The “Best” Hi-Fi Systems of 2024 for £2,500 - Audio T Swindon Top Picks

The “Best” Hi-Fi Systems of 2024 for £2,500 - Audio T Swindon Top Picks

In the previous blog Modern Hi-Fi 101 - A beginners’ guide exploring the Basics of Hi-Fi Setups in 2024 we discussed some of the key concepts and considerations to be had when building a modern Hi-Fi system. Here, we are taking this further and giving you The Best Hi-Fi Systems of 2024…

…  okay ‘The Best’ will never truly be objectively correct, nevertheless we will be sharing a few of our favourite picks, giving examples of some worthy listening combinations of current equipment out there, all within the £2500 budget (at time of writing)

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Style and Substance. The Ruark R5 Music System

The Ruark R5 System is absolutely gorgeous! There you go, we’ve said it and we mean gorgeous in its styling, its versatility, and its sound.

Wrapped in rich real walnut or in soft contemporary grey with contrasting grilles this system looks amazing.

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But the beauty of the R5 is not just skin deep. This is one seriously well equipped system. The R5 has:

Bluetooth with aptX HD

Internet streaming services including internet radio, access to the most popular music services, and Spotify Connect

A DAB, DAB+ and FM radio section

CD

A phono stage built in for moving magnet cartridges

Optical digital in

Analogue in

Analogue out (subwoofers anyone?)

USB in with charge

and a Headphone output too

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There’s the now familiar circular control on the R5 which makes navigating the menus and functions very easy and intuitive. This is also mirrored in the remote control which has identical form and function.

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The really surprising thing about the R5 however is its sound. It sounds like serious Hi-Fi. OK it’s not going to beat a big pair of floorstanders on the end of an expensive separates system, but what it does do is play music and communicate on a far bigger scale than it should.

You can certainly tell the difference between Billy Eilish and Lorde, or Ariana and Mariah. The R5 handles midrange subtleties wonderfully. Put on some bigger scale rock or orchestral and you get the impact immediately.

There’s even a proprietary app from Ruark to control it and to integrate it with other Ruark products into a complete home multi-room system.

We simply can’t think of any other one box solution that sounds anywhere near as good as the Ruark R5.

Pop into Audio T Brentwood and we’ll be more than happy to show you why we think it is so good!

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Ruark 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

The New Ruark R1 Dab Radio is here.

We now have in stock the third generation of the Ruark R1 desktop radio and very nice it is to.

This is the latest incarnation of the ever popular Dab radio, and with many upgrades and improvements it is a great gem of modern gadgetry presented in an elegant and stylish cabinet.

So what’s new ?

The first thing you will notice is the display which now uses an OLED screen. This gives much better detail and clarity, also the brightness can be adjusted to suit anyone’s preference.

The control panel has also been improved. Using a much nicer version of Ruarks unique rotodial, it now has fewer buttons and is easier to navigate through the options. By giving it a smaller and separate power button you no longer accidentally turn it off while adjusting the volume.

The biggest upgrade is the addition of Bluetooth connectivity. This enables us to connect our smartphones, tablets, laptops etc and play our own music. The R1 wil read and display the track information as you listen.

Turn the R1 around and on the back you will find a stereo headphone output, an analogue line in and a USB socket. The line in gives us the option to connect an external source and the USB can be used to charge your phone or tablet.

On the whole its a great little product, with Dab , Dab+ and FM its a fantastic radio and suitable for any home or office enviroment. Available in three colours, Black , White , or the classic wood finish Walnut.

For more information check out the Ruark website http://www.ruarkaudio.com/products/r1-overview.