Ruark’s New R410 Music Player Sounds Every Bit As Good As It Looks

Six or seven years ago, I bought myself a Ruark R4 MkIII music player. I still have it and still use it every day. It has a radio tuner, a CD player, plus inputs for connecting analog devices. However, my Ruark R4 can’t connect to my home network, so I can’t stream music or listen to Internet radio.

British audio brand Ruark has now released a brand-new player to fill the void left by my R4 MkIII. The Ruark R410 is the company’s latest product and has almost everything you could want from a music player. Okay, so the ability to play CDs has gone, along with the classic curvy lines of the R4, but that’s all. The R410 has a stylish look that harks back to the 1970s for inspiration. The sharper lines echo the player’s new technology, giving the R410 a more contemporary look and feel.

Ruark says the R410 has been designed with perfect proportions and provides a modern twist on classic 1970s styling. The company has used modern materials and sustainable woods for the hand-crafted wooden grille and cabinet. The grille has been spliced, colored and recomposed to resemble slow-growing hardwoods with consistent grain patterns and a color that won’t fade over time.

Some of the R410’s features have been carried over from the old R4 MkIII. There’s still the classic Ruark RotoDial control on the top of the player, plus the remote is now a puck-shaped version of the RotoDial that can be used to navigate the R410’s superb display. That screen is a color four-inch display that can show album artwork. The upright format of the display mirrors the screens most of us are used to looking at on our smartphones. It’s a beautifully detailed display and doubles as a digital clock when the R410 is in standby mode.

Setting up the player to join my home network was straightforward. There’s a Network Wizard that guides you through the process to get online. Once the R410 has joined the network, it’s possible to access Apple AirPlay and Google Chromecast, so iOS and Android users can stream audio content from their smartphones. In addition, there is an Internet radio tuner, FM and DAB radio tuners, plus there’s support for Spotify Connect and Tidal Connect.

Perhaps the only thing missing from the R410 is a CD player. However, that’s not a problem because there are inputs for many devices if you want to play your precious silver discs. Ruark also provides a connection for HDMI with eARC, so the sound from your TV can be played through the 410. Other connections include a TOSLINK digital input, UPnP for playing music files stored on a local network, plus an RIAA phono input for hooking up a vinyl turntable or other analog device, such as a cassette player. So, whether you want to connect your TV, CD player or any other analog device, the R410 can handle it.

The R410’s cabinet has a reflex enclosure optimized for the long-throw NS+ bass and midrange drivers inside. These speakers are larger than the units used in previous Ruark products. To provide focus and detail for the R410’s soundstage, Ruark has also added a couple of 20mm tweeters.

The speakers in the R410 are driven by a new generation of highly efficient digital amplifiers that offer ultra-low distortion. The two-channel amplifiers are small enough to be attached to the rear of each bass/midrange unit, enabling the signal path to be as short as possible.

Along with audiophile-grade components, Ruark has chosen Burr-Brown DACs (Digital-to-Analog Converters) to feed the fully active speaker system along with the latest audio processing technologies; Ruark says it managed to upgrade the sound quality. The new player took three years to develop and Ruark says the R410 is the starting point for a complete new series of streaming players that will take advantage of the latest audio technology

So, how does the new Ruark R410 sound in use? I turned to the classic Riz Ortolani and Norman Newell’s song “More” to find out. With Frank Sinatra singing, backed up by the Count Basie Orchestra, playing a Quincy Jones arrangement of the song, I figured that was a big enough piece of music to put the Ruark through its paces. And it did indeed blow any cobwebs out from the R410.

This gorgeous player’s energy and excitement made the hairs stick up on the back of my neck. Incidentally, you can learn more about the amazing story behind the music and lyrics of this incredible standard by listening to Mark Steyn’s Song of the Week, which delves into the fascinating story behind “More.” It’s well worth a listen. Ortolani was an Italian film composer, while Newell was a producer at EMI during its heyday, working alongside George Martin.

The R410 is a massive improvement in audio performance over previous Ruark models. There’s a big and wide sound from this relatively compact player that positively relished in playing Count Basie’s big-band arrangement of such a great song. The R410 has a wonderfully buttery bass, making it infectiously rhythmic. The smooth and detailed treble adds focus and sparkle to the soundstage. The midrange is slightly recessed, but it doesn’t spoil things and the sound is an all-round delight.

I love the RotoDial remote control, which uses a Bluetooth signal instead of the more usual infrared. A Bluetooth remote means you don’t need to point it directly at the player to make it work. The remote is also rechargeable, so there’s no need to fumble around for alkaline batteries when the juice runs out. The menu layout on the portrait-oriented screen is easy to navigate and makes changing system settings child’s play.

Verdict: The new Ruark R410 integrated music player is a stylish, great-sounding player and a delight to the eye. The R410 supports most streaming options, including Spotify and Tidal Connect. The upgraded speakers and advanced amplification make this a superb-sounding player that can handle most genres of music with style and sureness. With support for Apple AirPlay, Google Chromecast and Bluetooth, it’s possible to stream almost any audio content from a phone, tablet or computer. Ruark has even included a phono stage for connecting a vinyl turntable. The Ruark R410 is a worthy and versatile successor to the classic Ruark R4 MkIII and it looks and sounds gorgeous. Highly Recommended.

Pricing & Availability: The Ruark R410 integrated music player is available now and priced at £1,299.

More info: ruarkaudio.com

Tech Specs:

Audio

Frequency response 35Hz – 22kHz.
Speaker units.
2 × Ruark 20mm silk dome tweeters.
2 × Ruark 100mm NS+ bass-mid units.
Amplifier: 120W RMS Class D amplifier (0.02% THD @ 30W/CH).
Adjustable bass and treble settings.
Stereo+ 3D audio enhancement.
Adaptive EQ.
Cabinet: Tuned dual bass reflex enclosure.
Digital to Analog: Burr-Brown 32-bit 192kHz DAC.
Analog to Digital: Burr-Brown 32-bit 192kHz ADC.

Features

RotoDial control system.
Remote Control RotoDial BT LE rechargeable remote.
Display: Hi-Res auto-dimming 4″ color TFT display.
Presets: 20 Global presets.
App control: Spotify, BBC Sounds, etc.
Auto-standby: Adjustable auto-off power saving mode.
Adjustable input levels: Adjustable line-in and optical input levels.
USB charge port: USB-C 5V 1A (5W).
DST: Automatic DST adjustment.
Software updates: Via over-the-air or USB if required.
User interface: Multilingual.

Connectivity

Radio: Internet Radio, DAB / DAB+ / FM with RDS (87.5-108MHz).
Multiroom capable via Apple AirPlay and Google Cast.
Wi-Fi: 802.11 a/b/g/n/ac/ax, WPS2, WEP, WPA, WPA2.
Streaming: Apple AirPlay and Google Chromecast built-in.
Built-in music services: Spotify Connect, TIDAL Connect.
Supported music services: Amazon Music, BBC Sounds, Deezer, Qobuz and many more.
Bluetooth: 5.1, aptX HD, SBC, AAC, BLE, A2DP.
Ethernet: RJ45 connector 10/100 Mbps.
DLNA: UPnP DLNA media server compatible
CD player: CD playback via external USB CD drive (optional).
HDMI: ARC and eARC.
Line input: Stereo RCA input (up to 2.3Vrms).
Moving Magnet RIAA phono input: Turntable input with MM phono gain stage.
Optical input: TOSLINK input up to 24-bit 192kHz.
Subwoofer output via mono RCA.
USB 2.0 Type C: FAT32 playback port.
Aerial 75Ω F-type aerial connector