It has been 10 years since Ruark Audio unveiled its R7, a “modern-day tackle the long-lasting radiogram” as we famous in our 2013 information story. It elicited ‘oohs’ and ‘aahs’ from us again then (and in 2016 once we reviewed the R7 mk2) for including wi-fi streaming to an all-in-one 2.1 system that doubled up as lovely furnishings.
We known as the R7 mk2 “the perfect sounding merchandise of retro furnishings we’ve ever heard” in our evaluate, however it did not fairly hit the mark when it got here to delivering the perfect sounding music/hi-fi system you may get at its £2000 asking value. However we do have greater hopes for the brand new Ruark R810.
For starters, it is the flagship mannequin in Ruark’s new 100 Collection of merchandise, the primary of which – the Ruark Audio R410 – impressed us sufficient to achieve a five-star evaluate. It could be unkind to name the R810 merely a bigger R410 on tall, polished chrome legs – there’s rather more brewing beneath the floor.
At first look although, the R810 echoes lots of the new design touches seen within the R410, from the exquisitely handcrafted wooden components within the cupboard and slatted grille (sustainably sourced and spliced and reconstituted for constant grain patterns) and the 4-inch TFT color show display screen on entrance, to the refreshed RotoDial controller on high of the unit. You additionally get a separate, rechargeable distant within the form of the RotoDial, and the R810 is offered in two finishes: smooth gray lacquer or ‘fused’ walnut wooden veneer.
The R810 additionally boasts lots of the similar options we lauded within the R410, from wi-fi streaming (AirPlay 2, Chromecast built-in, Spotify Join, Tidal Join, aptX Bluetooth, UPnP) to bodily connections (HDMI eARC, optical enter, RCA phono enter, USB-C). Radio is represented in FM, DAB/DAB+ and web radio kinds, whereas high-res audio is supported as much as 32-bit/384kHz. Not solely are there loads of methods to stream music out of your cellphone from any music app, you can even use the R810 along with your TV, and even plug in a CD participant or turntable.
Beneath the hood, nevertheless, is the place the core distinction lies. The place the R410 had 120W of Class D amplification powering two 20mm tweeters and two 10cm mid/bass drivers, the flagship R810 ups the stakes to 180W of Class A/B amplification. It is a 4.1 system too, that includes two bigger 30mm silk dome tweeters and twin 10cm paper cone woofers, in addition to a 20cm lengthy throw paper cone subwoofer. The addition of the built-in lively subwoofer goals to ship music with “accuracy and authority”.
(In case you’re curious: the unique R7 had 160W of Class A/B energy, two 14cm twin concentric drivers, one tweeter and a 20cm sub, and an built-in CD participant.)
We famous that using Class D within the R410 was a shock departure from Ruark’s conventional and continued use of Class A/B (even in its customary radios such because the R2 Mk4), however it appears the model has pulled out all of the stops on the subject of the brand new flagship R810.
“The inspiration for our unique R7 and now R810 got here from the gorgeous Radiogram that my grandmother had in her house,” stated Alan O’Rourke, Managing Director, Ruark. “As a child once we visited, I might spend hours listening to radio stations, enjoying data and dancing. R810 is our most technically superior product so far, however a loving homage to these radiograms of yesteryear.”
The Ruark R810 is the model’s pure evolution of the R7, and we definitely hope it lives as much as its robust audio heritage and fairly excessive asking value of £3000 / $4499 / AU$6000. At this value level, you may go for a unique form of retro flavour and type issue within the highly effective JBL 4329P Studio Monitor stereo audio system system (£3499 / $4500, 2023 Award winner) that covers loads of the identical built-in options. However they do not fairly invoke the nostalgia of a ‘radiogram’ just like the Ruark…
MORE:
Learn our five-star Ruark Audio R410 evaluate
Ruark Audio R410 vs Naim Mu-so 2: which premium all-in-one music system is best?
Learn our Ruark R7 mk2 evaluate
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