Ruark Audio R2 MK4 Smart Music System

About The Ruark Audio R2 MK4 Smart Music System

Can you imagine a life without music? Neither can we. With its slim profile, built-in radio and streaming options and natural, powerful sound, the Ruark R2 fits easily and unobtrusively into your surroundings, and makes it easy to enjoy the music you love the most. Like that first tea or coffee in the morning, R2 is an essential element to creating a great day, all day and every day.

A Slim, Elegant Profile: The R2 brings one of Ruark's longest-established models right up to date, while retaining the key features that made the R2 such a popular music system beginning at its launch in 2007. The most obvious change from its predecessors is its slimmer footprint. Such elegant new proportions allow R2 to be placed almost anywhere in the home and perfect for a windowsill or bookcase.

The appearance of R2 is simple yet stunning. The enclosure, with precise lines and soft contours, combines with the slatted wood grille to create a timeless retro-modern feel. Along with its bonded glass display and Ruark's trademark RotoDial controller sited atop, R2 is undoubtedly a Ruark design and the quality remains clear.

The Complete System: A complete music system, R2 is equipped with DAB/DAB+, FM and internet radio with pre-sets, and directly supports major streaming services including Spotify*, Amazon Music and Deezer, and with a quality Bluetooth receiver, every other streaming service available. The Bluetooth function also seamlessly integrates with the volume function on phones and tablets, so volume can be easily raised or reduced as desired. R2 also features a USB-C charge and playback port, auxiliary line input and headphone output. Remote control is available through the free UNDOK app, or a compact IR handset is available as an optional extra.

*R2 will also support Spotify Hi-Fi when made available.

Full Of Valuable Features: The colour LCD displays time, alarm and programme information including station and album artwork, and auto-adjusts to suit ambient light levels.

Like all Ruark products, the R2 incorporates carefully selected technologies to deliver wonderfully clear and effortless sound. The linear amplifier linked with Ruark's NS+ drivers and adaptive equalisation provides the perfect sound balance for enjoying all music and spoken-word content, making R2 an essential way to relax and unwind in today's seemingly manic world.

Control At Your Fingertips: Available as an optional extra, the compact remote is a convenient addition to R2 and allows total wireless control. Store and choose your favourite radio stations through four direct pre-set buttons, select your source input, control volume, pause, rewind or skip tracks and power-down.

Our Review

The original R2 sported a 32 pin Apple connector on top. That sure dates it. Through the years the connector was removed and the final R2 MK3 was ultimately superseded by the Ruark R3. Now we have a new R2, the MK4, and it looks nothing like an R2 MK3. In fact it looks like a wider stereo version of an R1 MK4, and that is no bad thing. Because of its slim profile it is easy to place on a windowsill or shelf or bookcase. Places where an R3 probably wouldn't fit. And it sports some serious connectivity including FM, DAB+ and Internet Radio, along with the ability to stream Spotify, Deezer & Amazon Music. There is also a USB-C socket for charging or playing music, along with an Auxiliary input and a Headphone socket. All very convenient. The styling is very similar to the R1 MK4 including the Espresso or Light Cream contoured polymer enclosure and the beautiful hand crafted slatted wood grille. A full colour display, including album art (!), is now standard and the full, rich sound the R2 MK4 produces is exactly what we've come to expect from a Ruark Audio product. We can imagine this well thought out product ticking a lot of boxes and appealing to a lot of people.