It's easy for us audiophiles to feel neglected. Consider that this year witnesses the debuts of not one, but two new audio formats that should answer the prayers of just about every frustrated audiophile out there: SACD and DVD-Audio. Both approaches represent the state of the art of recording and reproducing music, and finally fulfill for serious listeners the promise that CD teased us with more than 15 years ago.

It's a reviewer's privilege to be able to switch back and forth between tube and solid-state gear (or combinations thereof) as the mood or the assignment moves him. Still, I find I'm inevitably drawn back to the Epicurean delights of triode tube gear. When done right, there's an alluring musicality to it, like the breath of life. However, in any tube <I>vs</I> solid-state contest, the relative tradeoffs between tone and resolution&mdash;sweetness and articulation, euphony and frequency extension&mdash;must be taken into consideration.

It's a reviewer's privilege to be able to switch back and forth between tube and solid-state gear (or combinations thereof) as the mood or the assignment moves him. Still, I find I'm inevitably drawn back to the Epicurean delights of triode tube gear. When done right, there's an alluring musicality to it, like the breath of life. However, in any tube <I>vs</I> solid-state contest, the relative tradeoffs between tone and resolution&mdash;sweetness and articulation, euphony and frequency extension&mdash;must be taken into consideration.

It's a reviewer's privilege to be able to switch back and forth between tube and solid-state gear (or combinations thereof) as the mood or the assignment moves him. Still, I find I'm inevitably drawn back to the Epicurean delights of triode tube gear. When done right, there's an alluring musicality to it, like the breath of life. However, in any tube <I>vs</I> solid-state contest, the relative tradeoffs between tone and resolution&mdash;sweetness and articulation, euphony and frequency extension&mdash;must be taken into consideration.

It's a reviewer's privilege to be able to switch back and forth between tube and solid-state gear (or combinations thereof) as the mood or the assignment moves him. Still, I find I'm inevitably drawn back to the Epicurean delights of triode tube gear. When done right, there's an alluring musicality to it, like the breath of life. However, in any tube <I>vs</I> solid-state contest, the relative tradeoffs between tone and resolution&mdash;sweetness and articulation, euphony and frequency extension&mdash;must be taken into consideration.

It's a reviewer's privilege to be able to switch back and forth between tube and solid-state gear (or combinations thereof) as the mood or the assignment moves him. Still, I find I'm inevitably drawn back to the Epicurean delights of triode tube gear. When done right, there's an alluring musicality to it, like the breath of life. However, in any tube <I>vs</I> solid-state contest, the relative tradeoffs between tone and resolution&mdash;sweetness and articulation, euphony and frequency extension&mdash;must be taken into consideration.

It's a reviewer's privilege to be able to switch back and forth between tube and solid-state gear (or combinations thereof) as the mood or the assignment moves him. Still, I find I'm inevitably drawn back to the Epicurean delights of triode tube gear. When done right, there's an alluring musicality to it, like the breath of life. However, in any tube <I>vs</I> solid-state contest, the relative tradeoffs between tone and resolution&mdash;sweetness and articulation, euphony and frequency extension&mdash;must be taken into consideration.

It's a reviewer's privilege to be able to switch back and forth between tube and solid-state gear (or combinations thereof) as the mood or the assignment moves him. Still, I find I'm inevitably drawn back to the Epicurean delights of triode tube gear. When done right, there's an alluring musicality to it, like the breath of life. However, in any tube <I>vs</I> solid-state contest, the relative tradeoffs between tone and resolution&mdash;sweetness and articulation, euphony and frequency extension&mdash;must be taken into consideration.

Following on the heels of its <A HREF="http://www.stereophile.com/news/10863/">announcement last week</A> of the first commercially available DVD-Audio disc (<I>Swingin' for the Fences</I>, by Gordon Goodwin's Big Phat Band), <A HREF="http://www.silverlinerecords.com">Silverline Records</A> says that Aaron Neville will become the first major artist to release an album in the format. Silverline expects that, on October 24, Neville's solo album <I>Devotion</I> will be released on DVD-A. The disc will also include audio tracks compatible with standard DVD players.