Yes that's right a Goat. We have been experimenting with the phono stage in the new Ruark R5 just to see if it really can do everything really rather well, or if we could find a chink in the armour.

As in Preston’s wonderful blog on the arrival of the R5 and its many features, it is a hugely versatile and a great sounding system as one would expect from a Ruark product. However, we know that built in phono stages can be can be of variable quality, so we thought we would put the Ruark through its paces.

The circular remote takes a short time to learn how to navigate but very pleasant to use when you have.

We felt the Rega planar 2 (with Carbon cartridge) was a suitable match as you could hear the difference between the Planar 1 and the 2 quite clearly. We did try the Planar 3 but didn’t feel you where getting the best out of it.

After a short listen we had a quick play with the sound settings to a) see how easy it is and b) to find out how much more we could pull out of the system. It was super easy and you can make the changes during playback making things fast and efficient. We switched off 3D sound, switched loudness on and kept bass and trebile level. This seemed to give the overall sound presentation more openness and clarity, allowing more control in the room. Of course this can differ from room to room, and the surface upon which the R5 is placed will play a role in how the system sounds.

Then we cranked the volume and enjoyed some Goat!

So, why do I keep saying Goat. Well Goat are a Swedish Alternative/Experimental group, who formed in 2012. Their main genres are various types of rock such as experimental, psychedelic and hard sort of world music (that being the name of their debut album). I often get asked by customers if I have come across anything new and a bit different, well Goat fits that bill. The album is very well produced, open and a good system test. Certainly worth a try.

After listening to two of the four discs at various volumes we decided that the built in phono stage is certainly not a chink in the armour but another strength.

In conclusion, much as expected the Ruark R5 is an all-round fabulous portable music system bringing stylish, compact quality and great sound into the home.

We look forward to seeing you in the Portsmouth branch so can can hear it for yourself. If a home demonstration is required that can also be arranged.

Nick, Joe and James

Ruark Audio Hi-Fi products are available from the following branches of Audio T:
Brentwood, Brighton, Bristol, Cardiff, Cheltenham, Enfield, Manchester, Online, Oxford, Portsmouth, Preston, Southampton, Swansea