vacuum tube?

The E80L is a pentode vacuum tube designed for power / driver applications. Professional broadcast pentode. Robust..

What is a E80L substitute or equivalent?

Direct equivalents to the E80L include 6227. 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 E80L?

Amplification factor μ ≈ 22, transconductance gm ≈ 9 mA/V, plate resistance rp ≈ 90.0 kΩ, max plate voltage 300 V, max plate dissipation 8 W, heater 6.3 V / 0.75 A.

Is the E80L still in production?

Production status varies by year and manufacturer. The current Amperatubes catalog classifies the E80L 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 E80L sound like?

Professional broadcast pentode. Robust.. 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.

E80L Pentode Vacuum Tube

Also known as 6227

Small-signal pentode for low-noise voltage amplification

PentodeHeater 6.3 V · 0.75 A9-pin NovalPhilips·Siemens 1958

Plate dissipation: 8W
Max plate voltage: 300V
Max screen voltage: 300V
Max cathode current: 50mA
Transconductance: 9mA/V

E80L

Characteristics

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

HeaterIndirectly heated

Specifications of E80L — Heater
Heater voltageVh	6.3 V
Heater currentIh	0.75 A

Limiting valuesDatasheet maximum ratings — not to be exceeded

Specifications of E80L — Limiting values
Plate voltageVa max	300 V
Screen voltageVg2 max	300 V
Plate dissipationPa max	8 W
Cathode currentIk max	50 mA
Grid resistorRg1 max	1 MΩ
Peak plate voltageVao	600 V
Heater–cathode voltageVhk max	120 V

Mechanical

Specifications of E80L — Mechanical
Base	9-pin Noval
Rarity	Sought-after
Pinout

Small signalDatasheet parameters at the reference operating point — not limits

Specifications of E80L — Small signal
Transconductance	9 mA/V
Plate resistance	90 kΩ
Amplification factor	22

Capacitances

Specifications of E80L — Capacitances
Input	11 pF
Grid–plate	0.1 pF
Output	7 pF

Charactereditorial reading, not a measurement

Specifications of E80L — Character
Gain	22%
Power	20%
Drive	10%
Linearity	89%

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

Using this tube

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

Replace or compare

Sources

By Jean-Michel Falligan DevergneReviewed May 29, 2026Source : Philips E80L/6227 datasheet

Manufacturer datasheets

4 manufacturer datasheets cross-checked for E80L4 verified

E80L DatasheetLocal mirror · PDF

SPICE models

Revision and verification status

Source: Philips E80L/6227 datasheet
Reviewed: 2026-05-29
Status: DataModelCalc
Model: under review

Context

The E80L is a indirectly-heated pentode from Philips·Siemens, introduced around 1958. It provides a gain factor (μ) of 22 with 90.0kΩ plate resistance. Commonly used in power / driver applications. Professional broadcast pentode. Robust.

History

Introduced: 1958
Manufacturer: Philips·Siemens
Era: Golden Age

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