Ruark have a long and successful history of producing high quality all in one systems: After a three-year gestation period (which exceeds even that of an African elephant); the Ruark R410 is a new addition to the Ruark line up. I would say that it was the latest addition but the even newer RS1 Subwoofer (available as an upgrade to all Ruark products) has since taken that spot…

What do we have here?

The design of the R410 can only be described as absolutely stunning; a modern take on 70’s styling, with a certain touch of Bang & Olufsen about it. It is certainly a big step forward from the Ruark products of old. I would imagine that owning R410 is likely to garner a lot of compliments from your friends and neighbours!

Features.

Available in two finishes (walnut and grey) and engineered from sustainable wood veneer, featuring handcrafted grilles, with a portrait digital display designed to imitate a smartphone.

The solidly built Bluetooth remote feels great in the hand and mimics the Roto Dial controller that is built into the top surface of the R410. The R410 is similar in size to the all-conquering Naim Mu-So 2nd Gen but with a very different aesthetic.

Internally a 120 wpc class D amplifier drives the speakers in the cabinet, these incorporate new design mid / bass units and feature silk tweeters (shared with the awesome Ruark MR1’s). The frequency range spans 35Hz to 22kHz.

The R410 will likely be used most often as a streamer and in this regard, it is well equipped; with inbuilt Spotify Connect and Tidal Connect. Apple Airplay, Chromecast and Bluetooth are also available, as is the ability to browse and stream from other devices on your network. FM / DAB and DAB+ and internet radio are also included.

Physical connectivity has most definitely not been forgotten; optical, line level, turntable MM preamp, USB inputs plus HDMI (e)ARC connections are all present.

What isn’t provided? Not much to be honest: Ruark have moved away from using a dedicated Phone app in favour of casting and I can see why that would make sense for them. Roon is also not an option. Lastly, there is no headphone socket, not that you often find them on this sort of product.

So how does it sound?

After some experimentation we settled on the ‘Stereo +’ DSP setting and then put it head to head with the Naim Mu-So.

Playing ‘Walk on the wild side’ by Lou Reed, the Naim definitely exhibited more bass heft and extension with the iconic walking double bass but the Ruark was the more open, detailed and light of foot and whilst the bass did not have quite as great depth, it was certainly more tuneful. The Ruark also had the ability to widen the soundstage outside of the confines of the cabinet (something that most one box solutions are incapable of).

Listening to the fantastic recording of ‘Just a little lovin’ by Shelby Lynne on Tidal, the two systems really were chalk and cheese. The Naim favouring a warmer, darker presentation, whilst the Ruark presented a more airy view of the recording. We also thought that the Ruark has the edge with the vocals.

Conclusions.

The Naim Mu-So has always been the previous “shoe in” as the best in class, now with the arrival of the Ruark R410 has the status quo changed?

Which is better will come down to individual taste, but as examples of luxury integrated music solutions it’s now great to have that choice!

Available for demonstration now, come and have a listen!

Thanks for reading.

Rob & Jon - Audio T Oxford

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