12AY7
12AY7 has no equivalent designation confirmed by the archive. Completed sales put the typical price at $44.99 per tube.
Description
The 12AY7 is a miniature medium-mu twin triode. It is designed primarily for use in low-level stages of high-gain audio-frequency amplifiers and is specially designed to exhibit low noise and low microphonic output. The tube uses a coated unipotential cathode.
Construction
The 12AY7 has a glass T-6½ envelope and an E9-1 small button 9-pin base. It can be mounted in any position. The tube has two sections: section 1 has its plate at pin 6, grid at pin 7, and cathode at pin 8; section 2 has its plate at pin 1, grid at pin 2, and cathode at pin 3. The heater is connected to pins 4 and 5, with a heater center tap at pin 9.
Ratings
For series heater operation, the heater voltage is 12.6 volts at 0.15 amperes; for parallel heater operation, the heater voltage is 6.3 volts at 0.3 amperes. Maximum plate dissipation is 1.5 watts, and maximum DC cathode current is 10 milliamperes. Maximum heater-cathode voltage is 90 volts, whether the heater is positive or negative with respect to the cathode.
Capacitances
Direct interelectrode capacitance from grid to plate is 1.3 pf for each section. Direct input capacitance (grid to heater plus cathode) is 1.3 pf for each section, and direct output capacitance (plate to heater plus cathode) is 0.6 pf for each section.
Operating Characteristics
The datasheet lists class A1 amplifier ratings and low-level-amplifier service ratings for each section.
Base B9A, viewed from below (the wiring side), pins numbered clockwise from the key. Read from the datasheet's basing table and checked against it automatically — confirm against the original datasheet before wiring.
| Measure | Per tube |
|---|---|
| Median | $44.99 |
| Typical range (25th–75th) | $33.95 – $60.49 |
| Most sales (10th–90th) | $21.99 – $115.99 |
| Extremes incl. outliers | $6.15 – $462.95 |
| Completed sales | 412 |
| Brand | Median | Range | Sales |
|---|---|---|---|
| GE | $44.99 | $39.95 – $65.62 | 236 |
| RCA | $49.95 | $35.18 – $59.99 | 77 |
| Sylvania | $35.00 | $21.99 – $55.95 | 23 |
| Raytheon | $67.90 | $38.00 – $110.00 | 13 |
| Electro-Harmonix | $26.47 | $24.99 – $34.48 | 12 |
| Tung-Sol | $49.99 | $42.23 – $59.99 | 9 |
| JJ | $28.90 | $26.95 – $34.64 | 7 |
| Condition | Median | Sales |
|---|---|---|
| NOS | $53.97 | 172 |
| used | $43.75 | 173 |
| current | $28.90 | 21 |
Per-tube prices from completed sales, 2025-11-05 to 2026-11-08. Matched pairs and quads are divided out. See the price index for how these move over time.
Original manufacturer datasheets for 12AY7, hosted by Frank Philipse's Electron Tube Data sheets.
| Manufacturer | Designation | Datasheet |
|---|---|---|
| General Electric | 12AY7 | PDF (433 KB) |
| Tung-Sol | 12AY7 | PDF (143 KB) |
| RCA (HB3) | 12AY7 | PDF (114 KB) |
Documents held here and used to write this page.
- 12AY7 TWIN TRIODE