5AR4
5AR4 is also designated GZ34. Completed sales put the typical price at $124.98 per tube.
Description
The 5AR4 is a heater-cathode twin diode designed for full-wave rectifier operation. It has a coated unipotential cathode, a T-9 glass envelope, and a B5-10 intermediate-shell octal 5-pin base. The tube can be mounted in any position.
Ratings
The peak inverse plate voltage rating is 1700 volts. The steady-state peak plate current per plate is 825 milliamperes, and the transient peak plate current per plate, with a maximum duration of 0.2 second, is 1 ampere. The tube voltage drop is 17 volts at 225 milliamperes DC per plate. The heater requires 5 volts at 1.9 amperes.
Construction
Pin 1 is an internal connection. Pin 2 is the heater. Pin 4 is plate number 2. Pin 6 is plate number 1. Pin 8 is the heater and cathode.
Applications
The 5AR4 is especially suitable for compact amplifier designs due to its high output current and small size.
| Designation | Evidence | Confidence |
|---|---|---|
| GZ34 | 66 independent documents | strong |
Equivalence is asserted only where the archive's own literature states it directly, in at least 40 separate documents. Tubes that merely substitute in some circuits are not listed here.
| Measure | Per tube |
|---|---|
| Median | $124.98 |
| Typical range (25th–75th) | $74.00 – $186.45 |
| Most sales (10th–90th) | $35.98 – $279.23 |
| Extremes incl. outliers | $9.99 – $801.50 |
| Completed sales | 303 |
| Brand | Median | Range | Sales |
|---|---|---|---|
| Mullard | $164.76 | $124.99 – $225.45 | 142 |
| Amperex | $148.38 | $109.95 – $206.17 | 28 |
| GE | $84.50 | $78.79 – $94.67 | 17 |
| Matsushita | $70.00 | $55.00 – $111.38 | 15 |
| RCA | $155.34 | $99.00 – $158.95 | 11 |
| Sylvania | $102.79 | $77.90 – $119.58 | 10 |
| Philips | $181.20 | $154.75 – $323.67 | 9 |
| JJ | $29.45 | $24.95 – $29.99 | 9 |
| Sovtek | $36.27 | $31.50 – $50.00 | 9 |
| Genalex/Gold Lion | $65.00 | $49.95 – $70.78 | 6 |
| Tung-Sol | $58.38 | $58.11 – $69.00 | 5 |
| Telefunken | $357.99 | $304.98 – $411.00 | 4 |
| Condition | Median | Sales |
|---|---|---|
| NOS | $163.00 | 93 |
| used | $115.35 | 114 |
| current | $35.20 | 32 |
Per-tube prices from completed sales, 2022-11-14 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 5AR4, hosted by Frank Philipse's Electron Tube Data sheets.
| Manufacturer | Designation | Datasheet |
|---|---|---|
| General Electric | 5AR4 | PDF (495 KB) |
| Amperex | 5AR4 | PDF (246 KB) |
| Mazda-Belvu | GZ34 | PDF (681 KB) |
| Philips | GZ34 | PDF (320 KB) |
| Telefunken | GZ34 | PDF (155 KB) |
| La Radiotechnique | GZ34 | PDF (112 KB) |
| Philips | GZ34 | PDF (107 KB) |
Documents held here and used to write this page.
- **5AR4**
- DIODE BIPLAQUE (filed under GZ34)