Great sound, bar none

I'M not an audiophile, not by a long shot. But I do know a good pair of headphones or speakers when I see (or hear?) one, thanks to years of buying the odd headphone or two and generally not having busted eardrums yet.

My fascination for audio thankfully hasn't morphed into a wallet-burning obsession. A close friend of mine, though, has been seriously bitten by the audio bug, and my many jaunts with him through the temple of audio - The Adelphi - hasn't hurt either.

It was this semi-expertise I brought to test Sony's HT ST5000 soundbar. To be clear, the soundbar does not take the place of dedicated floorstanders or an excellent pair of bookshelf speakers. The laws of physics will not be denied if you have smaller cone sizes and a more compact form (118cm wide and 14cm deep), but the ST5000 comes darn close for those with smaller budgets and space.