Ruark R7 review
Contributing Editor
How much do you love your radio?
Enough that you listen to it when you wake up each morning, and use it to wind down each night when you’re falling asleep?
Do you find yourself tuning in to your favourite DAB channels when you’re semi-conscious, and discussing things like reception quality and EQ with your friends?
For true audiophiles, there’s one brand that often stands out above the rest, and that’s Ruark Audio.
Ruark isn’t just another UK radio company with buckets of style and performance appeal.
The Ruark audio company offers devices that are second-to-none, offering unbeatable modern beauty, amazing sound quality, and performance in one neat package.
Ruark products may be expensive, but you definitely get what you pay for – with a radio experience that’s unlike anything else on the market.
Today, we’re going to be looking at Ruark’s biggest, most expensive product:
The Ruark R7 radiogram.
Ruark R7 review: Design and build
Radiograms are a remnant of a bygone era for today’s younger generations. In a world where people can listen to tunes easily from their smartphone, it’s difficult to imagine a time when a radio constituted an entire piece of furniture.
Most companies in the radio landscape have left the style of the radiogram firmly in the past – but not Ruark.
The Ruark R7 Mk3 is an impressive insight into Ruark’s ability to take vintage products and re-design them for the modern era.
This high-definition radiogram combines radio technology with a table-style mount where you can store your television.
You can make the Ruark Audio R7 the centre of your living room, or add it to the corner of your room, where it can sit, almost unnoticed, until you bring it to life with audio.
Available in a selection of shades, including a fantastic walnut veneer – the Ruark R7 is truly beautiful to behold.
It’s one of the most impressive pieces of functional furniture on the audio market, with a stunning speaker section in the front, multi-format CD player, and more.
Additionally, like many modern Ruark products, such as the Ruark R5, the R7 comes with features to appeal to younger audiences too. Bluetooth connectivity is available, and you can control your radio using the unique Ruark Link app.
Designed for both beauty and sound, the Ruark Audio R7 is hand-crafted for excellence and tuned to deliver unbeatable volume. What’s more, this device comes with an intuitive Ruark RotoDial built-in, so you can enjoy a sleek, elegant and seamless control experience.
Ruark R7 review: Features
The Ruark R7 Mk3 comes with everything you need to build an unforgettable home audio system. So much more than a table with a speaker built-in, the Ruark R7 can be transformed into a complete audio/visual system for any home.
You can even pop the RotoDial out of the table surface to use it as a remote control.
As your complete AV solution, the Ruark R7 can feature an optional mount for your television, complete with a hovering shelf below the speaker that can hold your DVD players and other tech.
Additionally, thanks to a robust internet connection built-in, the R7 can also link to all other internet-enabled models in the Ruark landscape, including the R5 and the MRX.
Whether you want to listen to your favourite music via internet radio, you’re interested in streaming your content through Bluetooth, or you prefer Spotify, the R7 has it all.
There’s even a multi-format CD player – so you can put those boxes of old albums to good use.
Of course, all of that functionality comes with a pretty hefty price tag. While most products from Ruark are quite expensive, the Ruark Audio R7 is one of the most costly of all, coming in with a fee of around £2,300.
For a price that high, there’s a good chance that the television you place on top of your radiogram will be less expensive than your audio system.
Features include:
- Built-in Bluetooth with HD performance;
- DAB, FM, and DAB+ radio
- A multi-format slot-loading CD player
- Analogue and optical inputs
- Optional television mount
- Multi-room features
- Spotify Connect
- Ethernet connection
- Wireless performance
- Unique tuner
- State-of-the-art display
- Alarm and clock function
This is a Ruark Audio system that’s going to give you absolutely everything you need for home entertainment.
The Ruark R7 doesn’t just look amazing, it sounds fantastic too – whether you’re listening to Spotify, DAB radio, or your old CDs.
Ruark R7 review: Performance
Like many products in the Ruark family, the Ruark R7 is a true masterpiece of style and audio engineering. If you have money to spend on the ultimate audiophile experience, then the R7 is where you’re going to get it.
Complete with multi-room performance, wireless connectivity, and Bluetooth streaming, the Ruark R7 radiogram is a vintage product designed for the future.
The CD player makes it easy to maintain your favourite albums over the years, while a fantastic radio signal ensures that you never miss out on your favourite shows.
Additionally, you also get the benefit of alarm functionality built-in, like you would with many standard radios.
The custom RotoDial controller included in the R7 makes it easy to control your music in seconds. Alternatively, you can always use the smartphone app if you prefer.
While the ease-of-use associated with the Ruark R7 definitely makes it worth consideration for any audio lover – it’s the sound quality that truly helps this radio to stand out.
The Radiogram includes a linear class A-B amplifier with 160 watts of output. Additionally, there are enhanced 3d sound processing technology built-in, an integrated subwoofer and a 200mm long-throw driver.
Every component of the Ruark R7 has been designed around sensational sound, from the adjustable treble and bass settings to the dual concentric drive units.
Ruark R7 review: Verdict
It’s safe to say that the Ruark Audio R7 is unlike anything else in the radio market today.
Nowhere else are you going to find anything close to the quality that you get with this product – particularly if you’re searching for the classic vintage style of a radiogram.
However, at the same time, the Ruark R7 radiogram is also going to appeal most to a very specific audience. There aren’t a lot of people out there who have thousands of pounds to spend on a radio that doubles-up as a piece of furniture.
If you’re one of the most dedicated radio lovers in the UK, then we’d definitely recommend giving the Ruark R7 a try.
On the other hand, if you just need a great radio with a CD player and some fantastic sound quality – there are cheaper options available.
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