£3k all in one is one stylish music system
I don’t need the Ruark 810. I don’t have any room in my house for the Ruark R810. There’s no way I can afford the Ruark R810. But I want the Ruark R810. And so do you, of course you do.
Just look at it. It’s like your nan’s HMV radiogram reinvented for the streaming age.
It’s the perfect example of modern tech with a retro twist. And sure, I’m just going by the official images the Ruark team sent over, but I’ve dealt with Ruark before… it will look just as good, if not better, in the flesh.
And you can rest assured that performance will be top notch too; I’m yet to test a Ruark speaker that hasn’t blown my socks off.
Hot on the heels of the Ruark R410 Integrated Music System, the first instalment from the new 100 Series line of the Southend-on-Sea based audio specialist, the R810 is the flagship of the new range.
That flagship status does come with a pretty hefty – deep breath – £3,000 price-tag though.
But it’s not just the meticulously crafted cabinet, created from sustainable woods and adorned with polished chrome accents that your money buys you; there is plenty of high-end audio architecture in place, and all the bells and whistles you’d expect from a top of the range streamer.
The R810 boasts a high capacity linear power supply coupled to a 4.1 channel Class A-B discrete component amplifier, with a nominal rating of 180 watts.
There’s no need to plug in an additional subwoofer with the R810, as is the case with the R410, as there’s an integrated active subwoofer built-in.
In terms of streaming there’s a whole host of options available including the likes of Spotify, TIDAL, Amazon Music, BBC Sounds, Deezer, Qobuz and many more.
With a nod top the brand’s radio heritage, there is also DAB/DAB+/FM & Internet radio on board, plus aptX HD Bluetooth connectivity. You’ve also got UPnP media server support for local digital file playback.
Unlike the Ruark R series, the 100 Series isn’t a native multi-room system but you do have the option of grouping and controlling the R810 using Spotify Connect, Google Cast or AirPlay 2.
If you want to manually hook up with other systems, or even your TV, then you can make use of the optical digital input, or HDMI with eARC.
On the front is a a 4-inch TFT colour display and there’s the RotoDial up top and it comes with the additional remote dial too.
There’s no CD input but you can hook up a CD player of turntable and use the Stereo RCA phono input stage to get your physical media playing.
Available in soft grey and rich walnut finishes, the Ruark R810 High Fidelity Radiogram is available now
