design and connection
Retro look and cutting-edge function
Ruark Audio R2 MK4 is an all-in-one playback system. Slightly larger than an ordinary shoebox, the lower half of the front is decorated with wood grain organ louvers for the sound generation area, and the left side of the upper half is a simple color LCD screen . a circular operation with buttons to select the source, it also has a knob to control the volume. The rear of the machine is simpler, with a power socket, Line-in, headphone-out and USB-C. The simplification of the hardware design means that more functions are concentrated on the software and the wireless connection. In addition to Line-in and USB-C, Ruark Audio R2 MK4 provides Bluetooth and Wi-Fi two wireless connection methods. It also provides support for Spotify, Amazon Music, Deezer, Podcasts and Internet Radio. The functions are very complete. I must mention that it supports FM radio and there is a “really retro” metal telescopic antenna on the back, it is rare to buy similar models.
As for the speaker architecture, the Ruark Audio R2 MK4 uses two 75mm full-range Ruark NS+ units to provide a frequency response range from 55Hz to 20kHz. The amplified output is 18W, the number does not seem large, but the volume of R2 MK4 is sufficient, and it is worth noting that R2 MK4 does not add an independent woofer, but uses the design of the sound box itself to reflect the bass frequency to improve The sense of low frequency loudness is quite good, and the low frequency is round and full.
