Ruark resurrects a classic for its first standalone stereo system
Sabre-R speakers land alongside the R610 streaming separate
Ruark has – quite literally – carved out a niche as purveyor of luxury design-led all-in-one Hi-Fi units and wireless speakers, but the R610 is the British firm’s first standalone effort. The wood-lined statement piece stereo isn’t arriving on its lonesome, either; it’s joined by a modernised take on the fan favourite Sabre bookshelf speaker line, which promises style and sound quality in equal measure.
The Ruark R610 foregoes any built-in speakers for a much smaller footprint, but keeps the trademark lattice front grille made from real wood and circular RotoDial control panel up top that should make picking playlists a breeze. There’s also a matching Bluetooth remote included in the box, for scrolling through the high resolution 5in colour screen up front. Naturally the whole thing has the same 1970’s music centre influence as the rest of Ruark’s range.
Inside there are Burr-Brown DACs pumping out 75W per channel and Class-D digital stereo amps for translating pretty much any kind of music source to a connected set of speakers. Internet Radio, Spotify and Tidal Connect, Google Cast and Apple AirPlay are all on board, while a phono pre-amp around back lets you hook up a turntable. Ruark has a matching CD Drive on the way that’ll connect via USB (and will also play nicely with the existing R410 and R810 systems), and an eARC-compatible HDMI connection lets the R610 become your home cinema command centre too.
The Sabre-R passive bookshelf speakers are equal parts a nod to Ruark’s history (the originals were doing the rounds in the 1980s) and perfect pairing for the new standalone system. They’ve got the same high-end wood finish, matching wood lattice trim, and removable magnetic grilles to reveal the 15cm woofer and 26mm tweeter cones beneath. They’ll play nicely with any amplifier putting out between 25 and 100W of power.
They’ll set you back £699 for a pair, while the R610 will cost £1200 directly from Ruark and its authorised retailers.
Tom Morgan-Freelander
Deputy Editor 
