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 ex…